Category: musing

Week 9: 10 Things I Want to Accomplish

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Aaaand yay! We’re down to our last two entries, can you believe that?!
This is the hardest post I have to write so far because right now, I’m not really sure of the things that I want to accomplish in my life. It’s not that I don’t have any dream at all. It’s just that the things that I want to achieve before no longer matter to me now. I know I’ve also mentioned it in one of my previous posts.

When I became a Christian, my priorities have changed that I realized there is only one thing that I want to accomplish in my life ~ that is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying the good news of God’s grace.

It has always been my desire that when I get to finally meet Jesus face to face at the end of my life here on earth, and I give an account to Him of how I have lived my life, I can say to Him with confidence that “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” And to that, Jesus would answer, ‘well done, my faithful servant.’

My lifetime goal is to glorify Jesus in my life by completing the task that God has given to me.  And because I know what my lifetime goal is,  it’s now easier for me to give up my worldly ambition especially when I know that it can get in the way of my goal.

But then lately, God is teaching me that I need not to be resentful of the things I’ve given up for the sake of God’s Kingdom. Jesus wants me to live this life to the fullest so pursuing God’s Kingdom shouldn’t be my excuse for not pursuing the good things that God would love to give me, if I will only ask it from Him. So now I realize that I need to set goals again and work hard to pursue them.

For now, these are the things that I want to happen in my life:

1. Lead 12 Women to Christ. I know I’ve already mentioned this in my week 5 post and I will say it again today.

2. Finish my master’s degree. God knows how much I wanted to take up master’s degree but given my goal in number 1, I know that this is not feasible at the moment. Besides, I’m still not sure which career path I should pursue so I still don’t know what course should I take. But I’m sure that when the time is right, God will finally give me the grace to take my master’s degree (most probably for free) for His own purpose and glory. I know that God will not withold any good thing from me so for now, I will trust in His perfect timing.

3. Do solo travel abroad. Or maybe at least locally, before I turned 30. Actually, I’ve done solo travel before in my previous work but this time, I want to do it for leisure. And yeah, I just want to do it for the sake of experience.

4. Travel abroad with friends. My foreign travels are always work-related so again, I want to try traveling for leisure with friends. I want to do it with friends because I want to take a lot of pictures! 😅

5. Save at least Php 500,000 Because I want to save food for the rainy days.

6. Own a housing unit or have our house in the province repaired. I want to give my parents the luxury of living in a decent home so I want to do this soon as they are not getting any younger.

7. Write a book. An inspirational one. I’m not the creative type so I want to write about the things that God has done in my life to give Him glory.

8. Watch a ballet performance in CCP. I don’t know why but it has always been my dream to see ballet dancers perform live. I think this is the most achievable among the things I want to accomplish.

9. Start my own business. Because I believe that if I do really want to get rich, I should start my own business. I also don’t want to remain an employee forever. And lastly,

Finish this blogging challenge

10. Lose weight. Do I have to explain this?🐷💪☺

Some Announcement

Since I’m trying to streamline my activities to give more time for my ministry and work of the Lord and because I don’t think I’ll have more time for writing book reviews, I’m putting this blog on a hiatus. I’m also thinking of merging this book blog with my personal blog so I decided to keep this blog inactive until I finally have the courage to let this blog go. For the meantime, you can still check out my personal blog from time to time because I’m sure I will still write something there. God bless.

Dear Lord

Today, I will not complain
I will not cry out to you
And tell you how discouraged,
Frustrated and disappointed I am.

I will not tell you how much
I really want you to get me out
of this place
Nor I will ask You to take away
this cup from me

I will not tell you how sorry
I am for disobeying You
because honestly, I’m not.
I’m busy wallowing in self-pity
to think about of the graveness
Of my own sin by simply disobeying you,
That by not doing the good things
I ought to do , I have already sinned against You.
But by not being sorry about it, I also admit that I am bothered
I am bothered that
I don’t feel sorry at all.

Yes, I will not tell you about all
these things
Because I know You already
know it
And even if I say it, I know that You will not let me get out of this place without learning a lesson (or two)
Because even if I don’t like it,
You know that I need it.
So yes, I’ll rest my case.

I will not also ask for strength
because I know that my strength
Will fail sooner or later.

