Candid's Notebook: June 2011

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Confessions of a Doubter

All my life, I have known you and even before the time that I am created, you have known me. You see me through all the seasons in my life. You see my tears and laughs. You witness my triumphs and you join me in my failures. Sometimes I forget you yet you never forget me. Sometimes I betray you by doing things that are against your will. I even indulge myself in these earthly pleasures yet you are still waiting for me. You never ceased on loving me though I always hurt you because of my actions and selfish desires. So many times I have run a way but still you take a hold on my hand and make me feel that I belong to you. Sometimes I question your sovereignty in all the things and in all the circumstances that happen in my life, yet you are patient with me and you let me feel that you are in control. Most of the time, I tried to break away from your hold, yet you make me feel that I am worthy to be your child. You love me in spite of my iniquities. You accept me wholly and you never count my mistakes.

You are the creator of the vast universe, you placed each star in their places and you even call them by their names, yet you care for me. I, a miniscule creature, was loved and am being loved by a God who is indescribable and whose love is unconditional. You sacrificed your one and only son for me to be saved. You are forsaken that is why I will never be alone and never will I be desolated. Thank you for your love Abba. Thank you for being our Savior and King. Words are not enough to give thanks for all the things that you have done in me. I am just a tiny speck of dust that was given a life because of your amazing power and greatness and a doubter whose life is continuously being changed and whose mind is being renewed through your grace and by your endless love.

Soli Deo Gloria

Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship

While writing this book review, I decided to Google the word “Courtship”.Thefreedictionary.com defines courtship as “the act, period, or art of seeking the love of someone with intent to marry”, while brainyquote.com defines courtship as “The act of wooing in love; solicitation of woman to marriage.” Others define courtship as a process of selecting a mate for marriage.

In his second book, Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship, Joshua Harris defined courtship as “dating with a purpose. It‘s romance chaperoned by wisdom. It’s a way of approaching relationships that can help us live out the truths of God’s Word as we pursue our heart’s desire. It’s a story of boy meets girl, where –whether you choose to marry or not – you can get to know each other in confidence that you have only God’s very best ahead for each of you. ” Actually, while reading the book, I can’t help to smile. Why? I’m so happy and deeply blessed that there are people like Mr. Harris who still believes in the idea of courtship. Why I had said that? Well, it is inevitable that most teens and most young people like us rush into a romantic relationship without complementing it with commitment and wisdom. Sometimes due to the intimacy of our emotions we tend to follow what our emotion directs and just go with the flow without thinking about its future effects. Because of emotionalism, people could make unwise decisions with matters such us love and commitment that would eventually result into broken hearts and sometimes even to fornication which may lead to early pregnancies.

What I love about the book is that it helped me to see that I should not pursue romance unless I could reciprocate it with commitment and I am prepared enough for marriage. Just like what Josh Harris always says “the joy of intimacy is the reward of commitment.” Why should I pursue romance if I am not yet ready to get married? Why should I pursue intimacy if I could not render it with right amount of responsibility? I will just play games with love and just compromise my purity. I could not serve God fully if I cannot give my whole heart to Him. The book helped me to see clearly that God is a God of second chances and of a million chances. He does not keep records of our sins once we confess it and repent for it. Once we repent, God wants us to take a hundred eighty degree turn from our sin. He wants us to turn away from it. It helped me realized that God is the author of our lives so therefore he should also be the one to write our love story. It also aided me to see that God’s sovereignty should be manifested in all aspects of our lives.

I like how Josh Harris expressed these ideas in one of the chapters of his book. He said: “It’s not enough to simply have romantic feelings. Anyone can do that! Long-lasting romance needs practical, common-sense wisdom that knows when to let the wind of feelings carry us higher and when to pull back. When to express our emotions and when to keep quiet. When to open our hearts and when to rein them.”

As ladies and gentlemen, we should fix our eyes in Jesus and trust His perfect timing. For everything there is a season under the firmament of heavens. God has great plans for us just like what Jeremiah 29:11 says For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. All we need to do is to exercise our faith and trust Him completely. Our season of singleness is a gift from God. It is an opportunity to enhance our God-given talents and abilities to be the lady or to be man that God wants us to be. Ladies, our future husband does not need a cute and preppy girlfriend that he could display to all the people around him. He does not need a walking mannequin that is filled with a lot of ornaments. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says that our beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. He needs a Godly wife who would love him whole heartedly and who would serve him with respect and care.

