We sometimes resent that our life isn’t what it once was - Or perhaps the “sameness” of life has caused us to be discontent, pushing us to wander this world and seek what it has to offer.

Have you heard the phrase "Someone who has broken down the fence wanders endlessly"?

Surely, there must be no harm in searching for the meaning and purpose of our lives - but there is a serious danger when we do it alone, following our heart's desires and lowering our guard. 

We can be easily attacked by the "roaring lions" and eventually become lost.

In Jeremiah we read that our hearts are crafty - they cannot be trusted.

Jeremiah 17:9 NLT

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

Jesus also said that nothing good comes from our hearts. 

Matthew 15:19 NLT

For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.

We MUST NOT follow our heart, but instead guard it, for everything we do flows from it.

Don't break or lower the fence we are in.

We must guard it.

We must stay alert.

How? Let's unfold some stories from the book of Genesis and learn from them.

1. GENESIS 24: A Wife for Isaac

Genesis 24:39-40 NLT

“But I said to my master, ‘What if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to go back with me?’ He responded, ‘The Lord, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family.

READ FULL STORY HERE

This story serves as a reminder of the firm FAITH of Abraham's servant in choosing a spouse for his master's son.

CAREFULLY obeying all instructions given by his master, Abraham.

First of is, it must be from his father's family, not to mention how long the journey from Canaan to Haran is and the possibility that there will be no woman willing to go with him and marry Isaac.

- Yet this servant believes what his master believes in - that surely God will make his journey successful.

We cannot settle for less in choosing the one we will going to marry.

Someone we choose to love or pour our energy and focus into will surely affect our walk with the Lord.

It is very important that we mustn't let our hearts be captivated by those who are not in the family of faith, even if the search and waiting are long, or there is no assurance that we will meet our future spouses or not.

Don't settle for less or compromise with our values as Christians, following our heart's desires, thinking there's no harm in trying, or bargaining with the Lord, because the truth is that issues will arise later on.

The Bible says in Proverbs,

Proverbs 14:12 NLT

There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.

Let's save ourselves from the unnecessary pain that wrong relationships might bring.

It may start well, but it surely will not finish well.

Like Abraham's servant, we must also believe our Master in Heaven - that His will is the best and He has our best interest at us.

2. GENESIS 26: Isaac caresses her wife Rebekah

Genesis 26:8-10 NLT

But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah.

Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, “She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” “Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,” Isaac replied.

“How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.”

READ FULL STORY HERE

What we can learn from this story is the importance of spending time with our spouses, and this is not just a simple time; it is a time that ONLY a husband and a wife can SHARE.

The truth is marriage will not always be a sweet walk together, but a little mix of everything.

Its inertia is not to grow close together, but with the demands of life - kids, bills, chores - it may drift apart if we are not intentional in guarding and taking care of it.

Isaac caressing her wife Rebekah is a reminder that we must keep putting spices in our marriages.

Honoring it by honoring our marriage bed - don't stop "flirting" with our spouses, invest in each other.

Date each other once in a while.

Laugh together.

Surprise each other.

Tickle each other.

Enjoy each other, have fun!

King Abimelech had an interest in Rebekah, but when he saw how Isaac was intimately touching his wife Rebekah, this made King Abimelech stop his desire, and it saved the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah.

Let's not be ashamed of showing our affection to each other in public from time to time.

Let's talk about our spouses in front of our friends, officemates, relatives, churchmates even acquaintances.

Share their photos, and show some moments together in the open.

Don't hide them.

Let us not be too comfortable and complacent with our marriages - marriage is work, and love is an action, a choice, and a commitment.

For new and especially mature Christians, we all know that the Bible is our compass - its counseling is usually in the form of a warning, exhortation, and instruction.

Let's guard our hearts by listening to the scriptures, asking God to align our hearts with His.

Staying alert by being fervent in our prayers to the Lord, sharing the troubles and concerns of our hearts with Him, and asking for protection from the attacks of evil.

1 Peter 5:8 NIV

Be alert and of sober mind.

Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 

It's LOVE Month!

Let me highlight some sweetness, kindness, and thoughtfulness I received a little not so lately - 

Not from my husband but from the One who loved me first - JESUS 🤍

STORY 1:

There was this day when I was asking the Lord for a budget for my hair and makeup since we would be having an event in our company.

I need 1500 PHP to be exact.

That exact day, someone messaged me from the Facebook marketplace and she bought not just one but three paintings from me.

Do you know what amazes me more?

Each of my paintings cost 500 php! 😊

What a sweet Lord! Isn't He?

Hair and Makeup are not significant needs, to begin with, but for God to give me what I want instantly and very exactly - it melts my heart.

STORY 2:

I woke up one morning from a dream of eating a piece of "Mango Bravo".

It is a cake from a Bakeshop named "Contis" - so I was craving it all day.

I thought to myself it was too expensive to buy the whole cake given that there's no occasion to be celebrated, and if we just bought one slice, we would still need to buy some food to make our dine-out worthy; hence, I just decided to forget it.

