By grace alone

Romans 11:6. I took this from my first and only Bible. It is a bit old now but I cherish it so much coz this was a gift from my sister last Christmas, two years ago. And this was the best gift to be given to me by someone. The gift that introduced me to God's wonderful plans for my life and to have an incomparable relationship with Him. 

Last Sunday, I woke up 30 minutes passed 5 o' clock in the morning. Our Sunday service at church starts at 6:30 am and my travel takes almost 1 hour for me to get there. I hurriedly took a shower and got dressed. My fingers were crossed, praying I would be able to arrive at church exactly before the sermon begins since I was assigned to operate the powerpoint presentation. I knew I was already behind the time to possibly reach the praise and worship part. So, I prayed and prayed that I would not be late for the sermon at least, though seemed to be very much not happening.

Believe and you will receive. Very true! My prayer was answered right away! I have learned my lesson and I am very thankful for a God who lets me get through. By grace alone.

Speaking of grace, the message for this week was 'We are commanded to do it God's Way'. We were already on the third week of the series, The Shadow of the Almighty: Living under God's authority. On point number one, our pastor mentioned a run down of the different concepts of salvation from various Christian religions existing. He had came up to these three: salvation by works, salvation by grace plus works and salvation by grace alone through faith.

The foundation of our salvation as a church is salvation by grace alone through faith. It was actually mentioned a lot of times in the Bible. Martin Luther often taught that salvation was based on faith alone and no amount of work (referring to good deeds) can bring you salvation. We are saved to work for God, not work to be saved.

Our pastor uttered something that caught my heart indeed. He said that many people would say, "That's it? We just have to believe and we're saved?" out of disbelief. Some would insist, "Can we not do anything or contribute just a part for our salvation?" Salvation was made easy and free by God, that it seems to be so good to be true. We do not have to labor for our salvation anymore because the difficult part was already done by Jesus Christ the day He died on the cross. That is why it's called a gift. All you need to do is to receive it. And what do we say after that? We say thank you. And saying thank you to God would be how we live our lives for Him. Since this life is all we got, every thing belongs to Him. There's nothing else we can offer except every second of our breaths, every beat of our hearts.

This is the very reason why when I think of grace, it often brings me to tears. It is so amazing, you can't help yourself but to kneel down and praise God's name.

Arch-Des Fashion Show

For these past few days, I have not been out of the house except when I go to school or when I attend church. I am not that much of an outdoor person so it was not an insane kind of idea for me.

My best friend, Leo, invited me to an event at their school for their Arch-Des Week. It was a mini runway fashion show designed and arranged by BS Architecture students which sounded very interesting to me. I was hesitant to say yes at first since I am not good in socializing with new crowds but he assured me it will be fine so I said yes.

Before the actual show started, a DJ mixer introduced an original composition of his to unwind the audience from the wait. The music soothed my ears to the beat.

Most of my catwalk shots were blurry because of my lack of skill in photography. Ha ha! But then I managed to take a few decent ones.

Have you ever of heard a siren that rather than alerting you, it de-stresses you? Well, I am actually referring to this lady here. Her voice is as chic as her Bohemian getup.

Next, the architectural exhibit! I took lots of pictures while roaming around the place and found some indeed amazing forms of art by hand. 

Leo then toured me around his college: the library, the cafeteria, the classrooms (which seemed like conference rooms). The hallways were spacey and everywhere I glimpse, every corner has a different structural design that forms a unique silhouette.

Tadaa! I feel like I'm sitting on a Cobonque-made furniture. (~￣▽￣)~ 

There were also fashionable mannequins displayed along corridors. 

This one's made up of Asian green mussels' shells. Pretty exotic, eh? 

Two words: puffy and edgy.

Leo took this shot of me before we left the place. He is getting better in focusing the camera. Just a little bit more practice.

Before ending the night and returning to our own cribs, we stopped over to the nearest coffee shop. I felt like I needed milligrams of caffeine to keep me awake until dawn since I still had to work on an assignment and to study for a quiz the next day. Also, it is Leo's favorite spot to hang-out.

We would always order with our names disguised as colors. I'm red and he's blue. Well, my friends in school really call me Red as my nickname. Leo just copied me! Ha ha!

