Change is coming!

What change have you been up to lately? Many times in our life we crave for that. Well, we sometimes reach to a certain point that we wanted to but we do not know how. Alright, let me just speak on my behalf and not yours. I have reached a point in my life now that I so wanted something new (hahahaha!!!! of course i was not talking about the new administration's slogan - Change is coming- but somehow it hits right into me). I wanted to try something I have never done before, something that will challenge me and something that will really bring out the best in me. 

So far 2016 has been so good to me. It opened new avenues for me, new opportunities that I may try for that so called "change" that i wanted. Yes, just like any other new ventures, it is scary and exciting in some way or another, but I am at the point now that I do not know how to make things fall into its own places. Yet i am faithful that God will shower me with His wisdom that I will be able to carry on those opportunities into something wonderful for myself and for others as well. Meantime, I just enjoy those overwhelming surprises and opportunities and just leave everything up to Him. I just indulge my spare time in filling up myself with those new opportunities and new beginnings. After all, all beginnings are really not that easy. I will just continue to hold on to God's promises that His plans for me are way better than mine.

So there you go, just thinking out loud. 

Ciao! 

Jewels

Want to know what made my 36th birthday more special? Yes, you read it right, last Wednesday i turned 36 (this is just a number as i feel and look way younger than this, hahahahaha!!! ;-p) and apart from my simple celebration with the Lord and the husband and the all sorts of greetings from families and friends (thanks to the wonders of technology for bringing people closer in just one app away). *biggest grin* - i had the most wonderful gift to myself - celebrating and experiencing my womanhood through the Jewels Conference 2016.




Way before my birthday, I was eager to attend the women’s gathering for something like (kind of) my step to being the better version of me. And yes, deciding to come to the conference was not an accident but by God’s prompting.

Through God’s grace, I was able to come to the conference with 3 of my colleagues who also want to experience and celebrate God with other women of different or unique experiences and backgrounds.

Looking back, words cannot express how grateful I am of every circumstances that made me or pushed me to attend the conference. It was such a VERY WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!




Let me share with you some of what I got or learned from the conference which I now kept in my heart to help me live my journey called life.

In life, we have what they call as SEASONS.

1. The Season of TRUTH.
2. The Season of TRIAL.
3. The Season of TRANSFORMATION.
4. The Season of TRIUMPH.

How and when does these seasons apply in our lives? Let me give some bits and points I got from the talk. 

If we believe in something then it becomes the TRUTH. Thus, everything is a choice. If we choose to believe in something negative and ill, then that becomes the truth. Therefore, we must continuously pray to God to help us discern the right from the wrong. So that only God's ways and words are we going to live by.

The purpose of TRIAL is to transform us so that we will not quit in the middle but instead still continue our journey until we reach our TRIUMPH. Remember, nothing in our past can define us. Trial is a disguised form of motivation. To make sure that we will be able to keep moving forward despite the trial, let us ask God to help us in our transformation, let us ask for courage to deal with it and ask God to help us carry it and walk through with it.

Faith will help us TRANSFORM. By faith, we let God take control of our life because God has our best interest at heart. There are 3keys to transformation: 

1. The role of Suffering - where suffering is GOD’s pedagogy. Through suffering God continues to transform us from inside to be more like Jesus. Suffering seals the TRANSFORMATION for eternal strength and beauty. 
2. The power of the Holy Spirit - all we need to do is to access the power of the Holy Spirit; Remember this: PLOTS. PRAY; LISTEN; OBEY; TRUST; and SUBMIT
3. The knowledge of the Right Standards - The TRANSFORMATION of the heart paves the way for the Holy Spirit to transform our minds as we study His word to have the mind of Christ.

The 2graces of TRANSFORMATION: 

The Scars -  let us embrace our scars
The Songs - let us choose one or two to best represent our journey

Having had those graces will make us more stronger, braver and more courageous. It symbolizes that we are actually on the way to our TRIUMPH.




As we go along the journey of life, always remember that there is always a rainbow after the rain. When we listen to God and persevere in running our own race, God will equip us so we will become what He wants us to be. Stronger, Braver, Bolder and more Courageous. And again, let us always aim for the TRIUMPH that God has prepared for us. The reward that God designed for us. Indeed, God's plans and ways are ALWAYS the BEST!





TESTIFY - No matter what we are going through as a woman, let us remember that we are beautiful, we are loved and we are forgiven. That we women are the relationship barometers and manuals. Remember, we are SPECIAL, we are BEAUTIFUL, let us be the carrier of GOOD NEWS and a POWERFUL INFLUENCE to others. Be like Mama Mary.


And that womanhood is also motherhood. That motherhood is not only having a PHYSICAL WOMB, motherhood is also having a SPIRITUAL WOMB where we mother others to praise and worship God who has been journeying with us even in times that we feel we are all alone. Thus, every woman is a mother and every woman is worth more than gold. Women are all jewels.



"She is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire compares with her." Proverbs 3:15














Ciao!