Afternoon came, around 5pm.

Someone messaged us telling us that they would like to buy our baby a Birthday/Christmas present at the mall near us, so we went.

When we arrived they told us that they were at a restaurant cafe...

And Yup!

It's "Contis"

My heart immediately pounded at the thought of that cake! I realized that just when we surrendered our desire to the Lord, He give it in His own time. Praise you Lord!

STORY 3:

When we had our Christmas party last December, I had this particular prize I'm eyeing thinking that it was a house fragrance (because upon asking what is it, I found out it was not) well, I didn't get it even though I have put much effort to win the game.

Another Christmas party came, and so another gift is bound to be received.

To my heart's gladness, one of the items I got is a house fragrance! And it is big! He might not gave me what I want at the moment where I strongly want it because it is a wrong desire, indeed He gave it in the right time with a much better thing. He knows the best indeed!

Oh God, how sweet and thoughtful You really are!

Giving not just our needs but also those we desire.

Yes, it is God's desire to make our hearts glad too knowing it is good for us.

He wants to put smiles on our faces and extend His goodness to us.

Showing how much He knows us and cares for us.

If people who love us like our earthly parents or spouses desire to make us happy by granting our wishes what more is our Heavenly Father who loves us perfectly.

He doesn't withhold good things to whom it is due when it's in His power to do it.

Luke 11:11-13

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

So this season of love, I encourage you to taste and see the sweetness of our Father in Heaven.

I can say, there's nothing like the sweetness of God. It touches the soul.

And more than the gifts and surprises, for me, it's His presence that blesses me.

Truly, it's the thought that counts and to think that God thinks of me, just makes me feel special, wanted, and pursued.

Indeed, He is not just my Ultimate Provider but my Ultimate Lover as well.

Happy LOVE Month!

Ps. Thanks to my husband for this surprise

When the time is right, I the Lord will make it happen. 

Pandemic isn't a good word. Isn't it?

It brings fear, depression, hopelessness, anxiety, boredom, loneliness, and many more negative feelings we can think of.

For sure this word has brought us some sort of emotional stress that maybe only the Lord knew.

I remember when Covid 19 cases were rising here in the Philippines as our wedding day approaches, I was so anxious.

I am confused about whether I want to hasten time to the day of our wedding or to stop time to make the virus stop spreading.

Well, pause.

In this blog, I will not highlight the personal drama I have gone through during that period. 😄

I'm done with it, Praise God! 😊

I wanna highlight how really the Lord turned something negative into such praise-worthy things!

1. THE WEDDING

Our families on our wedding day

The wedding might be postponed but I got the chance to spent more time with my family - 6 more months with them.

Before getting married, I was so excited to be with my husband now.

We've been for 10 years together and for me, 10 years is more than enough of waiting for both of us.

But looking back I am so grateful God extended our waiting because I am missing my family from time to time.

I miss the life with my parents and my siblings though I am completely happy with my husband right now.

I realized that my life has really a new chapter now.

I'm absorbing the fact that I cannot go back to the time when I was still under my parents' ultimate care, - less freedom but less responsibility.

But yes, the postponed wedding is not ultimately a bad thing.

I treasure those postponed periods with my first love - my family.

2. CALLIGRAPHY AND PAINTING

Have you heard the word "ArTherapy"?

I was not so serious with calligraphy before. I just do it from time to time whenever my feeling calls me to.

But boredom strikes and I needed to do things that time to divert my attention not to stay from the emotional and mental stress I think I was going through.

That's when I started to join the #30daysofBibleLetteringChallenge where I will write bible verses for 30 days.

Day 1/30

This was the point where I got the chance to know some artists.

And as I was connecting with them, I was encouraged to explore art more - like painting florals, landscapes, coffees, bread, humans, and many more.

I almost painted every day until one day, God has impressed some people's hearts to appreciate it by giving me the chance to make art for them - and I'm getting paid for it!

My first ever orders!

Not only that, since I wasn't able to go outside to buy my journaling stuff for my quiet time.

I was pushed to make my own stickers, pure hand-made first but now we are printing it 😊

My first ever hand-made stickers!

Now from painted to printed :)

Have my own Lazada store now :)

I remember when He said to Come to Him and He will show great and mighty things which we do not know (Jeremiah 33:3)

After a year I can say that God has blessed the work of my hands more than I could think of.

It overwhelms me to think that He has brought me here where I am right now.

He has opened doors and still unwrapping things in store for us.

To conclude, 

Who would have thought there is beauty in ashes?

Leviticus 26:35

As long as the land lies in RUINS, it will ENJOY the rest you never allowed it to take...

Leviticus 26:43

For the land must be ABANDONED to ENJOY its years of Sabbath rest as it lies DESSERTED.

How ironic these verses are right?

Ruined, Abandoned, Desserted - who would enjoy such things as these?

But yes, with God - We can. We will.

We might not see it at the moment, but in time, we will understand.

We will appreciate all that He is doing.

Be encouraged.

