Align Our Hearts

God is calling His church to align our hearts with Him once again. It's about grace not our efforts and religious activity. The Lord is calling us to depend on the totality of His work on the cross. It is complete and sufficient. He wants us to depend on His love, be filled with it and then minister it. - Pastor Terry Somerville

This is an excerpt from an article written by Pastor Terry Somerville. It is a very profound statement, a call to the Christian churches and an appeal to every professing Christian's heart.Perhaps the reason why church activities, even praying become routine is because we forget why we became Christians in the first place. It's good to be reminded of God's complete love and abounding grace and the finished work of Christ on the cross. I think our only part is to be dependent on God's love and share this love to others. Love ya all.

Our living room, also called sala. The furniture is made from narra, Philippine hardwood and fifty years old already. This was sold to us by two Chinese wood carpenters named Iking and Peping for a few hundred pesos.

This is the curtain crocheted and finished by mum in record time - two months.

Dawn Watch

The dawn watch a Korean pastor introduced to our church is supposed to end after forty days but our church took to dawn watching like duck to water and decided we want to dawn watch till forever. Arrrrgh!

Anyways dawn watching was began by Jesus in the New Testament. It's not literally watching the early dawn and the sun rising but worshipping God and praying at church first thing in the morning, hence dawn watch. It's the coolest thing to do in the Christian life really. Aside from the joyful singing and worship singing we also do stretching and limbering exercises as in spirit and body get tuned up.

I decided that after dawn watch I will walk the three kilometers back home so I can have a proper exercise. I always wanted to do execising but I lack the discipline and thanks I now have the chance to do what I've been meaning to do all these years. So this morning was my first try. It was a success. It was pleasantly cold, and there were still few people in the street, I wore a pair of comfortable slippers and I arrived home feeling, of course, exercised. But to tell you the truth, at this moment my feet are achy, my legs tired but I promise myself I will get the hang of it by and by. It's just the beginning, ok, ok?

Happy Nu Yr

What have become of me posting a New Year blog on January 4th? I have been busy really. This is what I got by beginning the new year procrastinating. My Kiwi nieces are coming over tomorrow to join our family swiming party to be held at Covelandia.

This morning I washed the linen so the Kiwi nieces will be satisfied when they lie down to sleep in our big bed. The linen are now smelling sweet. I used two sachets of Del fabric softener that's why. I replaced our pillow cases with new floral prints. It has pastel shades of green, blue and violets. Lovely.

By the way, the pic of fireworks above was taken by Richard, my prospective future son-in-law. I was really trying to shoot pics of the fireworks display myself but I can't capture it. I kept jumping and scampering away whenever our neighbor Alfie lights firecrackers in front of our gate.

Mum's being fidgety again whenever visitors are coming over.

Oooops!

I forgot to check the time and it's already 7 minutes before 11 pm. I intended to post something interesting tonight. But I have committed myself to attend dawn watch tomorrow at 430 am. S0 as soon as it's 11pm I have to log off so I can have a longer sleep. 5 minutes to go. Aside from dawn watch I also plan to attend a cell group although it ends around ten pm every Wednesday. The cell group's meeting place is quite far. 2 minutes to go. I also have to prepare my clothes. Thanks to the Lord because this morning I asked for tranportation money and early this evening I already have the money. Mayaman si Papa!

Ok, bye for now good nite. Sleep tight.

The Lion in Baguio

This lion's head carved from a giant rock is the landmark to motorists that they have finally reached Baguio.

The Sunday Before Christmas

The Sunday before Christmas, le famille attended a Sunday worship at a church downtown being pastored by my brother in law. Bro in law led the worship singing and a visiting preacher preached the word of God for over an hour. I'm wearing my pocket talker but I did not try to use the extension cord so that I can position the mic near the speaker. We were just visitors in that church and I thought not to bother with the hassle of installing my ALD all over the place. Oh how a I endured and suffered an hour of not understanding anything the preacher was passionately saying at the pulpit. I kept pinching my arms so I can stay awake. You will never know how hard it is to sit for an hour trying to understand a preaching but failing miserably. The proper word is angry. I was very angry that I didn't understand. I heard sounds but my mind cannot proccess the sounds as meaningful speech.

Then after the preaching a little girl sang a special number. I was delighted because I can lipread and understand the song as it was my childhood Sunday school song.

When Christ is in my vessel I can smile like the storm

smile like the storm, smile like the storm

When Christ is in my vessel I can smile like the storm

Until He takes me home.

Sailing, I'm sailing home

Sailing, I'm sailing home.

When Christ is in my vessel I can smile like the storm

Until He takes me home.

Anyways God is really good and His mercies never end. He saw my anger and He aproched me by letting me "hear" the song. I shed a tear secretly not because of self pity but because I experienced God's love at that moment in church, the Sunday before Christmas.

We are only whole to the extent that we are experiencing God's love everyday, as my eldest sister loved to say.