Unstoppable Faith

Last Saturday, I was able to witness a living miracle inspiring hundreds of thousands of people all over the world and it was just so amazing to hear him speak live before my eyes.

A man of faith, Nick Vujicic, was born with no arms and no legs but that “limitation” did not stop him from being unstoppable for God.

Nick Vujicic | photo via Google

At age eight, Nick shared, it was very difficult for him to understand why God did not give him what every other people has. He was so confused and devastated, asking God that if He truly loves him then why did He made him with no arms and no legs while every other kid in their school has their arms and legs.

“My question to God is ‘why me?’”

There were lies, he said, that crawled at the back of his mind. Lies like: he will never ever walk or run, he will never have a family of his own, he will always be alone, he will never hold someone’s hands or carry his own son. At age ten, he wanted to end his life and all his sufferings but one thing had stopped him – his parents. All his life he only felt love and support from his parents and siblings that he couldn’t bear to see them crying on his grave, hurting, just because he gave up.

“Whatever broken pieces you have, whatever the enemy uses for bad; if you offer it to the Lord, Jesus will set it to something beautiful.”

Nick chose to believe the Truth. He chose to believe the Word of God. And God gave him peace. At age fifteen, he encountered a story in the Bible where Jesus was asked by this person why injustices, sickness, bad things are happening in his life; that’s when Jesus answered that those things are happening so that the world will know how God will work on his life.

See, Jesus don’t give us bad things; that’s Satan. But our Lord won the battle, He won the war. He met Satan face to face and Satan has nothing on Him. Satan may come to steal and destroy but Jesus comes to heal and restore. If we only give our lives to the Lord, He will always be there for us every step of the way. There may be circumstances that would make it hard for us to understand yet our focus, our Hope, should be in God.

Nick kept praying for arms and legs but he came to the understanding that God has the best plan for his life. Who needs arms and legs, he said, when he is flying with the wings of the Spirit.

“It’s very tempting to be jealous; it’s very tempting to see what everyone else has. Did my circumstances change? No. What changed is my heart. Arms and legs are not happiness. The greatest things in life are not things; any pleasure you can see, touch or hold is only temporary.

Can I smile? Yes. But does that mean that I don’t cry? No. But even though I walk through the valley of shadow and death, I can smile.

Brokenness is brokenness; but, don’t let brokenness define your future. Don’t let your circumstances define your joy.

I stand in front of you as a miracle of God that world cannot argue with.”

What are we waiting for? Let’s put our faith in action. Should bad things happen to us, it is never the end. Our faith is unstoppable because we have an unstoppable God.

You know the paradox of a Christian life? You give and it will come back to you. You surrender so that you may have. You die so you live. It will never be an easy life but I loved that no matter what we’re going through, somewhere along the line, if we truly lay it down at the foot of the cross, it could be used by God so that others may know His goodness and mercy? Amazing, right?

If God can use someone with no arms and no legs, I’m sure God will use us too, God will use you. Are we willing to be used by God?

Grow deep in the faith.

“There is no recession of the peace of God. There is no recession of the grace of God.”

I Kissed Dating Goodbye: A Review of Some Sort

Today, we will talk about Love. Yes, I’ll go straight to the point. This is what happens when children grow up, they talk about love and stuff. Haha. Anyways…

Few weeks back, I finally read Joshua Harris’ I Kissed Dating Goodbye.

I’ve seen this book being read by my blockmates back in College; I knew then that it would be something worth reading. But at that time, I got this very little patience when it comes to “practical” books (those that give suggestions on what to do with your life and all that), I’m only fond of reading fiction novels ergo I read no Joshua in College Days. September last year however, when I went to a book fair, I finally decided to buy the book. Oh, please don’t judge if I just read it three weeks ago. ;)

The book got my attention in the first few chapters. A lightning struck; I got hooked. Joshua shared his convictions with regards to dating – if he is not ready for intimacy, for marriage, he will not commit to be in a relationship with someone (even giving hints when there are times that he already got a prospect in mind). He is very ideal. The reason why he decided to choose this path is that he believes that this is what The Lord wanted him to do: to develop intimacy with God and to value relationships with the people surrounding him (not leading them to something that will become confusing and messy, but taking care of them like brothers and sisters).

