Halloween Loot

My son had trick or treat at my office and upon arriving home, he called his neighborhood friends and shared with them all that he got from the event.

Healthy Snack found in convenience stores

I discovered some healthy snacks which we can find at some convenience stores, using healthy local ingredients.

I found the kamias drink from 7-11 and the malunggay garlic pasta at Family Mart. No need to elaborate on the healthy benefits from kamias, malunggay and garlic.  You can actually see and taste that those are real malunggay leaves and chopped garlic on the pasta.

The Greatest Sin

The greatest sin is the rejection of the greatest revelation; and the greatest revelation is Christ, and the greatest sin is to reject Him. He is saying, “If I hadn’t come and completely revealed God, manifest God, men would not be able to commit the greatest of all sins against that perfect revelation.” That’s why Acts 17 says it was a time in the past before Christ came where God overlooked sin. It doesn’t mean that it didn’t matter to Him; it meant that there was a kind of tolerance of God because Christ hadn’t come.
     “But now – ” says Paul on Mars Hill in Acts 17 “ – God commands all men to repent because He has revealed Christ.” And Hebrews 10 puts it this way: “Of how much severer punishment in hell will the person be thought worthy who has trampled underfoot the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrifice.” To hate God is to be doomed to hell. To hate God in the full revelation of Christ is to bring upon yourself an eternal judgment of far greater degree, far greater degree. Christ came and revealed God in a way He’d never been revealed before. Sin in man reaches is apex when they reject Christ. (GraceToYou)

What most people say

The majority said, “We sin a little, but by nature, we’re good. We do good, and God rewards our good deeds by loving us. We have the ability to turn to God on our own initiative. And salvation involves us taking the initiative, and then God responds to us.” That is a massive lie believed by most people. 
“Why do you believe in the doctrines of grace, or sovereignty of God?” It’s pretty simple; it’s really simple. It comes down to this – you ready for this: “Can a person unaided by God – a person, a sinful person, born into this world, any person? Can a sinner, unaided by God, left on his own, choose Christ, turn from sin, embrace the truth, receive the gospel, believe and be saved?”
     If you say yes, then you don’t understand man’s sinful nature. If man is blind and dead and double-blinded by Satan, and cut off from God, and in the deeds of his flesh he can do no good thing, and all his righteousness is filthy rags, and no one seeks after God, and they’re all poison and corruption –
Source:GraceToYou

When we are anxious, we demonstrate lack of faith

Anxiety is the most predominant form of mental illness in our country, plaguing both young and old, showing up as post-traumatic stress syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, even phobias and generalized anxiety disorder.
We all struggle from time to time, whether as a way of life or due to particular circumstances beyond our control. It brings about physical reactions like shaking, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, sweating, frustration, and anger. Even depression can be linked to a series of anxieties we experience in life.
Culturally, we are a nervous wreck, and no one is immune to it.

Jesus Heals Anxious Hearts

My struggle with anxiety started early. As a child, I experienced vivid dreams that made my heart race. Even thinking of them today brings on certain emotions. The night terrors came on suddenly and without escape. I was trapped for half an hour after waking, held captive in terror.
Eventually, a counselor helped me to break free from those dreams. But as an adult, anxiety returned in the form of insomnia. Some nights I wake up completely drenched in sweat. An average night’s sleep for me is about four hours. I wake up at two, three, four in the morning and never go back to sleep.
Over the last twenty years, I’ve read the text of Matthew 6:25–34 hundreds of times, as I have not only wrestled with the anxiety, but also with embarrassment and shame for having the struggle in the first place. There, I discovered that Jesus cares about our anxious hearts. And he teaches us how to direct our minds and hearts in order to please God.

Jesus Shifts Our Focus

Understanding the fears bedded deep within being humans, Jesus starts the discussion with a bold command, then adds reasoning we can all grasp.

Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:25–26)

Look up. There are five hundred million hungry birds flying around. They don’t sow, reap, or gather into barns and yet your Father in heaven knows their need and feeds every single one of them. If God feeds animals, essentially his pets, will he not feed you?
You, whom God created in his image. You, whom he designed to be unique from the creatures of this earth. You, whom he has placed his spirit within. Look up and remember that he cares for you and will provide for you. God designed you, knows you, and wants to guide you into a fruitful and productive life.
Jesus shifts our focus to the “more” in life — what our hearts crave. There is a different kind of life we experience in fellowship with our Creator that is supernatural. That’s where our lives become more than “food and clothing.”
“Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:27). The minutes, hours, days, or even years we expend being anxious amount to wasted, stolen time. Concerns about natural things regarding our bodies, health, retirement funds, the imminent political race, and ISIS are matters for God. He will be concerned about them because he cares for you, and wants to guide you into living a fruitful and productive life.

