Thursday, November 28, 2013

Gratefulness



Mmmm. 

My blog? It's my happy place and because it's where I can freely express and share my gratefulness to God, to every circumstances, whether good or bad, and to the people dear to my heart. It has been my way of life to honor people that I admire and that helps me focus less on myself. Thankful that I consistently kept my blog a medium of positivity rather than daily rants and complaints in life which sort of suck the life out of you. The same goes with my social media eg. facebook and IG. Reminding myself each day to be grateful than resentful brings out the goodness, happiness, and positive vibe in me. Thank you to the 10 followers who somehow find interest in reading my thoughts. Last year, I only had 1 reader which was no other than my husband.hahaha. This year, it multiplied to 10. My mom, my sisters, my bffs, my aunts and my cousins.hehehe. Thank you guys so much! Di bale, next year, I might do a giveaway to the most loyal subscriber.LOL. Kidding aside, thank you really to all your kind words, sweet comments and for wasting your time in reading my happy place. I don't know each of you but I know where my blog gets viewed. This year, other than here in the US, it was viewed in different parts of the world like Philippines, Canada, Russia, Australia, UK, Germany, UAE, Poland, Singapore, New Zealand, India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, South Africa, Bulgaria, Guam, and Italy. O diba. International! Thank you po! It inspires me to write more uplifting messages and be a better follower of Christ. 

To you who reads this post now, I am thankful for you! May you also find things to be grateful for.


Good night friends! Before we get together with family in the evening, we need to wake up early and swing by to church first thing in the morning to give thanks to the awesome guy up there. For a great life, loving family, best husband, good job, and faithful friends, I am forever grateful! Although life is not perfect, I am perfectly happy because I am grateful. 

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18


xoxo,
Joselle

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Happy 20th Birthday, Jonah Mae!

I kid you not. Jonah, our bunso (youngest sibling) is the sweetest bunso ever! Why? Because now that she just turned 20, she has no plans yet of moving out of our mom's bedroom. She still chooses to sleep beside her. hehehe. Sorry to embarrass you little sis, but for your Ate, I find this so adorable. Grateful that you are there for our mom as her pillow and comfort each night. Sweet bebe!

She's so responsible, very much so for her age. Last weekend, she had the opportunity to serve in our ministry's youth camp and one mom told me how well she did and how she was touched by her talk/sharing. Every compliment I hear about my sisters is music to my ears. When my Lola was still with us, Jonah took care of her really well. Walang arte kahit sa pagpalit ng diaper. She offered her nothing but love, compassion, respect, joy and treated her grandmother like her own mom. At home, she helps vacuum the house every week and does other assigned chores responsibly. She makes sure her things are in order and there's no need for me to tell her to tidy up. 

She's simple. Au naturel look is her go to style. Except for BB cream, which is her no. 1 staple make up product, she doesn't like to cover her face with too much cosmetics. She's beautiful inside and out :) 

She's hard working. She puts a lot of effort in studying and values education so much. We are so proud of her as she's close to finish her degree in Finance.  

She's pure and she promised to keep herself chaste until marriage. At 20, like our other sister, Jovy, she's a member of NBSB (No Boyfriend Since Birth) club.  Lucky is the man who can wait for my sister and wins her heart. Patapusin mo muna ha. hehe. :)

She's my barkada. Lucky to have sisters to hang out with, mess up with, talk to about anything and everything, borrow clothes from, share secrets with, and what not. I guess the secret to a long lasting, solid friendship and sisterhood is to always forgive and not hold grudges. 

Happy Birthday, Jonah Mae! Ate is very proud of you! I'll always be here to support you and guide you. May you continue to grow in faith and may you always be blessed as you follow whatever God wills for you in life. We love you! 


xoxo,
Joselle 

Friday, November 22, 2013

Welcome Zion! Hillsong United in Atlanta

I was in awe and was so delighted that last night, I,  together with my sisters found ourselves in a sea of youthful, energetic, and good-natured people. Like us, they were there to attend the Welcome Zion tour of Hillsong United. I just recently became a fan of them when my heart melted to their new song, Oceans, that I mentioned earlier on my blog. I just couldn't believe my eyes when I read on their website that they're going to Atlanta and will be performing on Gwinnett Arena which is roughly 13 minutes away from where I live. I just knew I couldn't pass on this great opportunity to see them perform live. 

If you don't know Hillsong United, they're a band from Australia creating and performing inspirational Christian music. I am quite familiar with some of their songs as I try to listen daily to Christian radio station on my way to work. Also, we sometimes incorporate their songs to our praise and worship in our church and community. 

