Celebrate joy!

So this happened last Saturday night! :) Thankful to everyone who made it possible, to God for giving us good weather and a starlit sky as our backdrop and of course, to my fiancee (naaaks!) who managed to pull off a beautiful proposal that caught me by surprise.

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....

Do you still love me? You asked I blinked Opened my mouth to say, of course But my heart stopped me. Do you still love me? You repeated I swallowed the lump in my throat And asked myself Have I forgotten You my King? Have I replaced You with other things? I closed my eyes Held back the tears And imagined myself sitting at Your feet I miss you, my Lord I miss the place where I met you The place where it was just me and You The place where I can answer you without a doubt  That yes, I still love You As guilt and shame flood my heart I took a step back But before I can even take another step You say You're forgiven, my child. Then You held my hand Lifted my face And showed me the cross. The cross made me pour out the tears  I was trying to hold back Then You held my face Wiped away my tears Then You said with the gentlest voice As if to silence the doubt that has been filling my mind Yes, my child, I s...

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:

When I ask people to draw, sketch or paint my words, they have free rein when it comes to creativity. I didn't want to dictate because they are artists for a reason so I just give them the words then  sila na bahala. :) So when I came up to CJ to illustrate Breathing Spaces for me, I gave her complete control however she chooses to interpret the poem: Naisip ko kanina nung binabasa ko ung story niyo , na nasa top ng mountain ung nagsasalita sa poem, and she is rising above the worldly view of a romantic relationship (kaya medyo round ung inaapakan niya, referring to the "world")  And she looks above, looking to the One who created the stars and the mountains and herself... Looking to the one who loved her first.   He is her breathing space. When I first saw the illustration, I was so amazed on how beautiful it was! It was the perfect accompaniment to the poem -- simply because it points back to Him who loved us first. Thanks CJ! I told her later ...

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!