What Our Worry Says About God

In verse 30, after continuing to prove the care and love of God, Jesus calls out our anxiety by saying, “O you of little faith.” The hard truth is that when we are anxious, we demonstrate lack of faith. We don’t trust God and instead take control, somehow believing we can take better care of our lives than God. It’s as if we say to the Creator of the universe, “I don’t need you, because I have to figure this out.” Then our hearts and minds circle and spin like hamsters on a treadmill. But we are worth more. Even when the situation seems unbearable, we can trust God.
We can go to him with our worries, even when our hearts feel unsettled about our marriages, children, jobs, retirement, health care, and son. Even when we doubt, we can acknowledge our sin. Faith turns to God and accepts what’s been given, asking him to use whatever circumstance we encounter for his good and glory, and to refine us into his image.

Practice the Shift

Then, near the end of the passage, Jesus calls us to change our hearts by shifting focus. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (verse 33). He tells us to move our minds from the worries of this life to issues of greater importance, to shift our focus to eternal values.
Breathe. Trust. Transfer your anxiety to God and place your concern where it belongs: on the things of God.
It is difficult to practice, but this is the road to supernatural living. When the mind is focused on what God is concerned about, anxieties dissipate, and God provides us with what we need.
I used to hate being an anxious person. Now I don’t mind it as much because in those moments when I wake at two or three o’clock in the morning in a cold sweat, my mind racing, concerns of money, the future, those who depend on me overflowing, I roll off my bed and onto my knees in prayer. I practice this shift every time my anxiety strikes. I ask God to transition my anxieties from the things of this world into the things that God is concerned about.
And there in those moments I fight the war that God has called me to fight as a man of God. (Source:DesiringGod)

Mt. Samat, Bataan

We went to Mt. Samat last July as one of our stop for team building. We had a glimpse of history and nature as well.

Dads's Buffet Glorrieta

Our entire team went there for lunch just recently. This is like our I think 5th time to eat there since its near our office. I love the food there, wide variety, very clean, courteous crew. Their sushi is fresh and the dessert section is very palatable.

As for the drinks, I went for Cucumber Lemon which taste so refreshing.  I think I had about 3 glasses of it. hehe.

The best pork balat chicharon

I know, I know, this is not healthy. Someone just gave this to us when we went to Cebu. So far, this is the best tasting pork balat for me. Even my husband love this that since tasting this, whenveer I go to Cebu he would ask me to buy this for him.

What's the first thing you think about when you wake up

What's the first thing you think about when you wake up? Are your thoughts instantly focused on the day ahead, or are they centered on the Lord? Although most of us have busy lives and are involved in activities that consume much of our time and attention, the most important and timesaving part of each day is that which is spent in quiet solitude with God.

Read | Psalms 143:5-12

Yet many of us feel so rushed that we don’t think there’s enough time for the Lord. We immediately jump onto the treadmill of life and then wonder why we’re so frustrated, confused, and dissatisfied. Even if our desire is to follow God, we don’t know where He’s going since we haven’t stopped to get directions for the day. Without daily communication, no one can have

Perhaps the problem is our own human logic. We think spending time reading the Bible and praying each morning will result in having less time and lower productivity. However, when we seek Christ’s direction and wisdom for the day and invite Him to control our lives, He’ll accomplish more through us than we can do by ourselves. He will give us wisdom for good decisions, increase our strength and energy, and free us from time-wasting anxiety.

Ask yourself, Am I too busy for the Lord? If the answer is yes, then you’re denying yourself the blessing of an intimate relationship with Christ. When you make time for Him, He’ll fill you with peace and joy, guide your decisions, grant you wisdom, empower you to obey, make you more productive, and comfort you with His love. (Source:Intouch Ministries)

Yakimix Lunch

Yakimix Trinoma is one of my favorite restaurants. We went there several times already. I love the food, the staff are courteous and attend to the needs of its guests swiftly. The place is clean and its not so crowded.