Celebrate joy!

CONNECT Trivia: Esther is the only book in the Bible that made no mention of God. Gasp!! Really? Yes!  So who is Queen Esther and what makes her so special? When I read Esther's story, it reminds me of a Disney movie -- the plot and the characters are all there -- a simple Jewish girl, a coronation waiting to happen, a supportive cousin, an arrogant villain... and in the thick of it all, is a God that weaves everyone's story to showcase His power and glory to save His people.

It was at a funeral, no less, when we shared our love for writing and drawing. Mine was the former, hers was the latter. Her talent is apparent in her beautiful watercolor works and her amazing sketches so I had this crazy idea to ask her to illustrate this poem that I wrote. So I gave her the poem and asked her for a picture that God will impress on her with the words that I had strewn together. Since she moves in the prophetic gift, I knew that God will give her a picture that will minister to many just by looking at her sketch. About a week after, she handed me her work... it was on a piece of paper inserted between the pages of a magazine and it was a sketch of a ballerina... and well, this is her side of the story:

Connect When I was a little kid, my parents promised that we will stay in a nice hotel as a family and I was so excited as I waited on the fulfillment of that promise. Days and weeks passed, and no matter how much my parents really wanted to fulfill that promise, they just couldn’t find a common schedule to make that short trip a reality.

How can someone  so powerful Hold someone so small How can someone  so good Embrace someone so evil How can someone  so beautiful love someone so unfaithful I hope to someday understand the breadthe the width the depth of Your love I hope to one day grasp Your infinite goodness Your immense strength Your magnificent power I see specks Shadows Hints Of Your love for me Right now It is enough My heart is settled It is finished I am complete. Words by Joy Buena Illustration by Donna Tan

Connect We have heard the story countless times before and sometimes our familiarity on the gospel strips it impact in our lives. “Yes, I know the story” “Yes, he died and rose again after 3 days” – we know these things and we can recount it to others without a moment’s thought, but really what is the implication of Jesus’ resurrection? How do we live out this truth in our lives daily?