I have a dream.

I don't even know how to begin this one...


"When I change, everything around me changes."
I guess I never really took much time to reflect upon that saying to apply it in my daily life.
After all, "I'm already doing so good..."

How the world works is and should be the least of my concerns.
And yet as gravity holds us and keeps us from falling off the earth, I find myself feeling as if I've taken a free fall to nowhere / the unknown, with no idea of where I am going and for how long till I reach "safety".


I write to you as someone with a dream. A vision.
And not just any other type of dream and vision, but I am someone with a PERSONAL dream and PERSONAL vision.
I recognize that one of the most crucial factors in seeing that dream and vision fulfilled is my BEING A PART of it.

And just what is that dream and vision?


I envision a generation of young multiplying disciples who fully and truly love God above all and love others as themselves.

I envision a generation of young people that envisions something for themselves and not just following where the current is taking them.

I envision a generation of young people that is so committed to the life of Christ, that it shows in their thoughts, in their words and in their actions.

I envision a generation of young people glorifying God through their lives by reaching out to their families, campuses and communities.


I encourage you to dream with me about this. I urge your prayers about this matter. The burden that God has placed in my heart is becoming louder by the minute and it seems I am starting to hear things more clearly.

Please pray with me that I may not grow weary of hearing from the Lord; and that the '"hearing" would eventually go off into "doing".

I appreciate your taking time to read through this email, may our God bless you in unimaginable ways!


Taking every thought captive for Christ,
Jiggy

Size 9 please.

Shadowfeet

Brooke Fraser

Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet
towards home, a land that i've never seen
I am changing; less and less asleep
made of different stuff than when i began
And I've sensed it all along
fast approaching is the day

[CHORUS:]
when the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and the mountains fall on their knees
when time and space are through
I'll be found in you

There's distraction buzzing in my head
saying in the shadows it's easier to stay
but I've heard rumours of true reality
whispers of a well-lit way

[CHORUS]

You make all things new

[CHORUS]

[CHORUS 2:]
When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
when time and space are through
I'll be found in you

"WAIT."

Wait

by Russell Kelfer

-

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .

And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

-

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.

"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

-

"My future and all to which I relate

Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?

I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,

Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

-

"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:

I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

-

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,

As my Master replied again, "Wait."

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,

And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

-

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .

and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.

I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

-

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.

You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.

You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

-

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;

You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me

When darkness and silence are all you can see.

-

"You'd never experience the fullness of love

When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,

But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

-

"The glow of my comfort late into the night,

The faith that I give when you walk without sight.

The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask

From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

-

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.

Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,

But, oh, the loss, if I lost what I'm doing in you.

-

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.

And though oft My answers seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

(taken from: Bloom!)

Reality Check

"I love God
so MUCH MORE
because
of the answered prayers,
AND
the prayers He didn't answer."

(Francis Chan, Desiring God: Pastor's Conference, 2011)

"in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity"

Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. [NLT]

And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. [The Message]

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity [ESV]

Don't let anyone make fun of you, just because you are young. Set an example for other followers by what you say and do, as well as by your love, faith, and purity. [CEV]

Do not let anyone treat you as if you are unimportant because you are young. Instead, be an example to the believers with your words, your actions, your love, your faith, and your pure life. [NCV]

Let no one despise or think less of you because of your youth, but be an example (pattern) for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. [AB]

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. [NASB]

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. [NIV]

Don’t let anyone look down on you for being young. Instead, make your speech, behavior, love, faith, and purity an example for other believers. [GWT]

Let no one make little of you because you are young, but be an example to the church in word, in behaviour, in love, in faith, in holy living. [BBE]

Walang sinumang dapat na humamak sa iyo dahil sa iyong kabataan subalit maging huwaran ka ng mga mananampalataya sa salita, sa pag-uugali, sa pag-ibig, sa espiritu, sa pananampalataya, sa kadalisayan .[TAGALOG]

- 1 TIMOTHY 4:12

Lukewarm will never do.

