Celebrate joy!

Before we got married, Dennis and I attended a marriage prep seminar in church wherein we got to learn about the foundation of marriage and the practical ways to not only make a marriage work but to make it work for God's purposes. I remember we were running late to the seminar that day and so I was thinking of booking a grab in advanced, but then he suggested that there were many taxis so let’s just hail one instead. I agreed but in my mind, I knew that my suggestion was better. So later on, when he realized that too, I told him "sabi ko sayo eh..." So imagine when the the topic that day was about wives submitting to their husbands. God really does go before us, huh! :P And one speaker said that when wives and husbands agree on something, walang sisihan dapat and dapat walang "sabi ko na nga ba eh..." with matching iling pa and tsk tsk tsk in the end... #tamangtamaakobes

I thought of writing a short article for the newly-engaged out there! Yes, you! If you just got engaged, congratulations!  Maybe you're probably just like me, sometimes hysterical, sometimes overwhelmed with the things that need to happen before you walk down the aisle. "No to this, yes to peace" -- repeat 10x

Here comes the blessed conclusion to our courtship season... Salamat sa pagsubaybay! :P So this is the part where our courtship season is already coming into an end and we're about to enter a new season of officially becoming a couple... It was actually a series of affirmations but one affirmation we received was through God's creation. Kilig from the Lord! Both Dennis and I are nature lovers so we love these scenes and could not help but thank God for these moments. God is so sweet to us because He makes our dates that are usually so common peppered with His love and grace. There was one time when we were jogging and it was starting to drizzle but the sun shone eventually and you know what rain and sun creates right? We had a beautiful arched rainbow while we were running around the oval! There was also a time when we would just talk and we will have the lit fountain all to ourselves because it poured really hard that night and everyone went home and took cover....

Ligawan Stage So this is the part where Dennis already laid down his intentions, and I said yes to courtship.  I’ll share here the things we learned and what God taught us during this season. Hope this encourages you! Dennis told me to share his insecurities in this blog because he thought that it would encourage the men out there. Some of his insecurities were:

HE SAYS In January 2017, Dennis started praying for qualities he is looking for in a girl: Christ-centered, adventurous, maputi, mahaba buhok, chinita, sweet, caring. Come February, he felt that God was calling him back to kids ministry so he signed up. It was during the Volunteer orientation that he first saw me. So he didn't sign up because he saw me, but he signed up THEN he saw me :P (Pag nagobey ka talaga, may blessing… charaught :P) He said that it was the time that he first noticed me and had a crush on me since. Spot us on the opposite ends!

In this season, God has revealed to me His wisdom and His ways which are always higher than ours... God really is full of surprises.  Would you believe that last June, wala talagang ganap mga bes, so I was already asking God,  "Lord meron po ba talaga?"  It was the kind of prayer that honestly makes me a little bit shy to admit. Anyways, wasn't I supposed to be secured and complete already in Jesus? So why should I even be asking and making these requests? But apparently, and as is always the case,  God was already working behind the scenes, weaving a story  when all the while I felt like the lead in a rerun series called, " Kala mo lang meron… Pero wala, wala, wala" haha! They say that every story has two sides, so I'll tell you mine and I'll tell you Dennis’… Hopefully you will see how God moved and made our story to what it is today... Ready? Mahaba to… you have been warned.

My dad is finally out of the hospital! He was discharged 2 weeks ago and we couldn't be happier because he has been praying and praising God since. It's a picture that I couldn't describe apart from it is only by God's grace that THAT happened. We have been praying for the assurance of my dad's salvation for years and this was the year that I just knew it would happen. I remember telling friends and prayer partners, "feeling ko talaga this year na yun." And God really does make the impossible possible and His ways will always be higher than our ways.

