Booked and Paid

by faith..

lalarga na ang mag-asawang carino!

PAID. cesar registered us to the couple's retreat in november.

BOOKED. we already have plane tickets to melb to watch the AU open in jan next year.

Two weeks na lang!

simula na ng ber months! yipee!! am listening to christmas songs while writing this :-) wow! i love the feeling..it's a happy positive feeling. no matter what, i'll be spending christmas with cesar and i am soooooo excited to our first holiday together as husband and wife. we're already talking about how we'll observe it. but above all the preparations and some little decorations, we'll never forget the reason why we celebrate the season. and of course, being with hubby on this special occassion is enough.

all i want for christmas is you..

photo via flickr

Paalam, Askal

sad. auntie texted me that askal already passed on last sunday due to tumor and peanut, yesterday, was crying beside askal. wala na syang kalaro, wala ng kaagaw sa pagkain.

i can feel auntie's sadness because askal is one of her babies. she treated askal as her own. she just saw askal on the street and seems like she's lost. auntie's compassionate heart took on, called her, opened the car's door and surprisingly, she went in. that is why lola named her, askal.

whenever we talk to auntie over skype, askal is always present and greet us with her cheerful american accent "arf arf". i was excited pa naman to meet her when i visit auntie in the US.

askal, thank you for the joy that you have brought to auntie. you will surely be missed..

Wherever Cesar is, i am home

dy, you are one best decision i have ever made in my life. i love you more!

Rainy days

i love.

it's because of these two companions, coffee and book.

and ahmmm..how about this? i like!! ;-)

photos via tea&coffee

Work-life-balance

nowadays, i am enjoying it's truest sense..WORK. stress-free workload (it is more manageable now), going home on time (yeah! good bye overtime!), i blend well with the people i work for and work with (the positive atmosphere i love), and the favorable working time (i've tried different work shifts, this is the best, i would say, so far)..LIFE. for the record, since i have started working, my sleeping hours now is 6 to 7 everyday; 9 or 10 is just right to wake up in the morning and have my quiet time; then i still have time to bond with mama (most of the time thru cooking) before going to work; (this is something new) i can allot at least one hour to work out in the gym; and i can chat with hubby at night during break or even while working :-)

i will stay put and enjoy this balance while i am waiting. this is a time to rediscover me, nurture relationships, relax and think well, regain strength, and delight more in his presence (na hindi nagmamadali).

wow! thank you, lord, for my life and my work.

photo via tea&coffee

Missing home

photo via tea&coffee

cesar is my home now. and i really miss home.

Happy birthday kuya!

look who's here to surprise kuya on his birthday. ayiiii! ang pogi mo kuya haha! thank you coreen for making kuya's day special (kilig ako hehe)

The storehouse principle

pastor dennis' testimony clearly explains this bible principle..his family was planning to buy a second car. they opened a bank account and define it as their storehouse for the car. every month they put aside 500 to 1000 pesos and deposit it to the account. they are praying to God and believing that he will open the floodgates of heaven and will bless the storehouse. after how many months, they have 12k in the bank and this is not enough to buy even a second hand vehicle. yes, it may seem impossible, but with God, everything is possible. weeks have passed..until one day, the lord have blessed the storehouse. someone offered them a car in exchange of their toyota vios. truly, his promises are true. now, though it is not a second car, but they were blessed with a new toyota fortuner. (wow!)

cesar and i would like to apply the storehouse principle into our lives. to start with, we are planning to make a storehouse for our home. we'll hold on to these promises:

The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. (Deuteronomy 28:12)


Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. (Malachi 3:10)

last month, cesar saw a newly built townhouse that is for lease. together, we browse the internet to see the details. when i saw the photos and found out that the location is good (it is near the train station), it made me feel excited. of course the price is not good (ang sakit sa bangs! hehe). at that moment, i have prayed and believed. i am posting the photos here. this may not be exactly the house that God will bless us, but by looking at these, it will remind me that he is faithful to fulfil his promises. who knows, perhaps, someday, when he bless the storehouse, this home will be ours or better yet it is bigger than what we desire :-)
 

front yard

lounge

view of dining area and lounge

dining area

kitchen

backyard

rest room (1)

room 1 (not sure which is the master bedroom)

rest room (2)

room 2

wow! we are already claiming it in his name. it is also our prayer that our home will become a house of blessing.

Loose lips shink ships

words are powerful. it can either bless or curse, make or break, nourish or dispirit. taming our tongue, especially women, takes a lot of self control. once words are spoken, unlike in emails or text messages, it can no longer be recalled nor canceled.

james' teaching is a good reminder why i need to choose the words that are coming out of my mouth. i admit that, some times, i struggle on this area particularly during difficult situations.

James 3:3-12

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

may the words of my mouth bring life not strife, may i always speak blessing not curse, and may it give nourishment to a destitute soul.

Happy happy!!

and another "ahhh" moment this morning..

at 10am, kuya mac woke me up and handed me the flowers

ayiiiiii!!! happy happy!!

ahhh..sweet sweet talaga ng asawa ko :-)

 

bagong gising :-)

my love for cesar never diminished..i, too, am looking forward to be with my husband. it will be soon..by faith.

i miss home.

"It is worth every tear and heartache"

in life, there goes the "ahh" moments..well, i just had one this evening when i read glyn's view and advice on marriage.

arno (my teammate who is also handling south africa), shared this to me. he just got married last friday. thanks for sharing pre!

Enjoy... marriage is what we make of it. It is hard work, but it is really worth it. When you are having problems, always remind yourself about the very first time when you fell in love with your wife. Treasure each other! I'll be married 18 years in December and I have absolutely no regrets! It's not been easy, but it is worth every tear and heartache. If you love someone, you'll always put that person 1st. Your needs are always less important than your partner's.

ahhh..this is nice glyn. i really heart you!

Proverbs 31:30

charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the lord is to be praised.

how you see me is more important than what others say about me. let me be your woman and make me beautiful from inside out.

Thanks to my sponsor!

to support my "fitness first" thingy, hubby bought me a new pair of shoes :-) love you dy! mwah!!

Philippians 4:6-7

from my devotional this morning..

"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. and the peace of God, which transcends all understading, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

such a wonderful promise - the peace of God.