Joshua considers the plans of The Lord in stored for him and he is willing to wait while he is in the season of singleness in his life. He’s willing to sacrifice the good now in order to get the best later. While in his current season, he wanted to grow deeper in his relationship with God; exploring and obeying where The Lord has placed him to go, to reach out, to serve.

When I was eleven years old, even when I got silly crushes, I was ideal as Joshua’s. While in the middle of reading his book, I found out, ten years after that I made myself vulnerable to compromise. I haven’t been in any relationships ever since although I got this certain person that I really really like and I always thought that if this guy will pursue me, I might say yes. As Joshua says, God placed in our hearts the desire to be in a relationship, to be in a commitment, but we should only do so at the right time, at the right place, with the right person.

I always thank God that He never made this guy that I like pursue me. For one, thank God that the guy doesn’t like me the way I did for him; second, The Lord knows how deceiving my heart can be and I know that He’s protecting me. God will grant my desire of being in a relationship when he knows that I am ready. He doesn’t want me to settle. And I also know that I shouldn’t be equally yoke with an unbeliever. It is hard, yes, but focusing on God will make it easier for us. And I need, like Joshua and all of us Christians, to grow deeper in love with The Lord first and everything will just fall in its right pieces of the puzzle.

I hated that the book revealed my petty desires for the things and persons that I wanted now. Dyahe. Haha. It is also the same reason, however, that I loved it because it speaks of the truth, of what we all should pursue of if we wanted to honor God in our relationships.

I liked that Joshua pointed out our selfish tendencies when we like a person; how we always wanted to know if our feelings are reciprocated and if it were, we feel good. Most times, we only think about what good we can get and love is not like that. Love is thinking of what is best for the other person, it involves wisdom when to know the right timing to be with each other. Of course, it is easier said than done. But we always have to start with our choices. As the old saying goes, nothing worth-having comes out easy.

Hustle while we wait! Lets not just stand here and do nothing. Lets serve God with all our might, focusing our undivided attention to him, seeking to pursue the joy of obeying our Master. Ladies, lets behave like a queen to attract a king. Don’t ever settle. And while we’re here, lets make the most of our time!

As for me, I’m renewing my vows to relationships and commitment, bringing back my eleven to my twenty-one year old self. ;)

Bookmarked!

Dear Batch 2013

This day, two years ago, marked the day when I went to school not to get to the last day of our class nor to enroll for our next semester.

Two years ago, this day was a Saturday. The weather was so warm and refreshing. The sun shines its rays proudly like a five year old kid in a playground who finally took all his courage to try out the longest slide of his life. Even there’s no Spring season in our country, it felt like the flowers are blooming everywhere and the trees keep swaying its leaves nonstop as if congratulating all of us who made it to our final step in College. Because, yes, Friday of May 6th two years ago was the day we graduated from the most intensive ride of our lives. We closed a chapter and were about to enter a new one.

The reason why we had gone  to school together that particular Saturday morning was to return our grad caps and  gowns and to bid adieu to each other since we won’t see each other the way we did for the past four years. There were mixed emotions as we reminisce what we had done together — the happy, sad, not so nice (but mostly, fun) memories. *introtheFRIENDSsongherelol*  

To Batch 2013:

I hope you learned to value the friends you’ve made in the academe: your barkadas, your juniors, some of your professors, but most especially, your blockmates. I hope you know how each one of them served as your backbone back in the trouble and happy times of being a student. Even there are “tampo” moments,overall, those were a great bunch of people who intruded and invaded your life. Always always be grateful for them, always be grateful for Friends. :)

Now I know you have a lot of dreams enlisted down and lined up after all of these, I had a lot of dreams and plans lined up too back then. I was excited to fulfill every single thing I had in mind ever since I was fourteen — from the work I wanna pursue and succeed in, to the things I’ll give for my mother and brother (and my own family in the future) etc, etc. All I know is I needed a lot of patience, hard work and prayer for these to materialize. Idealism is my game. 

