Reminiscing Truths ⚓

It doesn’t take an expert to notice that in the span of almost 7 months, the world has drastically changed. From your everyday-normal activities, it’s like the world has suddenly shut down or gone into sleep mode. Such a steep turn in history. Of course, all sectors are inevitably affected—including churches. I could still remember March 15—several months ago, but it felt like a lifetime ever since. That week was the first implementation of the ECQ, and while SGC was able to gather as a church then, people from the south like us weren’t able to come due to border restrictions. What we all thought would be a month of non-gathering stretched on to two. Three. Seven months. A lot has changed since the first lockdown. In our church life alone, we haven’t had physical gatherings since March; we left our church building that we’ve had for seven years. And on the individual level, the pandemic has been nothing short of a super magnifier—of the heart, the intentions, the priorities in life. It...

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1 (ESV)                     I have been pondering upon this thought since early last week when Hapi and I were choosing the hymns for the upcoming Sunday (yesterday). Abba has been preaching a mini-series on Christian Service for some Sundays now. When we were told that the sermon for yesterday would be about the personal application of Christian service, the  Take My Life and Let it Be  hymn immediately came to mind as a fitting hymn of preparation. I'm not sure whether the hymn had a similar scriptural reference, but it turned out to be really such an appropriate hymn to what the sermon discussed. The text was in Romans 12. This topic, of course, has already been preached several times before. It was highlighted in the mini-series on Biblical...

Today marks the last day of SGC’s stay at Intersekt. We have used the place for seven full years; years of witnessing God’s great goodness to such undeserving sinners as we are; years of seeing Him at work—up close and mightily. It was while we were in Intersekt that I personally transitioned from being an idealistic incoming college student to a more sober, calmer, and grace-reliant adult. That building has witnessed so many drastic changes—not just in my life, but in the life of the church as a whole. We were in that building when we’ve lost friends and loved ones; we were there when the Lord has so graciously added new friends and loved ones into the fold, too. Seven of the Youngles were able to stay at Intersekt for our last overnight there yesterday to pack things up and designate which box goes where. I was super privileged and blessed to have been able to come (thanks to Euma for picking me up AND taking me back to my place which is an hour drive away). It was an all-nighter kin...

      I will be honest. I went through last week without daily log of reads. I read and watched, yes, but I couldn't remember which ones I've read on what day. My bad. But one of the books that I've read just last week was William Philip's Why We Pray . It's a rather short read--just 103 pages--but it is ever full. of. beneficial. things. I do think that one of the reasons that I couldn't come up with my usual weekly reading list is because I've been too engaged with this one. I was able to read the book because I've subscribed to Scribd's premium membership (yes, the 1-month Freemium was totally effective on me). I shared my takeaways from the book during our department meeting yesterday, and I thought it's truly worth sharing. So instead of my usual, here are some snippets from the book "Why We Pray" for my reading recommendation. :)      When we think about how we pray, there are two things that the heart is tempted to feel: dep...

I recently reverted this whole blog to draft because I realized I couldn't keep the blog and  keep up with my work at the same time. But I just decided to put it up again for rare opportunities like this to give the deep web a glimpse of the kind of life I have. Not that anyone would really care to read, but. Hehe. A college friend recently did an IG series of #beautifulthingsIlove, a collection of appreciation posts for all the people that made 2019 his best year. I thought that I could dedicate an entry here with that theme as well. This year, my heart is so full. Not because I had everything I ever wanted--if anything, I have my earthly hopes deferred. But it was this 2019 that I get to see God at work--in my life, in the brethren's lives, in the church.  So here are my 2019 highlights, the people for whom I am forever grateful. (Sorry, I ran out of creative transitions.) Family.  This year's been tough on us, and we sure had some major "restructuring...

Pililia Wind Farm, 2019 “I don't mind close-ups, I like them, but they're kind of forceful - you see a lot, you get a lot of information in a close-up. There's less mystery.” —David Duchovny When I saw this quote online, it got me thinking. Do we really lose the “mystery-ness” of things when we get more information about them? The sense of awe and wonder—do they fade as you see the things you admire at a closer perspective? Surely, with the imperfect and the flawed, the trend of feeling lesser awe as one sees more is set. Not necessarily because of the mere fact that you’ve seen more of it—but because, being imperfect, when we see more of something, we inevitably see more of its flaws. More depths to the beauty we have initially perceived, yes, sometimes. But the flaws, scars, dents, and imperfections that were so carefully hidden before are also now brought to light. In a different light, this fallen world, and everything in it, becomes less appealing. N...