Zechariah 2:8

...for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye...

These are a few of my favorite things

Talking to and giggling with my Ee and Aa
Zumba
My bees' laughter
The bees' and the princess' hugs and kisses...and yes, Sammie's voice and how she calls me
Talking to my sister 
Ramyeon and wintermelon tea with my friends
Sunsets
Sleeping

You can't always learn when it's easy. That doesn't take faith. Some things you can only learn in the struggle. - Joel Osteen

Don't get burned twice by the same flame.

When excitement ends, discipline begins.

It's not love that sustains a marriage. It is the marriage that sustains love. 

Love is a decision. It is not a feeling. 

We all want to go to a higher level, but sometimes you've got to come off the mountain you're on so you can go up a higher one. - Joel Osteen

Psalm 25

1 In you, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.

2 I trust in you;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
    will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
    who are treacherous without cause.

4 Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
    for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
    and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
    for you, Lord, are good.

8 Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
    He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.[b]
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
    and their descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
    he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
    for only he will release my feet from the snare.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
    and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
    and how fiercely they hate me!

20 Guard my life and rescue me;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
    because my hope, Lord,[c] is in you.

22 Deliver Israel, O God,
    from all their troubles!

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."

- C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.

The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.
(Psalm 10: 14-18)

You are so blurred!!!!

God did not call you to keep everyone happy. You are not responsible for other people's happiness; you are responsible to keep yourself happy. - Joel Osteen

God didn't save us from the beasts of the forest yesterday, only to be killed by a giant today. (1 Samuel 17:37)

Silence is the best reply to a fool.

Amazing love, amazing grace, amazing God!

I am so amazed how God has shielded me from pain. The strength I have now is way too "strong" for me. And I just know, it came only from Him.  Amazing strength from an amazing God. Amazing grace from a loving God.

"I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore." (Psalm 131:2-3)

God is a just God. He gives me relief when I am troubled (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7)

And yes, I have peace during the storm. I am joyful in the midst of pain. Because I know my God is bigger than the mountains and the storm. He's got it covered. He has made my inheritance and my destiny secured.

There are scarecrows in the best gardens.
Faith is a bird that loves to perch on scarecrows.

Expectation is the key to faith. If you can see the invisible, God will do the impossible.

Take heart, God is going to show you joy like you've never seen. The spirit of depression and encouragement is being broken. God is going to release a new happiness and passion that you've never experienced before.

The Snake in my washing machine

Ann suddenly rushed inside the house. She saw a snake coiled inside the washing machine.
Initially, I thought,"oh, if Carlo were here, he would take care of it!" But of course he is miles away.
"Close all windows and doors!"
Then I thought, even when everything is locked, how are we going to deal with that snake tomorrow?
So I went out, hoping that the boys in our neighborhood are still awake.
Then I told Ate Daisy. While we're talking, Alvin and his brother knocked...at 8 in the evening. They're supposed to be sleeping, they're 14 and 9 years old. They have a class tomorrow! But they were there, right there, asking me if I have some plastic bottles to give them.

Alvin is the ever reliable boy in my neighborhood - he sells balut, chicharon, sayote, collects plastics, and does all stuff just to earn some money he's going to use for school.
So I asked him if he can do some snake stuff. And he does. And he did!!!
He killed the snake, got rid of the snake!

Automatically I thought, wow! God is so on time. His provision is never late.
He has protected us from that snake, and knowing that Ann and I cannot do it, He sent somebody to do it for us. I am so amazed.

Scary night indeed. But what a blessed night too. God is always good.

What makes a Mom?

Love, strength, and selflessness.