I hope you know that even the real world will scare the heck out of you once you finally walked in that new curtain, please remain ideal. Sometimes this shattered world will make you believe in something good where you can settle. I hope you remember, good is the enemy of best, of the better plans our Lord has for you. Please don’t settle. Don’t quiet your dreams even if this world tells you that it has always been impossible. Trust in Someone who knows the desires of your heart, He did not put it there for naught, but learn to discern which to prioritize.

I still kept my dreams in my heart even when God showed me the path I should take in between those two years after I graduated. It was an uneasy choice because I got pushed out of my comfort zone. It was not something I expected at all. I hope when the Lord leads you to something or somewhere, your ears will be willing to listen that it would translate it in your heart to follow even if it’s not comfortable. It is not easy to follow, but trust me, it’s all going to be worth it. Not everything we wanted is what we needed at the moment, when you learn to let go and surrender, you might stand and find yourself where you should be in the first place.

No matter where your Somewhere is, always hold on to that Someone (capital S) who’ll light the way where you should go. The world can be blinding, it will show you the pleasures that you can do with your life any moment now, it’s always best to be guided.

One of these days, months, or year, you’ll think that you are not doing any valuable thing in your life (or the mankind) because you haven’t achieved what you intricately planned  before. That, or, you are now confused which career you should really pursue because you now don’t have an idea of what you really want. I hope you know that it’s okay. We are also in that stage. A year or two after College is never a measurement of your success in life. Success is defined in so varied ways and I just hope the way you define “success” won’t always be about having lots of money because it is NOT.

While you are (we are) in the stage of not knowing which roads to take, move on to life one step at a time. Gather all the skills you may need, fail a lot, make mistakes, work wholeheartedly — one day, as your experience get richer, you’ll have the determination to be somewhere and you’ll get there. Just have a little faith, kid. Life takes time.

And finally, be brave. There will be bad days where your age and your supposed-to-be “maturity” will take a toll on you and will, sometimes, discourage you. You can mope around and stay in the mud, but I suggest, get up and do things with your hands and feel better.

If you do (work hard), if you stay positive, you have a shot at the silver-lining.

-The Silver Linings Playbook-

Live your life accordingly. Do not neglect the simple things as meeting with old friends and taking a break (you’ll need a lot of those, trust me). Let loose and don’t be too serious, or at least, try to balance. Discover what you will do in the wilderness because all I’ve told you are thoughts in the air, you can choose what to do. I encourage you to make the best choices.

You’re about to take over something big, I pray all the best for your endeavors. And even you look back after a year or two, let me tell you that the learning never stops. Find your Great Perhaps. You are created for something more! :)

Twenty Seconds of Insane Courage

Life is all about surprises.

One day, you’ll be out going to your very first school day as a four year old in Nursery class. You’ll feel terrified as you hoped that your mom didn’t have to live you there alone. And so, at a young age, you choose to stand and participate – together with the other kids – as you try to understand each new lesson. At a young age, this world is asking you to be brave.

Since school took most part in your growing up years, you know that acting the way you did in Grade School won’t get too much appreciated in High School. You got to make decisions on what to do when a member of your group didn’t show up at the day you are assigned to report something about History. You got to face new classmates who, sometimes, don’t care of what you feel just as long as they can make fun out of your expense. You got to be exposed in digging your thoughts deeper as you know you got to suggest something for a Science project. You invest in friendships that you didn’t know will last even after so many years, close to a decade. You know life a little better now, you know you had to be independent and make sound choices, you know you have to be brave.

