Think Out Loud

NPA infested areas, military vehicles, a ride along steep mountains in a defective jeepney, unexplored islands, giant pacific waves, rainforests, heavy monsoon rains, a supertyphoon, a brush with death, a new lease of life... 

Mountains conquered, roads crossed, lost dreams awakened...

Friendships formed, relationships rekindled, a "family" born...

Hundreds of stories to tell; scores of lessons to share; thousands of memories to treasure.

I had great expectations for 2012 but the events that transpired were more than anything I have ever imagined. Thank you, Lord, for year 2012! Looking forward to the new and great things You have in store for me (and my friends and family) for 2013. You are good!

As 2012 ends, I bring back to You ALL praises, glory and honor.

In Jesus' Name, Amen!

A blessed and joyful 2013 to everyone! God bless!

Merry Christmas!

I know it's been a while since I posted something worthwhile here. A LOOOOT of things have happened lately. I'm thinking of backtracking to write about all of it here. Let's see. Maybe before the year ends. Hopefully I'll have the time and the inspiration to tell you all about it.

But I have another reason why it took me this long to post a new entry. When I posted that last entry dated October 18, I told myself that my next post is going to be about my scholarship application. The results came  later than I expected but finally, the results got out last week,

AND I GOT IN!!!

Praise God! It was weighing heavily on my mind the past few months and the wait was agonizing. Finally, it's here and the challenges are just about to begin. But let me share with you the three things (actually it's more than that but I'll just highlight 3) I learned from my application adventures:

1. God is true to His promises. When God tells you He will do it, He will do it. He never backs down on His word and He always keeps His promises. 
2. Trusting God is always the best option. God wanted me to surrender this dream to Him and I found myself having a hard time letting it go. I even surprised myself with my extreme unwillingness to let it go. It even had to go to a point where God had to put me in a situation just my faith in Him would grow stronger. Finally, I surrendered this dream to Him, trusting Him completely. And just like Abraham who got his Isaac back, God gave me the scholarship. And now, as I apply for the visa (that they say is a painstaking task), I continue to trust in Him that everything will be smooth because when God blesses, He adds no sorrow to it.
3. God provides. I had a lot of struggles while I was applying for this scholarship. I lack funds, I lack time, and I can't just abandon my job to blindly pursue the future. But God provided for my funds, even to the point that I was awarded as the Employee of the Month for May and received a financial award. There was also a time when God provided through my overtime pay. And even though I lacked the luxury of time, I received my papers in the nick of time. And the best thing about this is that as early as April, God brought to the office the person who would replace me and take over my tasks.  Truly, if God wills it, He will pave the way for you.