Celebrate joy!

Thanks to Jona Bendicion for this video! This sums up my Mt. Pulag experience last November. Enjoy watching and hopefully this will inspire you to go plan that climbing trip soon!

Day 2 sees us wiping the sleep off our eyes, strapping our extra gears for the climb... and peeing at the sidebushes just before we descend from the Ranger Station... #confession The Mother Earth crew divided our group into teams of 7-8 with one guide each. The trip was around 4 hours one way so we can get to the summit by 5am, just before sunrise. That was the goal and our eyes were set on it. We were excited to see the sea of clouds! Let's go! It was really dark when we left so the headlights were necessary so we can see the trail. We had stops at Camp 1 and Camp 2, wherein we munched on our trail food (M&Ms and nuts for the win!) and refilled our bottles at the au naturel water stations.. Although as much as we would have wanted to rest a little longer, we cannot stay in one place for long because our body temperatures will drop... so we had to keep moving especially since needed to get to the summit before sunrise.

Finally! It's time to write about my adventure at Mt. Pulag :) The Preps Weeks leading to the trip, we were prepping our gears and our bodies for the climb. Since it wasn't the usual getaway wherein we could just put together our own itinerary, we decided to get a travel package from  Mother Earth Adventures  for the entire trip. There was a pre-climb orientation wherein they will brief you on what to expect and the things that you need to bring to ensure that you get out of there alive. Gasp!

I stumbled upon this site after googling, "God plants desires in our hearts" and I was surprised I haven't seen it before. This site is brimming with honest-to-goodness thoughts and inspiring articles of Christian women. I found myself reading one after the other, as my heart wells up with the grace of God being spilled over from these women's stories. One woman talked about being encouraged by a reader halfway across the world even before she asked God for it, another talked about doubting if she married the wrong guy and another gave tips for introverts on how to build relationships... Talk about a wide array of topics, right? So I'm sure whatever season you are in, you will find something there that just speaks to you. :) Let’s face it, sometimes the daily grind of life leaves us discouraged. We desire to effectively serve God, our families, and our communities, but we often feel like we aren’t doing enough. Well enough. We find ourselves in desperate need of...

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:

I have to say that it's different when people open their homes to you. The other night, the Facio family opened their lovely home to us Kids Core team and everything was home-cooked! From the spinach artichoke dip to the pork belly, to the salmon, to the pasta --- we were digging our forks and helping ourselves to hearty servings of these delicious treats over random conversations! The amount of effort and energy to put together everything was greatly appreciated! Even though we lost the Yes-No game (kelangan talaga sabihin haha! ), we had fun playing! And of course the cutie Facio kids were there too spreading the lovely cheer around! :) Kids Core team with Verapie and Peppa pig! haha! :D #KasaliDinSila

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.