College came and it’s a much different atmosphere. You are free to do what you like in the University, there’s a certain degree of freedom. And you are convinced with your entire life that this is the most wonderful experience of being in an academe. You choose who you are here and what you wanna be. You got to join new cliques and enjoy the time of being together in the afternoons when the professor didn’t arrive for the last session of your Tuesday class. There will be times that your principles and standards will be tested, there will be times that you’ll get disappointed by the decisions you’ve made. You struggle so hard not to make any mistakes, which in the end, you’ll come to realize that those mistakes were necessary. To sum up this stage of your life, and what you have done in between them, it goes to show that you chose to be brave.

You know you got this certain braveness in your heart after everything you had been through your teenage years, you know you could have anything under control, you truly believe so until the Real World came throwing real problems to your face and you got nowhere to go.

Then, it suddenly happened, Fear came in insurmountable amounts that your Brave can’t hold it. You struggle for air, you can’t breathe, you just can’t calm yourself down. And then Life crushed your spirit, you feel lost in a world you thought you’ve known all your life, you just float in a limbo – confused, dishearten, bewildered. You became afraid of failure, you don’t want to commit mistakes anymore, you shield your way in the opportunities that come along, you just want to be in your comfort zone.

I know how hard it is to live this life keeping your cool. And it will always always be threatening to venture out on new things you don’t know doing. But I’ve come to understand that you don’t grow up when you don’t learn; most of life’s lessons are learned best when you fail. It takes courage that in the midst of failure, you’ve got a heart that just wanna keep on moving forward, a heart that just wanna keep on trying.

For the past six months, I’ve been trying my best to live my life, I am trying to be more brave and open to what it will offer along the way and as to what I want to get to experience doing myself. It’s never easy, but I figured, that I don’t want fear to take hold of me from doing things that I know will help me flourish as a person. What got me along is this twenty seconds of insane courage I learned from Mr. Benjamin Mee of We Bought a Zoo (I wrote about that movie here).

Twenty seconds of insane courage is basically courage with some urgency. I mean, you don’t linger too much if you’re gonna do this and that and think of everything that could happen and those that could not. Sometimes, you take too much time until Fear walks in and just shut down your fuse, shut down your light.

When you know you got to do something…

-a dramatic eight inches haircut
-joining a free camp where you can hone your new found love in some sport
-telling your boss your plans in life that might differ from where your organization is leading to now
-going in for a ride which terrifies you in so many ways
-meeting old friends back from Grade School and High School
-chasing your dreams even if it meant being vulnerable to failure… Etc… Etc.

As the old Nike saying goes: just do it.

Do it when you got the courage for the first twenty seconds. Don’t hold back. Let go. Let go of all the worries of mistakes and failure, let go of the control you impose on yourself, let go and just breathe. Believe in Hope that your Brave will help you fly. I know sometimes it gets crazy, but if you could remember the time when you were four, you’ve conquered – you’ve delivered courage. You decided to take a leap of faith at such a young age, you delivered despite the fear, you felt invincible.

You only need twenty seconds of insane courage, a childlike faith, and I promise you something great will come out of it.

Life is full of uncertainties, be brave anyway. (Jeff Goins)

Alaska and the Stars: An Afterthought

I’ve always wanted to write down (in the blog) what I felt after I read The Fault in Our Stars back in January but I never had the time. I always wanted to write about Looking For Alaska which I read last year but as you can see, that I wasn’t able to do also. Boo. But let me try to change all of that today. :)

The Fault in Our Stars
Note: What you are about to read is the very emotions that I had right after I finished the last page of the book. There are some spoilers here, you’ve been warned. Also, if you haven’t read the book, READ it.

Hazel’s dad kept saying that the universe wanted to be noticed; and that it would push itself to be noticed. Hazel, on the other, wanted the universe to notice them for once. She had been noticing the universe far too long.

I don’t know but it was in a way that it somehow looked unfair from their side that they felt love, and they were in love, but they were sick as hell and either one is healthier than the other or vice versa. They were in a path woven for each other but could never meet the ends. It will cross but it will pass straight the other direction. And I kind of think that it was unfair too.

It was.

However, this life isn’t all about us. Never is and never was. Sometimes we’re too succumbed by our own miseries that we feel that the world owe us something; that we don’t deserve to be treated any less; that we should always get what we worked hard for. But no. Until we learn to notice the universe, to give attention to what is far more important, we wouldn’t know that this, this life is more than just us. There is Someone Somewhere doing Some things greater (actually, all things) for each of us if we let it. Capital S.

We are in a universe where as much as we wanted it to notice us, it won’t. Until we see the bigger picture that we are only a part of Something greater, we won’t fully surrender. We got our own infinities and it can surpass other infinities and this world is gonna turn, it will, either up or down. It won’t care if we are hanging tight or letting loose. Try to see it in a new light, try to appreciate whatever it brings to the table, try to scratch off the idea that it is indebted to you. It is not.

Feel all the pain, the joy, the sorrows, the overwhelming peace. Feel the universe. Let your eyes see it. And whatever comes and whatever goes, may you find the courage to believe that Someone made it and you are only a part of it but even so, even there is so much more in life and the world you are in, Someone made you also matter. But sometimes you just got to see the bigger picture.

There is.

If not for their current health situation (Hazel and Augustus); if not for their paths that will cross, will meet but won’t stay too long – at least for life on earth – I think they won’t understand love in the way they did. At a young age, they got brave souls. They got that heart, the You Can Never Explain In Words kind of heart. They felt everything. They were everything. And I think they’re infinite, present tense.

Also. I don’t think there’s any fault in the way their stars were drawn. Yes, it wasn’t a And They Lived Happily Ever After because Hazel lived, yes, but Augustus died. But true love don’t die, does it? Even memory sometimes forgets, the heart will never seek to delete something it felt so genuinely pure and true as that of true love. The stars had crossed but at the time it met in the middle; that, they have. That, they keep. Keep in their hearts.

Praises for John Green’s rawness!

***

Looking For Alaska
When I read this book a year ago, this was my first encounter on how raw the story of a writer such as John Green could be. Unlike Fault, I wasn’t able to write down what I had felt after reading it and that was a major mistake. I could’ve caught myself saying something more fluid than what I could say now. (See kids, if you felt you got to write something down ((an idea, concept, poem, story)) you better write it down immediately. That’s the formula in writing.)

We all living under different stories in life. When we welcome people inside, when we invest on them, we experience something more magical. We see our life in a new light just like Pudge when he met Chip and Alaska. Theirs was a story of finding their own Great Perhaps, exposing themselves to what it means to truly live, what could courage do to you, what could life offer and what offer you don’t refuse. Even when life will let you lose something/someone, when it blows land mine in front of your face, when you can’t take the grief anymore, you got to believe that there is a place that will be beautiful – where everything will be beautiful. But for the Now, I hope we are living, we are taking life in the open: ready to be loved, to fall in love, to fall down and get hurt, to lose someone, to meet someone, to grieve, to cry, to just feel. Let’s all find our Great Perhaps and let’s all have the courage to live it.

***

And now it’s time for bookmarks! Or in other words, the feels, those conversations, monologues or statements that really strike me – those that captured my core.

Note: This is super KADUPER long. Again don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you. But if you’ll continue to read, it will be amazing. John Green’s words are wonderfully crafted and written.

Hakuna Matata!

I am feeling bright today. :) so bright that it makes me want to hug somebody so tight (!!!) that it would make them realize that even life’s a bit annoying, there’s something so warm and welcoming that’s waiting for them even it could left them gasping for air. Haha!

