Life Lesson #1: Forgiveness

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
Colossians 3:13

I find it easy to forgive people i generally like. For them, a simple sorry will do..but for people I am not fond of, it's just not enough.

Many of my quiet times with the Lord clearly talked about forgiveness..even until now. I do not need to ask why..it's simple..FORGIVENESS IS A LESSON I STILL NEED TO LEARN.

It's like loving the unlovable..God commanded me to forgive..then that is what I have to do...easier said than done.

"Bear with each other..."

"tiisin, pakisamahan" Well I was thinking about being passive.."Lord pwede bang kunwari wala na lang sila..I won't hate them.. I just won't tlak to them..para lang silang sabaw.." Howevever, bearing doesn't just mean being passive, but for me, it actually connotes taking action..socializing..is it being civil? I know God is telling me it's more than that.

"...and forgive whatever grievances you may have with one another."

The word AND means it is not an option..it is necessary that I bear AND forgive..and it means forgiving ALL grievances..big and small...ALL..Forgiveness towards those who hurt me and at the same time seeking forgiveness from those whom I have hurt.

"Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

The Lord knows with certainty that I am just babbling and I am not completely clear on what He is talking about..so He gave me an example. I have to remember who I am, what I've done in the past that made God frown, others cry, and hurt myself...not to mention what I am going to do in the future. I have to remember all of that and then forget all of that! Start with a clean slate.Whew!

Hard is an understatement. The Lord knows I'm shrugging my shoulders and just agreeing emptily with a big question mark on my face.

Lord.. I pray you'd show me how..I thank you for being the perfect example of what I should do. But Lord I am not like you..not yet..please help me pass this test with flying colors..and enable me to testify of your great love and mercy..Amen

Time To Move Out: A Journey To the Promise Land

Deuteronomy 1:6-8 (New International Version)

6 The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the LORD swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.

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My husband gave the message in church yesterday..and indeed God used him to shake the fear off of me...i'll try to summarize his message with four main points

1. I have been overstaying in my comfort zone---my Mount Horeb. I have been enjoying my Mount Horeb experience for so long now that I forgot about my Promise Land. I always share and claim my life verse in Jeremiah 29:11, God really has the greatest plans for my life.

2. I have to leave. The Lord made me realize that i have to go out of my comfort zone and face reality. I have been living my own fairy tale that I almost forgot I am the actress and not the director. I have so many fears..even insecurities..but God assured and re-assured me that i should not fear because He is with me (Psalm 23). And when I go out, I may have to give up some things and say goodbye to some people..in order to grow..in order to build new relationships and learn new lessons..lessons I'll never learn if I stay and enjoy my Mount Horeb experience.

3. God confirms and God affirms. He gave me vision and engraved in my heart the desire to possess His promises.

4. I need to act. God said go, then I should go. I can't expect to have the best if I do not get moving. God said stand in His promises..not just stand in the premises. Faith without action is dead.

Time to get moving..Go and possess the Promise Land!

Weird

I haven't felt this way for quite some time now
It actually feels weird, but i feel more like myself than ever before
Now I'm sitting here, alone..
It feels weird, I haven't felt like this in what..years?
Confusion, indifference, this feeling of uncertainty, anger? Maybe
I can't feel this way for long..
It's not right
I hope that when I wake up tomorrow morning this feeling will be gone..I'll be my old cheery self again.
I hope

Fireproof

My boyfriend made me and my friend Grace watch Fireproof last Saturday on DVD. It's about a couple who grew apart until the wifey wanted a divorce. The hubby wanted out too but was convinced by his dad (who is a Christian) to put it on hold for 40 days and challenged him to do The Love Dare. There were no results until after the hubby surrendered his life, including his marriage, to God and put his heart into what he is doing. The story ended with them realizing what love is and what marriage really means.

A very heart-warming story that is bound to make you cry and will leave you reflecting on how you have lived your life and how you have carried your relationship with your partner, your friends, your family, and your colleagues. a must-see.


Below is a song from the movie (When the hubby was "waiting" for his wife)

John Waller
While I'm Waiting lyrics Facebook Twitter Delicious Google Digg Myspace
Artist: John Waller lyrics
Album: The Blessing
Year: 2007
Title: While I'm Waiting

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Takeing every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Celebrating the Reason for the Season - LAMI G12 Network Gathering

Chrsitmas is really in the air!

A G12 Network Gathering was held at the Brokenshire Resort and Convention Center last December 13 to celebrate the goodness and faithfulness of God. It was a fun-filled celebration with the 24 primary leaders of LAMI Davao. I wish I could recount every joke, every performance and every hug and greeting that embraced each one. it was fun fun fun!!!

Seafarers

Kuya Ric's Cell Group

Precious

Ra'ah

Women of Excellence

Streetlight

The Sowers

Ruth

LAMI DAVAO Primary Leaders, PCA, with Ptr. KC and Ate Alice

Esther

(not in the pix: Che, Rorie, Florie, Gizyl, Ninja, Zaharah)

When God is with me, I can go through the deepest darkness, because of Him. Not because of me.

People try to frame God intro earthly context. Im so happy God is way beyond any such frames.

No Excuses, Just Results (Reposted from Rich Christian, Poor Christian)

I came across this blogg Rich Christian, Poor Christian while surfing the web. This post struck me. I guess its really pays to just obey without delay and not to grumble along the way...it reminded me that COMFORT ZONE can be defined as PEACEFUL STAGNATION.

Lord, speak, Your servant is listening..Use me today..I will obey.

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No Excuses, Just Results
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who make excuses and those who get results. The excuse person will find any excuse for why a job was not done, and a results person will find any reason why it can be done. Be a creator, not a reactor. - Alan Cohen
There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results. - Art Turock
I'm a trumpet player, and in my high school and college years, I was privileged to travel all over the United States with a great Christian brass group called the King's Brass. After each concert, we would swap stories of how our chops gave out on a certain high note or about how our memory was faulty on a certain song. Whenever we would get into this mode, we always had a running joke or saying that we would tell one another, "no excuses, just results."
This saying was a great reminder for all of us in the ensemble that we could make every excuse as to why something did or did not happen. What truly mattered in the end, though, were the results - did we as musicians do our absolute best in order to achieve the best concert performance possible.
The same is true in our lives. We can make every excuse out there as to why we aren't successful in our job, saving more money, tithing to our church, spending more time with our families, or fulfilling God's mission for our lives. God wants to create incredible results in and through our lives. We just need to quit giving the Lord, our workplace, our families, our churches, and our friends every excuse we can think of. Sure, some of your excuses may be valid, but have you explored every option available to you in order to achieve better results?
In what areas of your life have you been making excuses?

What do you need to do to move from excuses to incredible results?