Perfect Kind of Love

“But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” – Romans 5:8

I thank God that He loved me with so much love that while I was still this wretched human being undeserving of anyone’s love, He already died for me. As a selfish being by nature, I admit it is hard for me to understand why He would choose to do such a thing. But this much I can grasp, it is not for me to try and understand every bit of God’s love, rather it is for me to follow it.

This is what I know: God, in all his holiness and mightiness, gambled His life for me in the hopes that one day I will come to hear of what He did and ultimately, change me from the inside out. He walked on this earth sharing His teachings to everyone who would listen but did not force it on anyone’s throat. He loved everyone alike: he loved the fishermen and tax collector enough to call them as His disciples; he loved the prostitute enough not to condemn her; he loved the criminals on the cross enough to forgive one and accept the decision of the other to mock Him; he even loved the Pharisees enough to answer their questions [even if answering them is futile].

Love according to God’s actions is complicated and hard but it is the perfect example of love. His love is a love that is based not on the character of the beloved but rather on the character of the lover. God’s love emanates from Him because He is hopeful that the people He chose to die for will turn back to Him and lead a victorious life. His actions are not based on their current situations but on His dreams for them, on what He sees they can possibly be. And, this kind of love is the love that produced a lasting change in me.

I thank God that He loved me with so much love that while I was still this wretched human being undeserving of anyone’s love, He already died for me. I thank Him because He did not give up on me then and is not giving up on me now. I may be far from who God wants me to be but I know, His love will sustain me until I meet the person God sees in me. I thank God that His love is the hopeful, optimistic kind that doesn’t stop on who I am right now [physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally] and I believe, this same kind of love is the love that can change anything: a person, a situation or even, a nation.

And in His love, I will remain hopeful…  

A Modern Psalm

I am giddy. I am restless.

Unable to keep myself still

Thoughts of You consume me

Your revelation truly astounds

 

More than the physical things

Mere thoughts of You weaken me

Thank You for Your heart

That loves me just because

 

For all things past

You took me to a higher ground

I am in love with You

And I long to be all the more

 

You are the God who knows my heart

And I will sing Your songs of praise

You deserve no other thing

But a heart that desires You

 

Thank You my Lord for Your love

Your ways draw me closer

I am amazed by how You bless

I want to live my life for You

J-E-S-U-S

My last entry here was one joyful moment for O and I. And since then, a major thing happened that didn’t exactly shook my faith but somehow reminded me of my ever growing dependence on God. Isang MALAKING PASASALAMAT talaga kay Lord and how He changed my forever nega attitude. Siguro kung nangyari ito sa akin ng hindi pa ako Christian, mukmok to the highest level ang drama ko at mega-iyak sa tabi thinking na AKO NA ang pinagkaitan ng langit at lupa. To which I say to my old self, “O sige… ikaw na!”

I’m sure everyone had his/her fair share of nega moments. And, might I say, those moments are really just the worst. We live the moment THINKING of all the ‘bad’ things that happened, FORMING this belief that the world is out to get you, CHOOSING to be sad because (of your so-called truth that…) the world is indeed out to get you and BELIEVING that you’ll only be happy when the world undoes what it has done to you. Eventually, yes, you will get better but by that time you have missed so much that it feels like you’re starting point involves a lot more things to do than you originally expected which sets you back a time or two.

THIS, friends, is the long road to recovery and you know what, I know of a shortcut. It’s spelled… J-E-S-U-S.

The fact is we all need time to recover. It’s not called a process for nothing, you know. The only difference with all of us, however, is the length of time it takes to be okay and the actions we choose to do while we are not okay. This is where Jesus changed me. He gave me a renewed point of view on things.

Bad stuff happens but the world is not out to get me so there is NEVER a reason to despair. I may cry for a while but there is no reason for me to frown the succeeding days. My story does not end on my failures. Because God never promised that He will leave me to fail. God’s promise (as my life verse states…) is:

“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” – Jeremiah 29:11

So how can I allow myself to spend time in such a tragic season of self-pity and negativity? If this is God’s promise, then I want to be there. THERE where prosperity, hope and my future awaits. THERE where He will turn my mourning into dancing and my sadness into joy. THERE where the purpose of everything will be revealed. THERE where His glory is proclaimed.

With all this revealed, I cannot imagine how to live life apart from Him? Jesus is the complete therapy. He is my strength during the times I’m not okay. He brings me hope while I am still down. He brings me joy, confident that His plans for me will prevail and are the best. ;)   

Changes

Times really are a-changing.

It used to be that I rarely get up to fix my own breakfast and now, I'm making it for the both of us.

It used to be that I hated the heat from the stove and now, it's been my sign I'm serving someone I really love.

It used to be that I never iron my own clothes and now, I'm making time to iron ours.

It used to be that I only cared for how clean and orderly my room is and now, my mind is full of mental notes about our house.

It used to be that I could cross the street by looking left then looking right but now, I need his hand as well.

It used to be my responsibilities were all about me but now, it's about his welfare, too.

Times are indeed a-changing and it's changing evermore.