Gentlemen, your future wife does not need a suave and brusque husband. She does not need a boy next door cutie who does not know how to take charge to the responsibilities of a man. Guys, you should set as an example. God commanded the wives to submit themselves to their husbands. Therefore, you should be a good steward of your future wife and of your future family. God made you man for you to face the challenges and commitments of man. In conclusion in this book review, I learned that it takes courage and faith to be the Godly lady or man that we dreamed of. All of us dream to have a better half, someone whom we could cherish and someone whom we could spend our life with. All of us desire to have the “perfect” love story that we could be proud of. All of these can happen if we entrust anything in God’s Hands. In our own way, we will always fail and we will always feel lost, but with God, all things are possible. If it is according to his will, your heart desire will come true, but if it is not, learn to wait and trust God completely. He is the one who mold you in your mother’s womb and He knows the deepest desires of your heart. Be patient and faithful. Don’t lose heart and keep on pressing on.

Soli Deo Gloria

Daddy‘s Hug of Comfort

Whenever my heart feels heavy I always go to my room. There in my room, I’ll lie on my bed and cover my face with my pillow. While my face is concealed under my pillow, tears flow in my eyes, I silently cry to my God, my Daddy, my source of comfort. Being an introvert person, I find it hard to share my deepest heartaches to other people. Though sometimes I share some of them to my closest girl friends, still there are some that I couldn’t tell to them immediately. I’ll admit God is teaching me in this area of my life. But you know what the best part of my life is? It is the times that I cry to God. With Him, I am able to pour out what’s in my heart, what bothers me, and my worries. With Him, I always feel the peace that soothes my troubled spirit, I always feel the love that is unconditional and unfailing, and with Him, I always find my refuge and hope. For He choose to love me in spite of who I am and though I do not deserve this kind of love.

What I’m trying to say is this: God wants a relationship with us. He wants us to be personal with Him. He wants to be a part of our life, every hour, every minute and every second of it. He wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives, be it with our studies, our family, and even in our love lives. In His eyes, we are a darling, we are His precious ones. He cares for us for He chose us to be His children. God is real! He does not condemn but He forgives truly, He does not want us to be apart from Him.

While reading this article you may ask these questions: “Why do sometimes I feel so alone?” “Why do my problems seem to conquer me?” “Why God let me experience failures, pain, and rejection?” God does not promise a life that is without an obstacle to pass through. Being a child of God, He promises that He will not leave us nor forsake us in every circumstance of our life. Life in this world is not a bed of roses. In this fallen world, everybody shed tears and everybody lived a sinful life. No one is holy and upright. That is why Jesus Christ, the messiah, died in the Cross. He died so that we may live; He was forsaken so that we shall never be alone, He was buried so that we can be raised; He reached down so that we don’t have to do our way up.

Isn’t it amazing? The God of the Universe, the creator of the heaven and the earth cares for you and wants to be with you? Isn’t awesome that Jesus, the son of God, the holy one, and the King of Kings, cares for you and treats you as His friend? So what are you waiting for? Aren’t Jesus is enough to satisfy the longings of your heart? God loves you so much. Whatever is your color, whatever your nationality is, and whatever is your status in life is, God wants you. He loves you so much. No one can fathom how deep His love for you is. Do want to experience it? Ask God and He will let you feel how He loves you.

My Simple Yet Sweet Biography

My full name is Genelizette Deticio Palomar. My love ones and friends call me Lizette and I will be glad if you’re going to call me in my nickname. I have been a writer since when I was eight. By that age, I started to write my own short stories and essays. I was twelve when I wrote my first poem. Writing and Poetry is one of my past times. It is also a way for me to express my thoughts for I am not a good speaker. I was formally involved in Journalism when I entered high school. I served our school paper, The Shoeland, for four years. Currently, I am a contributor at an on-line Christian Radio Station here at Philippines. Its name is Truth On-Air and you may visit it at www.truthonair.com.

I was just accepted last February and my first blog post for Truth On-Air was posted last March 14. My blogs are posted during Monday evenings. I also maintain my personal blog which I named as Candid’s Notebook. You may visit my blog at www.candidsnotebook.blogspot.com. I am a Christian since when I was a kid. My Mom is the one who introduced me to Christ. I will never regret that I choose to dedicate my life to Him and to follow God with all my heart and soul. As of the moment, I do not have plans for the future. I think my life will revolve at God, my family, my ministries, and my passion at writing. Although as of the moment, the future is vague and uncertain, one thing is for sure: I entrust my unknown future to my known God for He has plans for me, plans to prosper me not to harm me, and plans to give me a hope and a future.

Goodbye, my wildflowers

A friend wrote a wonderful poem and I just want to share it with you guys. The poem makes me remember a line in one of h3sean.com's blog posts: “I know I loved you before I met you because I’ve kept myself for you.” True love waits and it is worth waiting for... God gives us our single years for us to serve Him and grow in love with Him without reservation.... :) - Lizette

They say this place was meant for wildflowers

To bloom on the road for a man like me

To pick them up as I stroll and traverse

And then think of sunsets beside the sea.

Yes, I carried one and have made my heart

Like a vessel, a vase where it can reveal

Its strange beauty mistakenly called art,

A mystery I know that is unreal.

Because there were prickles that grow to hurt,

Even it was early to comprehend.

If only too much I did not exert,

So right now I will just have to amend.

And as the spring ends in the late of May,

There on the sands I lay the memories

So let the waters toss them far away

And let the summer cause no reminisce.

So then, let the dust forbid them to grow

Once they settle on a lonely island.

For I won't see wildflowers tomorrow,

Never to pick them again with my hand.

Waiting the summer, waiting for next spring

I hope better rosebuds burst into bloom

As they fill again my heart with singing

Of the serenade that makes love resume.

Goodbye, my wildflowers now forgotten

I have new petals to cover the scars.

For I will walk without being broken

Having daffodils array like the stars.

http://www.poemhunter.com/obed-dela-cruz/

http://poetfreak.com/poet/PrinceObedDeLaCruz296

http://obed-dela-cruz.blogspot.com/

http://princeobed.multiply.com/

Sunday, June 5, 2011

GOD KNOWS YOU

Friends I found this post at the Truth On-Air group. Truth On-Air is an All-Christian Internet Radio Station that aims to glorify God through music and entertainment, lectures and preachings. It's worth to read. Please read it until the end. Thank you and God bless you! Feel free to share this to everyone whom you know.:) Soli deo Gloria!

You may not know me,

but I know everything about you...

Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down

and when you rise up...

Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways...

Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered...

Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in My image...

Genesis 1:27

In Me you live and move and have your being...

Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring...

Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived...

Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation...

Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake,

for all your days are written in My book...

Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth

and where you would live...

Acts17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made...

Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb...

Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born...

Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by

those who don't know me...

John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry,

but am the complete expression of love...

1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you

simply because you are my child

and I am your Father

1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could...

Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect Father...

Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive

comes from my hand...

James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs...

Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future

has always been filled with hope...

Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love...

Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless

as the sand on the seashore...

Psalm 139:17-18

And I rejoice over your singing...

Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you...

Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession...

Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you

with all my heart and all my soul...

Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you

great and marvelous things...

Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,

you will find Me...

Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in Me

and I will give you the desires of your heart...

Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires...

Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you

than you could possibly imagine...

Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager...

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father

who comforts you in all your troubles...

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you...

Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb,

I have carried you close to my heart...

Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes

and will take away all the pain

you have suffered on this earth...

Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father,

and I love you even as I love my Son, Jesus...

John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed...

John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being...

Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you,

not against you...

Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins...

2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled...

2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love

for you...

1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved

that I might gain your love...

Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of My Son, Jesus,

you receive Me...

1 John 2:23

And nothing

will ever separate you from My love again...

Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party

Heaven has ever seen...

Luke 15:7

I have always been Father,

and will always be Father...

Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is...

Will you be My child?...

John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you...

Luke 15:11-32

*courtesy to Mr. Rejel Castillo