To us who might be going through this tough season - Believe that God can turn things up.

We will not forever feel deserted or abandoned, there is a reason why God is allowing us to experience such things for a reason that we cannot comprehend right now.

Romans 8:28

And we KNOW that God causes all things to work together for GOOD to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Many will say that 2020 is not the best year or the best way to start a new decade.

Maybe I'm one of them too - at least in the beginning.

But ending the year...

With tears, I feel grateful.

God is really, really faithful.

I remember entering 2020 with full of excitement in me for my thought says, "this year will be different".

I wonder how it feels to have a new chapter in life with the only man I have ever prayed of.

But then COVID 19 happens and it crushed many things - well my dream wedding.

Yes, it seems that my dream wedding covers that "many things" at least for my perspective.

It's like our wedding is my "everything" for that year.

That having a good and wonderful wedding means a happy and perfect 2020 for me.

Not knowing God has in store something far better for me this year.

Early this year, I wrote a blog for valentines entitled "When God brought the woman to the man"

VALENTINE POST

I can say this is my biggest break so far as a writer.

Then when Covid 19 break out last March, it moved me to write my so-called "Covid 19 Series" which reached many people too.

COVID 19 - 1

COVID 19- 2

COVID 19- 3

In April of this year, I started to paint almost every day to cope with the feelings the lockdown has brought me.

I posted my artworks on social media and to my surprise God has sent people who have appreciated and liked them.

Some even asked me to paint for them and that's how I started to earn from it.

September came, who would have thought we will get married - not our way but His way.

WEDDING DAY

November, God has blessed my heart by giving me the opportunity to host an art workshop for the first time!

Then later this year, I have launched my own sticker sets!

- Not only stickers but also cards, tags, calendars, and other customized artsy things. 

I have not thought any of this will come true this year.

My focus is only on that dream wedding but God took my attention by some turn of events.

2020 might have brought me heartbreaks, disappointments, anxiety, doubts, fear, and many negative feelings but I'm still here.

By the grace of God, I'm still here in my faith.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not despairing; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed.

I realized, maybe we have had a lot of hardship this year and it feels this world is against us - well that is normal.

Jesus reminded us that if it feels that the world hates us, It hated him first (John 15:18)

And if we continue to read 2 Corinthians, in verse 10-11, it says,

Always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

We know Jesus did not live the life of pleasure this world defines.

He was betrayed, denied, mocked, scourged, nailed, and crucified - yet in all of these, He is victorious!

He has won the greatest enemy no one has ever defeated which is death.

So to us, Cheers!

God has accomplished all His good plans for us this year - His way, His time.

He is indeed not a man that He should lie for He cannot deny Himself.

God did not just give me the marriage He has promised but in His goodness and grace, He brought me blessing more than I have asked for this year.

2 Corinthians 2:14

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ and manifest through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

May this sweet aroma of Christ be upon you.

Happy almost New Year!

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 

See I am doing a new thing.

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. 

Do not call to mind the former things or ponder things from the past.

Do not cling to the events that happened.

For what He will be doing - in fact already doing.

And is now happening!

These are nothing compare to those things of old.

Yet, God made it happen.

Our church set the wedding date; but a few days before it, we are told that it will not be pushed through for some reason.

By this time, we have adjusted with our church's chosen date twice already - filing our leaves twice including our families.

It became stressful for us knowing we are just a few days away from our set wedding date and we still have no concrete plans how will our wedding be like.

We got no pastor to officiate our wedding, our venue is now unknown and we are not sure of our witnesses' availability for we haven't asked them yet.

But God one by one, made a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

September 9, Wednesday, God provided us a pastor to officiate our wedding then that same day, our venue confirmed it's availability including the number of guests they can accommodate with.

Lastly, some of our witnesses said yes to us.

It's like Tuesday we are problematic then Wednesday, God came to our rescue.

He really does hasten it in its time by sending His people's favor towards us - all compressed in just one day to bless us on our wedding day.

... For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married.

Do not be anxious but pray.

When I read that word from Isaiah 62:4 that night, I was moved to read the previous bible readings I wrote in my journal just this September. 

Here are some of them.

I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time.

You will go out with joy and be led forth with peace...

Those who hopefully wait for Me will never be put to shame.

My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure... Truly I have spoken; I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.

Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?...

Do not fear for I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground.

The Lord makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters. 

Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars... 

I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears... 

Say to those with anxious heart "Take Courage, Fear not"...

But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief...

(v.2)  My soul refuse to be comforted.

(v.3)  When I remember God, I am disturbed.

(v.4)  I feel so trouble, I cannot speak.

(v.8)  Will I never be favorable again?

(v.9)  Has His promise come to an end forever?

(v.10) It is my grief that the right hand of God has changed.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts nor are your ways My ways.

(v.11) I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

(v.12) I will meditate on all Your work And muse on Your deeds.

(v.14) Your way, O God is holy...

(v.19) Your way was in the sea and Your paths in the mighty waters, And Your footprints may not be known.