Sunday Lessons: When you have God, you have everything.

“I am going to take this bucket of water and pour it on the flames of hell, and then I am going to use this torch to burn down the gates of paradise so that people will not love God for want of heaven or fear of hell, 

but because He is God.”

                               ― John Green, Looking for Alaska

There had been a point in my life when I would go to church only because I was asking something from Him, or because I was afraid He wouldn't bless me. I prayed because I had so many things to pray for, not because I had so many things to be grateful for.

I'd like to believe that I've grown now, in so many ways--in ways that really matter to me. So when I read that line from Looking for Alaska, I was so amazed at how John Green so eloquently put into words the true meaning of worshipping God--loving Him not because we long for heaven or because we are afraid of hell, but just because He is God.

God is enough. I believe that. Things may fall apart, plans may fail, hearts may break, but in the end, as long as God is with us, we can always go beyond the pain. We will always be able to stand up again after the stumble.

"If God is for us, who can be against us?"

                 - Romans 8:31

In Earnest Anticipation

Excited for the coming days, weeks, months... :)

Sunday Lessons: Don't try to work God into your schedule. Work your schedule around God.

"There is a time for everything, 

and a season for every activity under the heavens."

                                  - Ecclesiastes 3:1

"If my friends wouldn't want to hang out with me, I might go to church..."

"If I get to wake up early, then I'll do my daily devotion..."

"If I'm not too exhausted to remember, maybe I'll say a prayer before going to sleep..."

I've been wanting to write about this for a while now. It's one of those lessons that really dug its way into my heart. Though I really do look forward to listening to Sunday messages, this lesson is a great motivator as well.

How would you feel if you ask God for guidance, and He tells you that He has somewhere else to be? How would you feel if He tells you He's too busy to listen to your prayers? Will you be hurt? Will you feel betrayed? 

You probably will.

Yes, God wants us to call on Him in times of trouble. He wants us to cast our burdens upon Him. But when we're happy, when everything is going well, when we think we don't need any help, do we remember Him? Do we take time to thank Him, to praise Him when life is good?

"Pray unceasingly."

                 - 1 Thes 5:17

Pray. But be careful, because it's not the act but the heart that is important. Proverbs 16:2 says, "All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord." Long gone are the days when I would have to force myself to get out of bed to go to church, when sleeping in always seemed like the better option. Long gone are those "you can't even spend one hour for Him" guilt trips. And I'm not telling you this because I'm proud to have been that kind of person. I'm telling you this to share with you this bliss, this happiness I found when I found Him. It's never been the same. ♥

If you haven't already, I hope you'll get to experience this happiness as well. Then you'll see for yourself how easy it is to make time for Him, to always put Him first. :)

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

                                                                                                                    - Matt 6:33

When We're Together

Listen.

Sunday Lessons: Whether we deserve it or not, God loves us.

"...but the greatest of these is love."

                    - 1 Corinthians 13:13

Agape, one of the four types of love, is defined as "love as revealed in Jesus, seen as spiritual and selfless and a model for humanity."

God has shown us His unconditional love in many different ways--some tangible while others are too abstract to be discerned. But one of the most magical displays of this love is through our parents' unconditional love for us.

Through our parents, God shows us how to love unconditionally--to love without counting mistakes, to love without holding back, to love even when it is undeserved.

No father is perfect--we all know that by now. My dad can be a pessimist sometimes (or oftentimes), and he can be impatient. He used to drive me to school when I was still in high school, and he often got frustrated because it would take me forever to get up and get ready. I was rarely ever late though.

Yes, he has his fair share of imperfections, but I know he loved me as best as he could. I know he loved me the best way he knew how. I'm as certain of this as I'm certain of God's endless, boundless love for each of us.

"Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

- Romans 8:39

I didn't work for it. I don't deserve it. But He loved me, and for that I am infinitely grateful.

PS: Happy Father's Day, Father Goose, and all the fathers all over the world!

Time is a thief.

Time is a thief. Like the gentle drizzle slowly dripping on a picture window, time blurs memories. Time wavers certainties.

I don't even remember how it felt anymore. I can't decide if it was real, or if I had imagined it all in my dream-filled head. I try to relive the moments, but all that remains is the nostalgic fondness for that time, that place where the sunshine seemed to brighten every corner, to fill every shadow.

Forgetting can be both frightening and relieving.

Hello, rainy days.

Sunday Lessons: No one is born with a full dose of faith.

No one is born with a full dose of faith. 

We have to learn it along the journey.

Last Sunday, I flew home for my niece's second birthday. I only took my usual luggage--camera bag, tripod, and a small suitcase. However, upon arriving at the airport in Zamboanga, the tripod was nowhere to be found.

I could have yelled. I could have snapped at the airline agents for giving me a problem when I was already so stressed and in a hurry. Working in a pharmacy for more than a year now has unfortunately exposed me to awful scenarios involving yelling, name-calling, and even cursing. But I didn't. I prayed. Later that day, the airline agent informed me that my tripod was left behind in Cebu and would be flown to Zamboanga the following day.

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

                            - Matthew 17:20

I'm sure you've heard greater stories. I'm sure you've been moved by way more powerful testimonies. But isn't faith about trusting God both on the little and the big things? Isn't faith about believing that God is good, no matter how hard the circumstances may be? We might not always understand His ways, and we might not always see clearly, but we just have to remember that God is God. He can give, He can take away, and He makes all things new.

"Praising God during times of trouble is saying, 'You have solved it, Lord. And in Your perfect time, I will see it with my own eyes.'"

Oasis

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

                                       - Luke 12:34

At the end of this long, long day, it couldn't be any clearer to me that it's okay to trust--to trust God, to trust people, to trust that everything will fall right into its perfect place.

And I believe that this very moment, I'm right where I'm supposed to be. :)