Celebrate joy!

A few weeks ago, we went to Mt. Nagpatong in Rizal... if you're looking for a quick getaway climb, Rizal has a lot of mountains, peaks and formations to choose from. This one's a day trip and since I love falls, we also decided to take a side trip to Tungtong falls. Yahoooo! Ang tanong ng bayan: Ano ba ang pagkakaiba ng trek sa hike?   (thanks Mhe for this phone in question) Googl e says:  Hiking is an outdoor activity of walking in beautiful natural environments on pre-charted paths called hiking trails. There are day hikes and overnight hikes. Trekking is a long journey be undertaken on foot in areas where there are usually no means of transport available. Trekking is not necessarily mountaineering; it is walking for a number of days, usually on uncharted paths, in challenging environments which are likely to be hilly or mountainous. In short, mas mahirap at pang-Amazona ang trekking. #yunlangyun The crew: Mhe, Kuya Tour Guide, Dennis, Fevie, Jib, Me a...

Hello! I haven't been updating you guys with what's been happening lately! But I have pending posts on Taiwan and our recent hiking experience to Mt. Nagpatong Rock Formations in Rizal... and then it's off to Baguio for me for the weekend! I'll post more on those in the next few weeks! In the mean time, here a few Taiwan photos as a teaser! Yehessss.... Miss nyo na ba mga travel posts ko? hehe!   Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Park... that's not the memorial though... 

Connect Have you ever seen someone so passionate for Jesus? We say we're passionate but then you look at Paul and we start to rethink our answer to that question. What was the craziest, most passionate thing you did for Jesus? For Paul... he who was beaten, put in prison, faked death his way to go to yet another missionary journey... all the while writing letters to the churches, never failing to correct, encourage and build them up in the faith.

Connect When we look at the life of Paul, we are quick to see a man who is so passionate for Jesus, who lived a life worthy of the calling of the gospel... but it wasn't always like that for him. Paul (previously known as Saul) was probably the last person you'd think would follow Christ -- he was a Pharisee, a Roman nonetheless, who persecutes Christians for a living... But then God chose him, and when God chose him, there was no turning back... Word Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples.... As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied." "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Acts 9: 1,3-6

Word Our story picks up when Esther was crowned as the new queen... all seemed to be going well until Mordecai, her cousin, refused to kneel down to Haman, a man that the king elevated to a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. When Haman found out about this, he was so enraged that he plotted to kill not only Mordecai, but all of Mordecai's people, who are the Jews. Talk about ego issues, eh? When Mordecai found out about this, he persuaded Esther to help and it would have been an easy feat since Esther was alreay Queen at that time so she already had access to the king, but here's the clincher:

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: