Via Flickr:

Psalm 19:1, NLT

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.

01.01.12, Morong, Bataan

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Oh and, #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines

I like surprises and so does Mia. When she got this crafts kit from Liee, all glitter broke loose. Thank you, Liee!

--photo by Mariel

For a little something different this year, I had these scary-adorable amigurumi monstuuurs made by Liee. I now want to learn how to crochet. And scuba dive, ride a bike, and play the drums.

Mia's drawing, 'Shon'

I was supposed to have this drawing (by Mia) printed on t-shirts but I ran out of cramming time. It turns out Transfer It doesn’t do sticker printing. Oh well.

Jumo-johnny Walker --photo by Mariel

It sure is nice to spend some (in)sane time with friends. Ones who do this to kids. Tsk, tsk.

At least we all get a little something --photo by Mariel

Our annual white elephant game which we started about 8+ years ago I think, has taken to so many variations. Basta bottom line, every man for himself! Haha. Until next year, people. I will make sure I don’t end up with a lotion bottle and a spoon-fork-knife set. :p

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More photos over at Mariel’s

“I remember my affliction and my wandering…and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” Lamentations 3:19-23 NIV

Hard-core faith means hoping in things unseen, confident that what you hope for will come to pass. You have faith and hope. Not dreams.

Well at least that’s what I thought. Dreams for me only meant wishful thinking, no solid commitment. I was wrong though. Dreams played a part in visions of the present and future for many a king, prophet and slave. It’s been told and retold in the Bible. It even said that towards the end of the age, ” old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions“. These dreams though, were a product of Divine revelation.

So obviously in this proper context, dreams are also means to hope.

Tomorrow is a new day, a fresh start, ripe with possibility. Smog and particulates conceal celestial glory, but the right evening provides unparalleled clarity. Take a breath. Make a wish. Dream. Hope without ceasing. -Deeper Walk, “Choose Hope”

What do you hope and dream of? I know what mine is.

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Inspired by today’s devotion by Austin C. Bonds, “Choose Hope” at Relevant Magazine

Morning feeding frenzies, milk spills, weekly baon trips to the grocery, and impromptu Disney live shows. That’s my life now. Of course, it’s an underestimation, what did you think? And I’m not even in charge of an entire household yet. (So hats off to my mom.)

5 years ago I wouldn’t have thought about clean and responsible living just yet. That’s a selfish youthful life to you, which just has its way of biting back. And though motherhood also holds its own in the compensation arena, other things in your life change too.

Like when I decided to take God more seriously.

I was alone walking home last week when it suddenly hit me, ‘I’m not cool anymore.’ I don’t live the life my past friends  used to share with me. I’ve given up my vices which means I am not hanging out anymore in all the old sort of ways. I think I’ve been removed from SMS lists for gimiks and night outs. I’m the last person you’d want to invite to a drinking session.

Now I’m preoccupied with my church ministries, parenting, being friends with some who are worth keeping, and living the victorious life I was originally meant for.

It may sound boring and ultimately cheesy to some. But you know what, I’m happy.

So I was walking down our street, one that I’ve walked a hundred times before, and one of the lamp posts a few meters down was unlit. Broken, I don’t know. Shadows danced underneath it as I approached, and I’ve never felt so lonely in my life.

I told God quietly, “Please, not now. The dark doesn’t scare me, but walking alone through it does. Why let me walk in the dark now?”

A few couple of meters now. The growing dread in my heart swells even more, along with the loneliness that gripped me tighter.

Suddenly, light shines. The lamp post flickers to life right when I was underneath it, passing through. Not a moment too late, not a moment too soon. And I smiled not in the darkness, but in the light of the lamp post.

He knew just when I needed reassuring, to be told that He has never left me, that He will always hold me, that I never should feel alone. And that will always, always come at the perfect moment, right when you need it.

So I’m not cool anymore. But at least He turns on the lamp posts for me.

“And the day is coming when we will see life so completely that abandoned dependence is all we ever want again.” -Relevant Mag

I used to live with abandoned care. With no purpose but to please myself, I careened from one indulgence to another. Of course eventually I had to crash and the worst kind it was.

As with my personality type (which fellow blogger Mighty generously explained the types here), I am quick to get up and move on.

But moving on does not necessarily equal to recovering. One can always say a new day is coming but to face it with a new mind is quite another thing.

So I would keep crashing. It would be one thing today, a different thing tomorrow, but the struggles all the same. If I had my way entirely, I would’ve self-destruct again.

But God is gracious and He unconditionally cares.

He actually cared for rebellious old me? Are you serious?

He could not have been any more serious than the Prime Minister of Japan contemplating to push the red nuclear missile button. (So I don’t know my politics and I’m assuming Japan has a nuclear bomb, haha.)

I don’t know what to say, that’s how Grace works. Precious, freely-given, undeserved Grace.

I was blessed to be hauled out of that kind of life, into a new one where I don’t want anything (or anyone) else but Him.

I am blessed until now because He knows no Christian person is an island. We need fellowship, so He introduced me to this group.

A group with purpose, who now dedicate their lives to bringing glory to the One who changed their lives.

Now ain’t that a grand thing to ‘waste’ your life doing?

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Curious about the group? Are you a blogger too? Leave me a message below!

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And to be true to my blog’s purpose, here’s a photo that best describes every day of my life.

A sunset in Palawan, 2009.