Too Big A Task!

I went home really late last night. It had been a challenging evening. It was my second time to chair our church board meeting. The first time I did it, everything turned out well and we ended up early. But last night was so tough. I was stressed out compared to my previous chairmanship. Probably one of the factors was that in some of the agenda my name was involved. There was even one agenda that was all about me. Last night was one of the longest meetings we had. Members spoke out, some relevant, some superficial, some helpful while some were just for show-off. But despite the stresses that night, I am so thankful that God sent a big help for me, my senior pastor. He was beside me all the way, coaching me on how I should react to each circumstance, and he thought me when and when not to speak. He was like the Holy spirit at my side guiding me in all my decisions. I'm glad that God made me understand that there is no task too big if you are doing it for God's glory.

Beyond Our Grip!

The sun was about to set, yet we were still rushing to finish the church's newsletter. The Lay-out artist and I had both been busy in the past days, so we both did our best to get the newsletter done before the day ended. We were planning to release it tomorrow but everything didn't turn out well. A lot of pictures were still missing and one column wasn't finished yet. But we still persisted to finish it. We filled the blank spaces intended for the pictures with some graphics and eventually finished the lay-out and editing. We brought the files to the printing shop after the final editing but to our frustration, the printer in the shop was not working. Boy! What a day?! We did our best, but our best wasn't enough. One thing I've learned, some things are beyond our grip. We may not know why it happened but God does. It may seem so frustrating but in the end, it's for our own good.. We will be releasing the newsletter next week, so at least there's more time to finish the unfinished.Thank God.

When Everyone Stands Up!

I woke up at 4am yesterday and headed to church to meet pastor Gerry. We both went to Malabon to attend the workers' meeting at Central Luzon Conference. The meeting started with a typical devotional. After all the announcements, all of the Pre-interns, including me, met together and discussed the formation of our own organization. Ephraim Tolentino, one of the new pre-interns stood up and led the meeting. He proposed, that our group should elect our own officers and be organized. Many stood up and questioned the proposal. Many disagreed with the proposal and some even made their own proposal. While everyone else was standing up, I remained seated and whispered a prayer. "Lord help me to control myself, that I will remain humble when everyone else becomes proud, that I will remain seated when everyone else stands up!

Funny!

It was already raining when I started preparing for church today, so I decided to take a public ride instead of driving my motorcycle. I was the first passenger on the jeepney. Not so far from where I took the jeep, a man without a left arm joined me in the ride. After a minute, a man without a right limb also rode the jeep. Just before the jeepney took off, a cross-eyed man also got in. For a minute, I pondered on that funny experience. Was God teaching me a lesson? Or did He want me to realize something? When I got off the jeepney, I began to analyze what just happened. God probably wanted me to appreciate more the things I have. I am so blessed if compared to those impaired men. I just hope that despite the disabilities of those people, they would come to realize that they are still blessed in many ways!

Spare Some Strength Lord!

I've never heard my Praise team sing the way they sang last night at our final practice. It evidently showed that they were really tired. Most of them are students, probably tired from studying. Some are working and are probably stressed out with their jobs. I myself was tired the whole day, so I gave them some advice. I said, pray tonight that God will strengthen you tomorrow as you lead the worship in singing. We ended our session with a prayer, asking God to give us what we need as we lead the worship. I believe God will be with us as He used us tonight. But still, i'm praying that God will strengthen my praise team!

A Ride with my saviour!

I've never driven my motorcycle as far as I have today. Together with my senior Pastor, I explored the tourist spots of the province of Zambales. We didn't ride just for fun, but we looked for a good place to fit our church retreat on December. Of course, as pastors and people who trust God, we prayed before we left Olongapo. The sun was on its height on our way to the retreat places, but when we were already heading home, the rain started to fall. driving will always be dangerous when the road is slippery and so I felt a little nervous when the rain started to soak my jacket. As I was driving, a thought crossed my mind. I remembered Jesus' experience with His disciples while they were facing not only an ordinary rainfall but a wild storm. His disciples probably felt so nervous while strong winds were pushing and pulling their boat. But Jesus, in His capacity as a God, felt the doubting hearts of His disciples which made Him wake up and stand before them. He asked them, "Where is your faith?". I guess, if Jesus was riding with me in my motorcycle He would have asked me the same question.