Now, we're learning how it is to live together and soon, we'll know how to be a family.

Now, we're discovering so much about each other and soon, we'll be getting used to it.

Now, we're trying out different routines and soon, we'll be deciding which routine is best.

Now, we seem to be two innocent kids living an adult's life and soon, we'll be taking on all the responsibilities.

Now, we're weaving our dreams together and soon, we're going to make them come true.

Now, we're learning how to be husband and wife and soon... very soon... we'll be learning how to be a daddy and a mommy.

:)

Supplier Review: Venue/Caterer

It's been 53 days since our wedding and until now, we're still in the process of establishing routines. Now, I'm getting acquainted with a lot of things especially the wifey side of me that it's been a busy time ever since. Initially, it was really my plan to write reviews about our suppliers days after the wedding but everything else took over.

Now, I finally decided to put some reviews up thinking that maybe I could give out help to whoever might need it. I'll be using a 10-point grading system with 10 as the highest and will be dividing my reviews in a per supplier basis. So, here we go ;)

VENUE/CATERER: Bella Ibarra/Ibarra's Catering
GRADE: 9/10

When we started to look for venues we never initially considered Ibarra's party venues. Looking back, I really don't know why but maybe it's partly because the venue is tied with a caterer and somehow, we wanted freedom. When we decided to book Bella Ibarra, it was after we realized we wanted to prioritize the food more than the venue. Ibarra the caterer has been around for years and judging from the way their business grew, you could say they were doing something great to have grown that way.

The deal with Ibarra was really more of a hassle-free package. When you get them, you get catering, place setup, bridal car, cake, photobooth, LCD projector, mobile and other such details. O and I decided to book them because they're sulit. For people who are too critical about details, they'd probably advise you to avoid hassle-free packages for weddings as you would end up sacrificing the quality. Ibarra's hassle-free package is no such thing except for one outsourced supplier thus, the grade of 9.

We had the ceremony at the rooftop of Bella Ibarra while the reception was held at the 2nd floor function hall. On the day itself (and looking at the pictures after), the place was elegantly setup that you could actually say that weddings are really their business. But maybe, for these, I think pictures could articulate it more.

Ceremony Setup

Reception Setup

The food was without a doubt, masarap. All our guests craved about it even weeks after the wedding. O and I liked this fact very much as we were very particular about this. As wedding guests before, it's really the food that you would remember (good or bad) and hearing the good feedback was a breather. This made the sulit package of Ibarra more sulit.  

Some of the food during the reception

The Misadventures of O and J : Surigao

We just came from our supposed-honeymoon from Surigao. Supposed, because it never pushed through right after the wedding due to bagyong Pablo. As a background, we elected Surigao as our supposed-honeymoon destination because of this deal. We wanted to experience the over-the-water bungalows ala El Nido but didn't want to splurge thus, Surigao. 

The trip to Surigao was a pleasant surprise. We ended up exploring Sohoton, which is actually, a national park. In truth, we didn't know what to expect from the place until about a week or two before we got there. The experience was all about eco-tourism and admittedly, it was quite new for both O and I. While it would be nice to share every experience we had, this is not really why I wanted to write. 

The trip to Sohoton is composed of a 2 hour van ride from Surigao Airport to Hayanggabon Port and a 40-minute boat ride from Hayanggabon Port. The site going to Sohoton was very much a disappointment as opposed to when you are actually in Sohoton. About 2 or 3 kilometers from the Hayanggabon port, you'll start encountering muddy roads with the coastline surrounded by brown waters. The rivers you'll be passing by are also brown in color. The mountain was stripped bare of trees that you'll actually mistake it for a rather large heap of reddish brown soil. O and I were curious about the sight but innocently enough, I thought the sight was simply because of the rain.

On Hayanggabon port, we boarded our boat to Sohoton and our tour guide satisfied our curiosity. He told us (without our asking) that the waters and the land is as what we see because of mining. I'm not much of an environmentalist but hearing what our tour guide said, I could not help but think about what's the government actually doing and if the government knows this large of a damage. It was really a bothersome sight that on our way home, I wanted to write about this before anything else. Hoping that in this way, I could do my share (no matter how little).

  

The so-called Red "Mountain"

The water in Hayanggabon Port

The Misadventures of O and J : Best Laid Plans

O and I just booked our 2nd to the last supplier today. Booking them left me amused. See, this planning of ours has a recurring theme that leaves me amused and somehow, relieved.

Whenever O and I gear up to find a wedding supplier, we do extensive research. Of course, it's always our goal to find what fits our budget but delivers the best quality that fits our taste. Then, after weeks of research, we narrow it down to the top two or three suppliers that we think best. We further our research and try to decide among our choices BUT at the last minute that we're about to decide, we give each other bouts of second thoughts and end up finding another supplier in a much shorter time that fits our criteria to a T. 

Yes, this was how we were able to book our place, our caterer, our preps venue as well as how we found our house.

On our way home, I mentioned this to O and how I found it amusing. He, on the other hand, pointed out how everything shows God's workmanship and how God always makes His best plans prevail.

Amazing! God is surely amazing!