Birthday Musings

I am not one to make a big deal of my own birthdays, especially when it means moving from one decade to another. I have to admit waking up to a headache from the day before, which immediately made me think it comes naturally when one gets to a certain age.

I was going to say that I didn't like the attention, but to be honest, I am missing the "bless the birthday celebrator" tradition I grew up in with my friends. I just made up the name of course because we never called it anything - where there's a birthday celebrator, friends just tend to gravitate and it always seemed natural to end up in conversations that lead to blessing the person, mostly where we thought of one or two things, depending on the number, we love and appreciate about them and we told them in the group's presence. It probably sounds corny but for some reason, whether as a birthday girl or one of the friends, we all leave encouraged and blessed. Maybe it is just me, but quality time being my top love language and words of appreciation coming close second, it really makes me feel really special and well, LOVED. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate presents, but it is probably in the bottom of the love language scales and even if I don't get one, it doesn't make me feel loved any less.

This year, friends thought of surprising me with a birthday lunch, but because I was so "clever", I figured it out. Instead I invited them over to my house along with a few other friends without mentioning that it was my birthday. I thought if I didn't want to make a fuzz out of it, why should they? So lunch it was, and what a good time to catch up with some friends that I hadn't seen for a while.

I woke up to a very nicely made birthday card with some carefully worded note including something to the effect of looking younger than my age. It was a stretch but hubby did volunteer to wait til 9am to drive our little mister to preschool, saving me a total of 40 minutes to an hour of walking, so I was happy to let it slide.

I am tempted to make a list of forty things I am grateful to God for, but we all know that when a girl says list, it is a list of words per item and I did want to make this short. I must

Photo Credit+flowers: Tess Colgrave
Thanks, mare! Rachel Kelly for the cake

say I am very thankful for the life God has blessed me. He has blessed me with the most amazing husband and two awesome kids. I thank God for our families. While they all live overseas, distance doesn't seem to hinder the close family ties that connects us. In the absence of our biological family, God has connected us to a great local church family where we got to meet like minded individuals and families in similar season in life like us. We are blessed that we still get to honor God and be a part in advancing His kingdom even in this season, and not be hindered by it. I thank God for the friends He placed in our lives, for the opportunity to make sisters and brothers by choice,  and for the many blessings that keeps coming our way.

You know how I started my day with all sorts of body pains? Let me just say that when I started thinking and thanking God for everything I was grateful for, it all just went away - and I must say, it was a happy birthday indeed!

Thought for the Day

My boss sent this thought last Wednesday to the resource development team. I can't help but share - but mostly because I am feeling very blessed to work with a man whose leadership and dependence on God I respect:

Isaiah 40 verse 30 -31(NAS)

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Psalm 127 verse 1-2 (Message)

If God doesn't build the house, the builders only build shacks.
If God doesn't guard the city, the night watchman might as well nap.
It's useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone.
Don't you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?

Just a couple of verses to encourage you (and myself :-)) to trust and rest in a loving God in the middle of a busy life!

Sometimes in the rush we can lose sight of the fact that our Heavenly Father loves us, has chosen us and wants us to be blessed and to be a blessing.

In the midst of all the activity and demands of life I encourage you to take time, stop, be still and actually engage our hearts with God. That's where the power to live an abundant life comes from, relationship with our creator.

Our problems are not problems to Him but an opportunity for him to do the miraculous.We just need to listen to His voice and follow His lead.

Have a blessed day!

This January, I thank God for -

**FRIENDS - you know who you are - because of your kindness my brother got his laptop (among others) in one piece.

**MOVIE NIGHTS - usually tuesdays, as the rates during the rest of the week doubles

**SUMMER RAIN - God knows I will probably faint at a 40 degree-C temperature He brought rain in between the hot summer!

**a PATIENT HUSBAND towards a wife who goes mute mode from time to time..DO NOT TRY AT HOME - one could get shouted at 'nough said!

**a praying resource development manager - thank God our department is no longer an orphan

**lunches at Charles St Wharf - alone but definitely NOT lonely..

My 2007 Gratitude Highlights

I can't even begin to articulate my thanksgiving and praise for a year full of blessings and delight. The setbacks were minor, and there were always bigger reasons to be grateful for!

**In February, we finished gathering all the requirements for the Australian Embassy. We thank friends who stood with us in prayers and those who helped us accomplish them- thanks to friends who writing that statement for us; Aileen for my accomodation when I went to Manila for my interview- had a blast there, what with meeting Rosemary who was bound for Sydney that March then; Roslyn, Gavs and Rome for taking time out for fellowship in spite of your busy schedules; Jap for patiently accompanying me all through out

**May - I turned a year older and wiser!**In June we finally got hold of my case officer after months of trying to reach her. However she was totally clueless of my case, as she just inherited it from my previous case officer who got promoted. It was a blessing in disguise as she was sooo apologetic, the whole process was hastened in record time, thus my visa grant! Jones' trip

**July - my trip to Sydney to join my expectant husband. Need i say more? his birthday - I missed it but I hand carried my present - I should have captured the look on his face when he began reading the love letters I wrote as far back as 1999, years before I even met him.

**Had my first job interview - they skipped the tell me about yourself question, as most of my interviews were behavioral, with emphasis on skills/behaviors that are important to employers.

**Towards the end of Sept/early Oct, I got hired and worked - two days in two weeks, for a natural solutions and fertility clinic. The experience taught me that I didn't want to be people's first point of contact on the phone (hahaha! i had difficulty understanding the accent). I was trained on database admin, which made my job now so much easier because of that exposure - I wasn't happy with the boss wasting two weeks of my time, but i didn't realize till I got my present job that God was setting things up for the job and org that I wanted.

**Got a job offer from HfH in November, to which I gladly accepted. God has his ways of molding our character in more ways than we can see, especially when we are still in the situation

**Commeneced paid work in December, while giving hopes and building homes =)
discovered that my bosses pray (with a passion, I may add!)
two week paid work break
Christmas - what better time to talk about Jesus than on the commemoration of His birth! for some reason there is more freedom to openly share Jesus than on any other time of the year, in my opinion
Fe's Sydney visit - check out the photos! she has to come back tho since the 3 sisters in bluemountains left when we went - sometime in sept perhaps? for a wedding?
blessings and gifts

**My brother passed his exam, found his employer and is now getting ready to travel somewhere.

GOD IS GOOD - and ALL THE TIME HE IS GOOD!

Christmas 2007

Jones and I wish all our friends and families a Christmas full of joy and laughter and a New Year full of hope and great expectations!

We thank God for connecting our lives and for the great blessing that you have been to us. We thank Him for new friends that He continues to add to us, and old friends that we will forever be grateful for loving us.

God bless us all and our households!

November Gratitude Highlights

I was stalking Dian's blog when I run across her October Thank You List- and then I thought, why not make one myself? My November has been particularly eventful, all of which are made possible because of God's grace and blessings.

Each item deserve a write up of its own but I need to learn to be brief as I enter a new season. Here's my list, in NO particular order:

1. Gifts of Friendship - Thank God for friendships, old and new. Specifically, I thank God for:
*****Celia and her Sydney Visit. She came to stay with us - i have to say her cooking eased my home sickness. When she made nilaga, I had stomach upset afterwards because it was sooo delicious I didn't notice that I have eaten too much. Oh, and her adobo! Remind me to make one, if you like *winkz*
*****Penrith Visits. The Dardah family has been more than a blessing to us - seeing them is always a fond reminder of my hometown, Tago. And we met their good friends Mrs E and Chris as well. Laughter is a sure thing with them around.
*****my new online buddy Karen
*****my Brisbane-based friend Mana Lals aka Insomada whom I only "met" from our hometown website, but when she found out that I have moved in Sydney, she went out of her way to call and welcome me.
*****my new friend Caloy of Center for Volunteering , fellow UPian and new down under like myself, who shared and encouraged me about job hunting issues.
*****when we crave for authentic Indian dishes, Prag and Bhat invite us to their home
*****movie night with Bijit and Rose
*****Mana T's surprise call one evening

2. Our First Wedding Anniversary last November 9th. I can't believe it's been a year! It's funny because Prag called that day to congratulate us - I just said thanks and didn't wonder what for until after hehe! We were suppose to go to Hunter Valley but after a few wrong turns, we went back home - tired.

3. Gift of a Car. Hubby's friends and his first "second" family in Wollonggong practically gave us their green Volvo  so we have something to drive around.

4. Althea's Sutherland Visit. After four months in Sydney, she finally visited our southern suburb for a separate birthday celebration..oh, and the joy of meeting her flatmates, Angie and Mildred who turned out to be fellow Talamban residents back home.

5. Saturday morning family devotions time and Jones' quick prayers every time I rant about something - it encourages me knowing that my husband relies in a power beyond himself.

6. Job offer at HfH. I can't stop raving about God and his faithfulness. Joining this organization is a dream that I didn't know was possible. I got shortlisted but my experience was more than what they advertised for. I wasn't hired, and it really left me desolate. Three weeks after, the recruiter called me again if I was still interested. A position opened, which is close to my experience and one of the interviewers recommended me for the job - is she kidding? i would work for them for free! (but i didn't tell her that of course!) I am hired, pending a reference check. Oh, and did i say the second position is paid more than the first? God's delay is NOT necessarily denial, isn't it?