2015 has been a year of transitions. If you asked the January-me where does she see herself by the end of the year, it wouldn't have crossed my mind to be  here ... From quitting my job last April, to setting up another online shop... and now, serving at full-time ministry at church, it has been a roller coaster ride. Just like what Augustus Waters said in the movie, A Fault in our Stars:

Hello everyone! Good morning! So many events are happening left and right because it's Christmastime! This is my favorite time of the year -- something about the cool air, twinkling lights everywhere and the smell of delicious food we've grown to love just make me feel giddy like a child. A few of our regular events at church are on break  so we can spend more time with our loved one but we're also cooking a couple of more events just before the year ends. I've been sick for days now, so with my hoarse voice and 2-minute interval coughing, I do my best to be at my 100% at the ministry. I woke up today, feeling better so praise God! Hopefully tomorrow, I will really be at my 100% health! This past week, the theme has been gratefulness. Thanksgiving to God for everything He has given us and for the people around us who made their presence in our lives a blessing.

Hello there! Got back from Pulag last night and yes, we reached the peak 3! It was the best our bodies could do! 4 hours going and 4 hours heading back... there were moments when we did ask ourselves, bakit ba natin to gnagawa ?? But it was such a relief when our group was able to make it! I haven't had exercise for months, I jogged last week but that was it... So you can just imagine how my prayers were going days before we left. I seriously didn't know if I can make it (hindi naman patay level pero hingal and give up!) but God, with His grace and  mercy, pulled us through! Praise God!

"You just have to be brave enough to be patient enough to wait for it." - Fulltime Girl https://thefulltimegirl.com/ Have you met...? A few months back, I get at least one date referral a week from friends and office mates, and that is no exaggerated fact. I don't really express that I want a guy. In fact, I usually just smile and laugh off their offers when they go all-wing woman on me. (I would like to take this moment to applaud the concern and efforts of these people with huge initiatives in life that they have appointed themselves as my unofficial wing women! You know who you are! :P) Although as much as I enjoy being on my own, I also won't deny that there are definitely moments when I wish I had someone. Let us call these the single hood moments:

I am 5 days late, but hey, happy New Year!!! *fireworks! clapping!* I thought of giving an ode to 2013 to properly end the year, but I thought I'll just dive right into 2014 :P A friend asked me at the tail end of the year how has 2013 been for me, and it took me awhile to answer.  Gather thoughts, quick!

Casa San Pablo posted this today on their FB page and it brought me back to the time when I went there, because these are as sweet as they look!

Just wanted to share this photo which speaks volumes to whatever tough situation you may be in at the moment.

Hey! :) It's been two weeks! Anyway sorry for the short lull period with this blog, but I haven't lost interest on the written word, I have just been reading more than writing lately. Yaaay! So I finished my first book for the year yesterday! Kawawa! Hellow! July na po diba. Ohwells, but I am glad I finally gave in to the e-books mania and started stocking up my digital shelves, thanks to friends who are ever-so-willing to send me their reading lists :) So what book was it? Spotlight please:

I am sure many of you have already seen the Maricar Reyes-Richard Poon wedding video. I have seen photos on Facebook and Instagram, someone even pasted the video link on my timeline, and one friend messaged me the video itself... so it's kind of hard to miss. :P All because I am such a freakin' cheeseballs, and they know me too well. And true enough, I can't help but get teary eyed as I watch the video... Waaaaahh!

Throwback Thursday! Words edition :) I wrote this post almost two years ago, I've had 3 blogs for the past four years so my ramblings and thoughts have been tucked away in three different places in the digital space. Reminds me of Voldemort and how he hid his soul to 7 different objects. Nerd alert! Hehe! So here it is, my realizations as far as marrying is concerned, when I was 23 years old:

While I'm Waiting was one of the events organized by Hardwired, Victory GH's Singles Ministry. This happened just last Saturday and one thing worth noting about the event was that it was jam-packed! Alam na ano ang concern ng mga singles ngayon. Haha! But yes, in the area of love life, everyone just seems to agree that it's something many people invest a lot of time thinking and praying about. So let's not deny it anymore and let us talk about it!

Now in other news and to keep the V-day vibe going, two of my closest friends are getting married this year: Ja and Cathy! And now they're both prepping for the big day! Ja was super ecstatic when one of the photographers she was eyeing, Samantha Erin, just replied to her for confirmation for her pre-nup shoot. So here are some of her really great photos (of other couples, hehe! Wala pa yung kina Ja eh) that I hope would make you go all googly-eyed and kilig: