Blessed!

I have always loved posting and sharing lyrics of songs that has touched my heart. Here's one of my old time favorites. I just thought of this as my "heartsong" of the week. Wanna know why? Read on and scroll down to find out. :D

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Blessed

by Rachel Lampa

I

I may never climb a mountain

So I can see the world from there

I may never ride the waves and taste

the salty ocean air

Or build a bridge,

that would last a hundred years

But no matter where the road leads

One thing is always clear

Chorus

I am blessed, I am blessed

From when I rise up in the morning

Til I lay my head to rest

I feel You near me

You sooth me when I'm weary

Oh Lord, for all the worst and all the best

I am blessed

II

All along the road less traveled,

I have crawled and I have run

I have wandered through the wind and rain

until I found the sun

The watching eyes asked me why, I walked this narrow way

I will gladly give the reason

For the hope I have today

Bridge
You've given me joy

You've given me love

You give me strength when I want to give up

You came from Heaven to rescue my soul

This is the reason I know

I know...

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Ever since I started working, I never made it a habit to expect to receive recognitions from my superiors. If recognized for my efforts, then I'm thankful. But if not, that's fine. For as long as I do what I'm expected to do, and if I could go an extra mile wholeheartedly, then I'm satisfied.

But then I realized that God doesn't just let any of our hardwork be put to waste. He is truly faithful to reward and bless us with every "good and perfect" gift. He has done it a lot of times before...and He is continually doing it.

Let me use this blog entry to thank God for another blessing He has given me, in my work specifically speaking. Yup, I just received the letter a few days ago informing me that I was promoted! ***speechless*** hehe...

With all these...and whatever the circumstances may be... I want to give back to God all the glory and praise, because I know I couldn't have done it without Him - my Best Friend and my real Big Boss. :D

From a heart that is overflowing with deepest gratitude and thanksgiving, I say...

"... for all the worst and all the best
I am blessed!"

(",)

Youth Quake: Captured by His Calling

Saturday, February 24
Word International Ministries - Pasig
Cinema 8 Ever Gotesco Mall, Ortigas Ave. Extension

After much preparation, follow-ups, hindrances, encouragements, prayer and fasting, we've finally held the much awaited Youth convergence which will jumpstart the rest of the activities this year. And so, even if I already lack sleep from the previous busy days at work, plus the fact that we attended the wake of our beloved tita Rose Friday night, I travelled sooo early in the morning of Saturday with Ate Olive, Elaine, Nicole, Nimfa, Mark, James and Gelo all the way to Pasig.

I find it a blessing to be in-charge of the Registration commitee. Why? It's because I have the greatest opportunity to welcome and meet every young person coming from different Word International churches, from as far North as Tarlac and Pampanga, to the different parts of Metro Manila and even all the way to Cavite and Laguna in the South. Isn't that great?! :D I'm truly glad to be a part of this event, even if that meant a lot of late night meetings and numerous emails spamming your inbox. hehehe... It was worth all the effort and sacrifices, just seeing the young people come and learn more about the Lord.

Let me share some pics from last Saturday's event called "Youth Quake: Captured by His Calling", held in our church at Pasig. :)

at the registration area w/ Ptr. Super and Kuya Ariel :)
the cool pastors of WIN :D
Pastor Super's welcome remarks
the "tsunami"! icebreaker :D

"moo", "quack", "meow", "aw-aw", where's my animal family? :D
Apple leading the praise and worship
"Called to follow Christ. Called to be a leader. Called to make a difference." - Ptr. Joseph Samson
group discussions :)

Perio-dikit! :D

nice finish product! :D

havin' lunch!

"One family, One Vision, One God" - Pastor Reiner

the youth...captured by God's calling

cheers! :D

hehehe...:D

The event ended at around 4pm, and after some more chit-chats we commuted going back to Cavite. I wasn't already feeling well that time. I could feel my head throbbing and aching at the same time. I was trying to sleep while riding the bus going to Robinson's Galleria, but all the headache and dizziness got the best of me and so (excuse me for this but...) I puked along the sidewalk the moment we got off the bus at Edsa. Unfortunately, that happened 4 more times until we reached the shuttle terminal at Glorietta. huhuhu... yeah, it was that embarrassing. :( Good thing, my sister was resourceful enough to have plastic bags with her.

I was supposed to be the big sister to all of us, but that time it was the other way around. So I just want to take this opportunity to thank... James, for being so quick enough in handing me his towel the moment he saw me puke..(don't worry bro, lalabahan ko po with maraming fabric softener na mabango. hehe..) ...Gelo, for volunteering to carry my heavy bag ...Mark, for offering his arms and walked me going to the terminal ...Nimfa and Nicole, for patiently accompanying me on the sidewalks, ...Ate Olive, for being the always reliable "ate", and to my sis Elaine for taking care of me until we reached home. whew! Thank you so much and I love you all brothers and sisters! :D

Apparently, I was terribly exhausted... but like what I always say, every ounce of effort was all worth it! And besides, God is faithful to renew our strength such that we can soar once again on wings like eagles!

God gets all the glory for the success of the Youth Quake!!!

(",)

Post-Valentine Serenade

As part of our Valentine celebration and fund-raising activity at the same time, our music ministry team thought of doing a serenade for some people we know. And we're so blessed that Tito Pit invited and encouraged us to perform for their organization. Inspite of our tight schedules and limited resources, we still managed to rehearse our repertoire for the serenade and prepare everything else that we needed. We know we couldn't have done all those without the Lord's favor and guidance.

Here are some of the captured moments during our Post Valentine serenade for the Rotary Club members held at Rickshaw Restaurant, Adriatico Manila, last February 19 :D

w/ Angie, Carlyn & Mitch

Sassy's beautiful rendition of Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why"
Elaine & Bob grooving to "Someday We'll Know"
Tito Pit w/ the generous Rotarians :)
Abby w/ the stage dad & moms

Ate Olive singing "Til they take my heart away"

singing Alison Krauss' "Baby now that I've found you"

James playing the voila

Mark doing the "Harana"

the ladies w/ Gelo the bass player :D

Bob doing Michael Buble's "The way you look tonight"

smile! :D

Angie rocking the crowd w/ Gary V.'s "Shout for Joy"

Indeed, we all enjoyed this experience! We're all so grateful for the money that we're able to raise. That would surely contribute much in supporting the upcoming activities of our ministry, as we continue to serve the Lord through the gift of music. Aside from the financial blessings, what made us even more fulfilled were the audience that night who supported our cause. Now, we're expecting to receive more invitations to perform at various Rotary Club gatherings! God is really goood!

(",)

happy hearts day! :)

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails...

(1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Just as we have been loved so tenderly and unconditionally, may we also truly be a reflection of God's love today, and all the days of our lives!

Happy Hearts Day to all!

I.S.T. presentation now in video =D

Thanks to my team mate, Ron, for uploading the video of our team's Christmas presentation. We didn't win the grand prize but we surely enjoyed our time together, starting from the preparation, rehearsals upto the actual performance night. :D

I apologize for the lighting though, since it's quite dark. But don't worry, it gets a little brighter towards the end. :D Now here it is...a medley of Rent's "Season of Love", Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is You" and the finale number from the High School Musical, "We're All In This Together"! Enjoy!!!

Note: If the above doesn't play successfully, you may just access it HERE

(",)

pictures galore :)

Thanks to:

...kuya Bob, for sending me the pics below, taken from his new Sony Ericson K800i :D

...Bhing, for sending me this cutey collage of our niece, Angelie :D

...ate Lucille, for taking me at Tronix to have our picture taken. :D

(",)