7. Monday Morning Cellgroup. It wasn't an easy decision because I wanted to go to Every Nation, which is just a few suburbs away. My husband feels that God is calling us to stay in Shirelive. Three months into my struggle, God spoke to me in two words: Trust Me. I felt that He also challenged me about being faithful to Him not because of my ministry affiliation but because of my relationship with Him.

I have always attended cell meetings since I moved here but I didn't feel like I connected with the people. Lest I paint a different picture, these girls are wonderful, but it wasn't until I joined the monday morning schedule that I really connected with them. The girls are between 29-45, could be older, but what draws me to them is their sincere desire to get to know God. They are so warm and animated who just love to worship and pray.

8. Provision for my siblings' studies. End of October and early november wasn't a very good time for my family. In spite of the lack, Joseph and Matet had a 4-day trip to Manila and tuition fee for their enrollment. Isn't God a faithful provider or what?

9. Gift of a Fantabulous Husband. I have never denied that I am a difficult person, but I never realize the extent until I moved in with my husband. There are times that I would have silent spells - times that I just refuse to talk - with no explanation, and it drives him nuts. What is worst, I expect him to leave me alone until I come around - which happens faster when I am ignored.

10. Gift of Family Relationships. I am blessed with wonderful in-laws. They always make an effort to communicate, even when I was still in Cebu, waiting for my visa.

I've never been closer to my parents and siblings, even with the distance that divides us.

How about you? What are you grateful for this month?

Happy Parents’ Day

The one-day celebration dedicated to mothers and fathers every May and June respectively makes me wonder if it even begins to show the honor and respect parents deserve at all.

Even with the one-day each reserved for them, sometimes we still miss or is it blatantly ignore (?) such an important event. But is one day really sufficient? Or shouldn’t it be an everyday thing?

During last Sunday’s celebration service in church, my Pastor preached a very timely message on the 5th Commandment in Exodus 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Let me briefly share the key points that has encouraged me from the preaching.

I can still hear my mother’s lectures on the importance of honoring parents based on the scripture. I know there are times that we don’t always feel like it, so why should we honor our parents then?

Three reasons why: 1) God requires it..yup, whether they deserve it or not..no matter what they are like; 2) God will reward it..Not only will we live long, we will also be rewarded with a good life (Eph 6:1) Afterall, what’s a good life for if it is spent in suffering? and 3) Children will repeat it. This one scared me. If the way I treat my parents now is the gauge of how my children will respond to me in the future, then I might as well do things correctly right now.

Like I said it, honoring parents is not always a piece of cake. The question is, is there a way parents to make it easy for kids to honor them?

Absolutely! 1) Love God passionately; and this doesn’t mean simply loving by words. More importantly, it is wholeheartedly serving God by example. When children see their parents’ genuine love for God in the way they live, there is no need for them to make any threats just so they will join then in church. 2) Love your espouse properly..Be practical.make it a habit to make the other happy. This comes very easy when #1 is a given. 3) Love your children equally. When parents play favorites, it is like a bomb waiting to explode.

How do we honor our parents then? 1) The life we live. Are we causing them problems? Or are we wise in handling our affairs? (Pr 23:24-25; Pr 10:1; Pr 15:20) 2) The love we give. (Pr 13:1) Do we take heed of their instructions? (Pr 12:1) Generally, parents will never do anything that will hurt us on purpose (Col 2:20, Eph 6:1) At times, the way they treat us is the best they know how. Who can blame them? Afterall, ther e is no school for parenting! 3)The listening ear we extend. As they give guidance (Deu 21:18) as they give discipline (Pr 6:20-23;Heb 12:7-11) and as they grow old (Pr 23:22)

Why did I decide to share this here? I seriously think we can pick a thing or two and apply them in our lives.

Isn’t it true how easy it is for us to take our parents for granted as we grow older? I thought this would be a fitting reminder for every sons and daughters to treat their parents well.

And while Father’s Day is on its way, I want to take this opportunity to thank my parents, Florencio Medrano Lumactod and Teresita Pagaran Clarit, for raising me and my siblings up the best way they can. They have always provided us with all our needs, sometimes beyond their ability. Not only did they teach us what honor means, they lived it as well.

But what will always stay as their greatest, single most important legacy in my life is having taught me about God and the fear of Him. For as long as I could remember, I knew there is a perfect God and I realized my inadequacies. Because of that knowledge, it was so easy for me to see my need of a personal relationship with Jesus and embrace Him as the Leader and Savior of my Life.

I am sure my siblings will agree with me when I say that given a wild opportunity to choose any parents that I would fancy, I would pick my Papa and Mama all over again.