The thing is I was so hard on myself yesterday that it made me think of a lot of things, a lot of worst things, and a lot of things that I should not think of thinking. Get it? And I did some things to sort out what’s going on in my Thought Life because it keeps on making me feel depressed and lonely and empty and just way way down the borders of seeing every hidden silvers on the lining. What would be the best way to address those kinds of situations? Talk to Someone who will understand, Someone who has your best interest at heart, Someone who is always there waiting for you to share how’s your day been and what bothers you, Someone who will give the best advice in the world but you would consider (if not silliest) is the toughest thing to do, Someone you should run to every single day of your life.

You know how sometimes I forget to depend to the One who’s truly dependable that I ended up doing and solving whatever life throws in front of my face alone? When those days happen, when I can’t figure it out anymore, when I am exasperated beyond the limits of what could be the most tiring day of all — those were the times that I suddenly remember. Sad, but well, true. Sometimes I can make everything look perfectly fine in the surface when it actually don’t. Those were the times that are hard enough for me to comprehend what’s going on; those were the times that insecurity crawls freely at the back of my mind causing doubt and unbelief; and I know, those were the times that I am not focused at all.

But the good thing is whenever you come back to refuel your lamp, The Lord is always there to light it up. He will always remind you that you are not alone in the very place He ordered you to go. He is not a God who will turn a blind eye to our difficulties. He will be there. He is never late; his timing is always perfect. His arms are always reaching out, ready to hold our hands to guide us in every step we are to take in obedience. When we refocus, we will see clearly what our Lord had set for us to do.

Hakuna matata! Live life with no worries; only obey.

I Forgot to Write

I forgot the simplest things in life that made me start whatever you see in these blank pages of cyber space named under a corner I considered mine…

I forgot the essence of bleeding my own story and crafting it in such a way that would inspire me (or others ((hoping))) to walk along the dark hallways of this not-so-much-focused-on-happy-endings kind of life…

I forgot to accommodate Mr. Time when he sincerely wanted to collaborate with Words that kept bogging my mind…

I forgot to see. I forgot to hear. I forgot to feel. I think I had lost my senses when all I wanted to do two years back was to seek, listen and observe the universe, taste every rough crater and watch how it spark intense meteor showers in this world, in my world – the vast ocean of falling stars.

I forgot my purpose here.

I forgot to thirst for the things that would matter here; the things I placed my bets in starting Day One, the things that once made me decide what would / what could I be, the things I considered of prime principle. I forgot them.

I forgot to be inspired. I forgot to inspire. I forgot to write.

I forgot to write for someone who I always wanted to write about. I forgot to write for myself. I started to notice people and I started to want people to notice me back (which hardly happen). And I know that that’s where it hits – I wasn’t able to get back on my feet – the damage I made to my Muse.

Why do we keep on wanting something we think we want that we forget that all the things we need are already right there in front of us?

I created this blog as a space for me to vent out my whatevers in life. This is supposed to be something I enjoy doing for myself – that I don’t think of anybody else when I post what I had to say (whether it’s right or wrong or we differ in view) here. And I did. I really did enjoy.

Back then, my ears are spilling with courage telling me that expressing myself through an art form (aka Writing) could be a good way for me to find myself, to understand the depth of my being, to enrich a talent that I could use in bringing people to believe in a quiet whisper of hope.

And I don’t want to stop now just because I’m discouraged. I know that the Big Guy is always behind me to support the very desire of my heart which I can use for His glory.

I loved blogging. I loved that I dreamed of inspiring people through writing; giving words of assurance not only to myself, but to whoever lands on this page, that no matter how hard the waves of life could be, our boat will never sink as long as we are with our Captain. That no matter how discouraged we are now, we can still choose to see the light in the darkest of places; we can still be conquerors even we once feared to be in a battle; we can still go back to where we used to be, to what we used to do – even we sometimes forget, there is Hope telling us that we can still learn to remember.