There's a really funny story behind this picture of sliced honey glazed doughnut. So, as I was slicing the doughnut, I asked Leo if he wanted to have some. He gratefully nodded at me, smiling. Afterwards, I ate the piece I sliced. He pouted and said that he thought I was slicing it for him. I laughed after hearing him said those.

Til next time! 

Let us jumpstart new year

"God won't allow us to succeed at anything unless we're leaning and relying on Him. But when we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, in due time, He will exalt us (see 1 Peter 5:6). "due time" is God's time, when God knows we're ready, not when we think we're ready. The sooner we understand and accept that, the sooner God can work His plan in our lives.", from Joyce Meyer

So, what's your plan for this year?

Departing Roxas

Holiday is over! Sad to say but we have to bid to our hometown goodbye. Anyways, I had so much fun during my stay there. The people, the place, the gifts! Back to missing mode again. Ha ha!

As we arrived in Manila, my sister insisted to have a picture with this giant Christmas tree. She is that appreciative always. That is why a lot of people appreciate her. Hihee.

By the way, a very thoughtful friend of mine dropped by at our house yesterday to deliver this yummy treat. I did not have the time to taste it back there so I brought it with me here in Manila. I am no expert when it comes to desserts, so I am not sure what this is called. I think she calls this chocolate mousse cake. Anyways, it was muy delicioso!

Ramboy's

The last time I went back home in Roxas, I've tasted the awesomest Liempo in our town! My sister did not get to go back home that time so mom and I decided to have dinner at Ramboy's tonight. We tagged along with us my two lovable cousins, Liann and Pebbles, the pretty one, Queenie. And also, Uncle Nonoy.

We were welcomed by a giant Christmas tree and endless Christmas lights that kindled the place beautifully. There were candy houses, a cute old train, plastic raindeers and more, that comprises Christmas tales, surrounded the place. You can have pretty cute pictures with it, which you can keep as a souvenir.

We then learned that their Liempo is.. how do I say this? It's sold out! Just like what I said, it's the best Liempo Roxas have, so there's no doubt about it. Leaving us with no choice, we ordered the rest in their menu that fairly catered our grumbling empty stomachs.

The premise was relatively small but spacious though. I also admire how the place was designed like it is in a small town, giving the perfect hometown ambiance.

Liann and Uncle Nonoy.

Queenie and Pebbles.

Me, Big sister and Mom.

We then learned that their Liempo is.. how do I say this? It's sold out! Just like what I said, it's the best Liempo Roxas have, so there's no doubt about it. Leaving us with no choice, we ordered the rest in their menu that fairly catered our grumbling empty stomachs.

Eating is our favorite time to bond as a family. Hahaha! Though sad to not have Liempo for dinner, I did enjoy this evening and the food! I really love going back to our province, like a child misses his blanket. I would not spend my holiday vacation any other way. 

A Reunion to Remember

Just before Christmas eve, our ever loved Tita Stella celebrates her birthday! Leo invited all of our high school classmates to attend the party. He did not expect a lot to come since tomorrow is Christmas and they may be preparing for the Noche Buena. Surprisingly, most of them came! I really hoped so because I only got two-day stay here in Roxas and I wanted to see them so badly!

Myra, getting prettier than ever!

I just have to upload this one! We look so happy that we look so funny.

After hours of chatting and catching up with each other, it's time for some lavish lunch! My favorite part! Ha ha! Kidding aside, Leo really has good cooks at their home, including his mom. Well, I took large portions for myself since I am in diet suspension. Laughs.

Somehow, it bothers me how messy my hair can get whenever I am eating.

What can I say? They're all beautiful effortlessly! I love them so much!

I have not seen these four for a long time though. Cedie, looking fierce, Josh, in his chinese state, Dianne, pretty as always and Karen,with her lovely smile.

Me, with the two who have the strangest sense of humor in our class which we love to laugh at until we can laugh no more.

And here is a picture with the birthday celebrant.

Afterwards, we gathered inside Leo's bedroom and had lots of funny conversations about ourselves. I will always miss being with them. Now I know, why the adults would often say high school is where you find your best-est friends.

Oops. Sorry. I was getting ready still.

I love this last photo so much. We look so cute and funny at the same time. I cannot wait for summer to come so I can see them again! And before I forget, thank you so much to my gorgeous seat mate, Kim, for the photos.

Have a merry and festive Christmas, everyone!