"But you have walked away from your first love-why? What's going on with you, anyway? Do you have any idea how far you've fallen?...Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste..." -Revelation 2:4-5

Love, where is your fire? I've been sitting here smoking away

making signals with sticks and odd ends and bits, but there's no sign of a flame

Imposters have been passing, offering good-feeling glow

but I'm holding out for what you are about - an inferno that burns to the bone

some urge me to be temperate, lukewarm will never do

CHORUS

'Cos I, I know I'll blaze with you

So i'm holding my heart out to you

Holding my heart out

So I stand, handing out torches

speaking words that are lamps to their feet

Til the tine when you come an I'm whole and we are one and the fire in me is complete

Some tell me to be moderate but lukewarm will never do

'Cos I, know I'll blaze with you

So i'm holding my heart out to you

Holding my heart out

Then a doubt comes to lie at the back of my mind

That I'll offer you me and you'll politely decline (no thank you)

So i hasten to mute it, I'll shout and rebuke it - "away!"

'Cos I, know I'll blaze with you

So i'm holding my heart out to you

Holding my heart out

Fragile

Habakkuk 2:3

"For the vision is still for the fixed time, and it is moving quickly to the end, and it will not be false: even if it is slow in coming, go on waiting for it; because it will certainly come, it will not be kept back." -Habakkuk 2:3

=====================================================

If we lose "the heavenly vision" God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to "the heavenly vision" is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.

"Though it tarries, wait for it . . ." ( Habakkuk 2:3 ). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that "tarries" is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.

Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will "bear much fruit" ( John 15:8 ).

It is essential that we live and "walk in the light" of God’s vision for us ( 1 John 1:7 ).

(from My Utmost for His Highest)

Grace Has Made A Way

Clinging to the Cross
Bethany Dillon & Matt Hammitt

My soul is weak, my heart is numb, I cannot see
But still my hope is found in You
I'll hold on tightly, You will never let me go
Jesus You will never fail

My soul is weak, my heart is numb, I cannot see
But still my hope is found in You
I'll hold on tightly, You will never let me go
Jesus You will never fail
Jesus You will never fail

Simply to the cross I cling
Letting go of all earthly things
I'm clinging to the cross

Mercy's found a way for me
Hope is here as I am free
Jesus You are all I need
I'm clinging to the cross

Even darkness is as light to You, my Lord
So light the way and lead me home
To that place where every tear is wiped away
Jesus You will never fail
Jesus You will never fail

Simply to the cross I cling
Letting go of all earthly things
I'm clinging to the cross

Mercy's found a way for me
Hope is here as I am free
Jesus You are all I need
I'm clinging to the cross

What a Saviour, what a story
You were crucified but now You are alive
So amazing, such a mystery
You were crucified but now You are alive

Simply to the cross I cling
Letting go of all earthly things
I'm clinging to the cross

Mercy's found a way for me
Hope is here as I am free
Jesus You are all I need
I'm clinging to the cross

Grace has made a way
Lead me to the one that is higher than love
Lead me, lead me, lead me, oh
Grace has made a way

Simply to the cross I cling
Letting go of all earthly things
Clinging to the cross
Clinging to the cross

what's for dinner? my thoughts + tuna sandwich

Oh my, I think i've gotten so used to microblogging (a.k.a. twitter.com) that i might have forgotten what it's like to write down a real, full-on, blog.

So that's a disclaimer right there to those who will be reading today's post.

I'm a little "frazzled" (for lack of a better term) with a lot of things the past days.

Here's a short list of those things that have been getting to me:


1. BF-GFs in public
-Whether I ride with them in a jeep or pass by them in some mall or eat beside them in another table in a restaurant, i've been feeling negative towards this type of human entity. I really don't have a single/specific reason as to why. Maybe its that everytime i see a 'BF-GF' entity, they always have some type of physical lock with each other (i.e. hands/arms intertwined, the BF arm on the GF's waist, the face touching, etc.). Haay. Physical Intimacy at its worst. Whether it's the manang in me speaking or not, but I find myself becoming increasingly irritated at how these boys & girls are.