But today I will ask You,
That as I go through this realm of the unkown
Please hold me tight
Don’t let me go
Don’t let me slip away
Because I know that if You do,
I have nowhere else to go.

In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your daughter,
Cary

The Truth is, I’m not actually busy

But I feel so exhausted and unproductive these past few months. Ironic, right? And it’s the truth. I’m in the depressive mood for the past few weeks and I don’t understand why. I want to spend time with people but being with people drains out all the energy in me.

Will you please pray for me? I want my joy to be restored again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wrote this draft earlier today, on my way to church, but praise God  because He somehow answered my prayer through the message during the worship service.

The message is about the importance of connection and I was encouraged because God made me realize that I can’t afford to live a life of isolation anymore. I am a member of Christ’s Body so I should now live a life that is connected to the body. Words can’t express how joyful I am about today’s msg so lemme just say, praise the Lord!!

Confessions

I think I need to write this to help me process my thoughts and feelings. It’s no secret that I’ve been thinking a lot about eternal realities lately. When I say eternal realities, yes, I mean heaven and hell, life after death, and the second coming of Jesus Christ.

During one of my quiet time last year, I’ve prayed to God to teach me to number my days. I think I got my answer when He showed me earlier this year the reality that the time of Jesus’ coming is near. The signs that Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24 are now starting to unveil. I am now more convinced of the harsh reality that this world is not going any better because God has really meant to destroy it, to give way to the new heavens and new earth He has promised.

As much as I want Jesus to come back soon, I know that God’s love and mercy for humanity still prevails. He wants all people to be saved so He is still giving everyone a chance to consider his ways and turn back to Him, to acknowledge Him in their life. And until He comes, Jesus’ followers are commanded to proclaim the good news to all creation. So, I am really burdened by the fact that there are still a lot of work to be done for the advancement of God’s kingdom.

Actually, what I really want to share is my thoughts on the recent earthquake in Nepal. I am really bothered by the fact that I am thinking of the reality of Jesus’ second coming and the urgency of the Gospel when I know that I am supposed to feel compassion for the people  affected by the earthquake. So I keep on asking God if this is the kind of attitude He wants me to have. I also felt sad for the Christians who are being accused of being insensitive for fearlessly preaching the Gospel to the victims, because I am one with them for thinking that Jesus is all they need. They may not understand it now but I know that it’s true.  So have I stopped being loving for thinking this way?

I really don’t know how to answer this but I’m hoping that God will give me some enlightenment, soon.

Notable Book Quotes in 2014

As I mentioned in one of my musing monday postr, one of my habits as a reader is marking insightful quotes or lines from the book I’m reading. I also tend to read interactively so I usually post the quotes I’ve marked in my fb or twitter account.

Reading can make you a better person, so they say. Maybe they’re right. As for me, I know that reading has really shaped me to become the kind of person I am right now.

Below are the notables quotes I read last year.

From Love, Stargirl

Who are you if you lose your favorite person? Can you lose your favorite person without losing yourself? I reach for Stargirl and she’s gone. I’m not me anymore.

If you start by hating one or two people, you won’t be able to stop. Pretty soon you’ll hate a hundred people… A little hatred goes a long, long way. It grows and grows. And it’s hungry.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

The things we respond to at twenty are not necessarily the same things we will respond to at forty and vice versa. This is true in books and also in life.

We aren’t the things we collect, acquire, read. We are, for as long as we are here, only love. The things we loved. The people we loved. And these, I think these really do live on.

Sometimes books don’t find us until the right time.

Boundaries

But no one can really escape the disciplines of life. They will always win out. We always reap what we sow.

Musing Monday (March 23)

Hi there! I know it’s been a while since I last updated this blog so let me have this musing monday as my come back post.

This will also be my first time to try the new feature of the Musing Monday introduced by Miz B this year: The Weekly Random Question.

So, for THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What is your favorite lesson learned, or quote, from a recent book you’ve read?

One of the best books I’ve read this year so far is Anne of Green Gables. I love Anne Shirley’s character- her being innocent, talkative and most of all, imaginative. I like how she uses big words to express her emotion. So I agree with her when she said this:

“But if you have big ideas, you have to use big words to express them haven’t you?”

I was really thinking about this lately because I often hear my officemate comment about me that I speak deep words when I thought it’s a normal thing. Blame it on the books I’m reading, I’m exposed to different types of persons and different ideas. So sometimes I wonder if people find me odd for talking about life in general while they are busy talking about people they see and meet everyday.