What I thought was a concert, turned into a night of praise fest! Everybody unhesitatingly sung their hearts out, danced, lifted up their hands and just went all out in praising God through Hillsong's heartfelt music. I genuinely commend this band for bringing in some new flavor to Christian music. Their Christian contemporary modern pop songs were probably what drove young peoples' attention to dove in to praise and worship. Before (a little bit today sometimes), like any other teenagers, I used to love listening to chill R&B and to some cool pop music without really looking into the meaning of the song. As long as I loved the beat and the melody, I didn't really care if it had sort of distasteful meaning underneath. But as I grew older, with the grace of God, I started to develop an understanding that the lyrics do matter! Now, I try my hardest to choose only the kind of music that brings inspiration and glory to the Lord and hopefully, if it's God will to grant me children, that I may teach them the same. 

Going back to last night, God amazingly filled the arena with his presence and definitely my mascara ran out. I was also happy and proud of my sisters that at their young age, they are not afraid to show how much they love the Lord and that we all share the same passion. Our ticket was really worth it and it was a 'win-win' situation too. Hillsong was able to promote their songs, and as for us, our hearts and spirits got consumed by the powerful messages God conveyed to us through their music. 

Lastly, at this day in age of secularism, God reassures that there is hope!

Sisters United
Welcome Zion Tour 2013
xoxo,
Joselle

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)

Typhoon Yolanda also known as Haiyan, one of the strongest storms hit the Philippines on Friday, headlined all over the world. When I learned about the news early in the morning, first thing I did was to contact my dear husband and check on my family's status. I'm glad that Metro Manila was spared and my husband affirmed me that all was well with them, however my heart just breaks for the people in Visayas and Palawan. Each day, the number of dead bodies arise, families mourn, clean water and food become scarce and power remains down. My countrymen desperately need help! 

Sympathies and prayers mean a lot but it would mean so much more if we could act and do something to help. Thanks to technology, reaching out was made easy. We, here in the US can quickly give donations online. Our ministry, Couples for Christ together with ANCOP (Answering the Cry of the Poor) are raising funds to aid the needs of the victims. 


On a lighter note, it is just so nice to know that a lot of Filipinos are quick and eager to give help. Even other countries have kindly extended assistance. In the office today, I did a favor for one of my coworkers and she asked me what she could do to repay me. Instead of saying "you owe me lunch", haha, just kidding, I immediately thought of soliciting funds for the victims of Yolanda. hehe. I sent her the link where she could donate and she said she was glad to share. Although I am not the kind of person who expects anything in return, I thought, the heck with that, (kinapalan ko ng konti face ko.hehe) it's not for me anyways but for my fellow kababayans. We may all be in different financial situations. I know that times are tough these days and it doesn't exclude us here in America, but each one of us can help in our own little ways. Just being alive is enough reason to be grateful and give back to those in great need. If you are Filipino, if you love Filipinos, if you are a Christian or if you just have a heart for humanity, show it! Donate now. Give till our pockets hurt! 

Dear God, use us mightily to comfort all of your children in need. May you always instill in us charitable and compassionate hearts. Help us be cheerful givers and sensitive to the needs of others. May you help the Philippines recover and may you console the people who lost their loved ones. Please give our country fortitude and may we not lose hope that in your perfect time, you will deliver us from this wrath. In Jesus name, Amen.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Cor 1:3,4)


xoxo,
Joselle

Friday, November 1, 2013

Soft spot

Sharing this cute video to my hubby who is like me with a soft spot and a sucker for babies!!! He loves loves loves movies with kids on it and even movies made for kiddos. hehe. When he sees them cry, he can't help but cry as well. How cute! I hope ours will be as cute and sweet as this little one! :)


My Prince

Until now, I still can't believe how lucky and blessed I am to be his wife. 

The Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Channing Tatum, John Lloyd and even Sir Chief of my life! :D

Other than he is good looking (naks!) and smart (cos he chose me.hahaha), I fell deeply in love with this dude cos of his pure heart. They say when you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all. That's my husband. I've never heard him say or think of anything bad about anyone. Whenever I pester him with chismis (gossip) he would give me his I'm-not-interested-look or sometimes I feel like he pretends he doesn't hear what I say. hehe. Since I met him, our conversations have always been mostly positive and encouraging. When he speaks, he's ever so gentle. He's careful with his words, cautious not to offend or hurt anyone. He's so impeccably polite and treats everyone with respect. I haven't seen him lose his cool even in an offensive situation. I feel like he was raised by humble royalties cos he acts so graciously refined ;) Being his wife literally gives you a feeling of being a princess! Thank you for inspiring me and making me a better me. 

Happy happy birthday dear! I love you and can't wait to see you! :)



"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the 

Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." -James 1:17:

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." -Matthew 5:8

xoxo,
Joselle