2. Impacted Tooth
-It's becoming harder to eat refraining from using the right side of my mouth. Although I have talked with my dentist friend, she says that maybe we will have to extract (?) that tooth, but that first I should have an xray done to find out if that is really what's causing the pain. Although it's not that excruciatingly painful yet (probably thanks to the two sheets of Mefenamic Acid she gave for me to drink every 4 hours), it's such a complete discomfort.

3. Hot, Hot, Hot Weather
-Well Summer's here officially as declared by Pag-Asa last thursday. The temperature and humidity anywhere outside the reach of an aircon has become increasingly untolerable for most, including myself.

======================================================

Of course the beauty of God's created life is that there's also a chance for us to experience the good stuff (a.k.a. list of things that made my day- as of typing time) :

1. Fruit Magic Juice Lounge
- This is now my self-declared hiatus place. Where my anti-social self goes to escape with either a book + journal or with my laffy tafft as what I'm doing at this very moment. Lovely fruit shakes + free wifi = top ways to escape the summer heatwave.

2. "Up" wins 2 at the Oscars
-My favorite animated movie won Best Animated Feature Film & Best Original Score.
Great Job to the production people behind this year's Academy Awards, the hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were funny at the right moments and not at all irritating like some of their predecessors. The only performance (dance) of the night featuring the nominees for best musical score made me cry. Well only the part where they were performing the musical score for Up. That movie just has this uncanny ability to tug at my heart and make the tear ducts work, in a good way of course. Hahaha.


3. My pick-me-up song

"And doesn't that sound familiar? Doesn't that hit too close to home?
Doesn't that make you shiver; the way things could've gone?
And doesn't it feel peculiar when everyone wants a little more?
And so that I do remember to never go that far,
Could you leave me with a scar? "
-Scar (Missy Higgins)

======================================================

Isaiah 55:8
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways..."

faith bubble #1

Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay close attention. They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul should be saved, you should be next.
=====================================================

...Thank you Jesus for your faith in me. I just pray for the same faith that you have, to have for myself as well.

=====================================================

They did what Jesus had just modeled - they chose to "walk as Jesus walked"
(1 John 2:6)

=====================================================

Tears in my eyes burn, tears in my eyes burn, while i'm waiting, while i'm waiting for my turn.
-Waiting in Vain, Bob Marley

The heart of the matter

The only thing that counts is faith - expressing itself through love.
-Galatians 5:6

===============================================================

A friend asked me: "What's your life statement?"

That got me thinking.

I said I don't have one.

I asked if it's the same as with my life verse.

And he said it could be, but it should be different in that it's more of related to what I am doing right now as well, my priorities in life.

As much as I would have wanted to remember everything that he said with regards to "life statements", I don't remember much. Mainly because of my lack of sleep that day.

But I guess the more important thing that I got from that conversation that we had was that it got me thinking; to ask myself the question: what is my life statement?

===============================================================

As I was browsing books at Books for Less this afternoon, I saw a bible which had this verse written on its cover:

The only thing that counts is faith - expressing itself through love. -Galatians 5:6

Such a nice verse I thought. As I was thinking about that verse, it reminded me of a line from my favorite movie Serendipity.

In the movie, Jonathan (John Cusack) was talking with Dean (Jeremy Piven). That time, Jonathan has something "tragic" happen to him. I won't dwell into details, for the benefit of those who havent watched it yet.

Dean: You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?".

I was thinking: passion = love.

In a way that coffee and overnights go together for me, faith and love are inseparable things. Although I must admit that before this, I haven't really thought of putting those two together except for when they are mentioned in the famous "Love" chapter of 1 Corinthians.

===============================================================

As I write this, I have yet to put into words my "Life Statement". But what I do have is some kind of "vision" as to what I want it to be. What I want my life to be like.

To live with faith. In the ordinary and extra-ordinary moments of my life. To live with love. To really show it, not just say it. To be someone whom God would give the privilege of serving in His work, in whatever way He would want me to. To do things without fear, except in being away from the center of God's will. To hold nothing back from worshipping and praising God, in all the areas of my life.