The Current State of My Heart

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Okay, consider this as my post-valentine post.

Before anything else, I’d like to set things straight:
I am not cynical about love and romance. No, I’m far from it. In fact, I’m an advocate of love, of true love, that is. I am also a true blue hopless romantic. But I also believe that everything is beautiful in God’s perfect time so I made this resolve not to chase romance anymore but to wait for God’s perfect plan to take place and chase God all the more, instead. I want to get to know Him deeper, to get more intimate with Him and be used by Him mightily for His kingdom. And I know how it feels to get distracted by someone I’m attracted to, whom I know God has outrightly said NO so I don’t want it to happen again.

Therefore, I’m putting this sign at the door of my heart at the moment: Do Not Disturb! I want to become busy with the King. So please pray for me that God will protect me and spare me from unnecessary distractions.
I’ve always believed that I’m made for romance. But the only person who can give it to me consistently and deeply is Jesus. So it is Jesus I want to love all the more.

Have a nice day!

Blog Tour: Only a Kiss by Ines Bautista-Yao (Review + Giveaway)

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Blog Tour time again! Welcome to my stop of Only a Kiss by Ines Bautista – Yao.

Book Information:

Only A Kiss CoverTitle: Only A Kiss
Author: Ines Bautista-Yao
Publisher: Chamber Shell Publishing
Date of Publication: November 29, 2014
Genre: contemporary romance
Purchase links: Amazon | Buqo.ph
(The book is on sale for ONLY $0.99 until February 14!)
Summary
When she was nine-years-old, Katie knew she wanted Chris to give her her first kiss. It wasn’t because she was in love with him (no way, he was her best friend! Besides, she was in love with his fourteen-year-old big brother), it was because she could make him do anything she wanted.
Besides, it didn’t really mean anything. It was only a kiss after all.

But then things started to change. They grew up. They parted ways and went to different high schools. And other girls and boys—well, just one particular boy—came into the picture, throwing their lives upside down.

Told from the alternating points of view of Katie and Chris, this love story between two best friends will tug at your heartstrings and leave you thinking how the simplest things can mean so much.

My Thoughts:
For the nth time, I am going to say again that I am truly a fan of best-friends-turned-lovers stories. This is the reason why the blurb of Only A Kiss made me want to read it. However, I know that everyone has a unique love story to tell so I was really interested to know how the friendship of Chris and Katie bloomed into romance.

Only A Kiss was really an enjoyable read for me. I like that every stages of the characters’ life was tackled in the story. I also like that both have experienced love from other people before they found themselves in each other’s arms. The story of Katie and Chris reminds me that if two people are really meant to be, they will always end up together in the end.

What I love most about the story is the alternating point of view of the  male and female protagonists. As a woman, I am always curious and excited to hear (or read) from a male perspective. Chris’ POV has somehow gives me an affirmation that men are truly visual in nature. Haha!

If you also have a knack for unfriendzone-stories like me, maybe this one is for you.

My Rating: ★★★

About the Author:

Ines Bautista-Yao (1)Ines Bautista-Yao is the author of One Crazy Summer, What’s in your Heart, and Only a Kiss. She has also written two short stories, “Flashbacks and Echoes,” which is part of a compilation called All This Wanting and “A Captured Dream,” one of the four short stories in Sola Musica: Love Notes from a Festival.

She is the former editor-in-chief of Candy and K-Zone magazines and a former high school and college English and Literature teacher.  She is also a wife and mom and blogs about the many challenges and joys of motherhood at theeverydayprojectblog.com. She has recently launched The Author Project, a section in her current blog devoted to the stories in her head:http://theeverydayprojectblog.com/inesbyao-author-project/.

She posts on Instagram and tweets @inesbyao and her author page is facebook.com/inesbautistayao.

Links:

Giveaway Time!!!
Ines is giving away lots of things!
For Philippine residents:
One (1) winner will get a signed paperback of ONLY A KISS, a gift card from FILA, and a back issue of CAST comic book
Two (2) winners will each get a signed paperback of ONLY A KISS, light up laces, and back issue of CAST comic book
For everyone:
FIve (5) winners will each get an ebook of ONLY A KISS
Here’s the code for the giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here’s the link to it.