God wants you

Earlier this evening, I was re-reading a book gifted to me by friends from church. It's entitled 'God is closer than you think' by John Ortberg. In the start of the book, he talks about Michelangelo's fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel: 

The Creation of Adam
(source: The Britannica Encyclopedia online)

Here is an excerpt of what Ortberg wrote: 

Chatime hopping (Part 1)

As I promised in my first chatime post (read here), I went hopping to different Chatime branches across the metro, but somehow, new branches pop up faster than I can visit them. Hopefully, I'll have more time to myself in the near future to visit those I haven't gone to.

Pioneer Center - to date, still my favorite branch. I gush about it so much that my friends say I'm the Chatime goodwill ambassador. When they finally tried it out, it also became an instant favorite milk tea place. Haha. 

Robinson's Galleria - the first branch I tried. It's small, almost like a stall, but often has a long line of customers.   

SM North - visited this one with Ricell, for our pre-Christmas bonding in 2011. 

Greenhills - I wheedled my brothers into coming here, even though it was located in unimart and we parked near promenade. One of the few stores that serves food, it offered different varieties of chicken wings. 

Eton Centris - opened earlier this year, too bad I wasn't able to try it out when they still had the buy 1 take 1 promos.
The Fort - across the street from St. Luke's, fairly spacious like the branches in Eton Centris and in PC. As expected, though it looks the same, it has a bit of 'sosyal' vibe in it. Must be because of the customers (think business attire).  

I've also visited the branches in Landmark Makati and SM Mall of Asia, wasn't able to take pictures though due to the volume of people.

In the near future, I'll be hopping to...Gateway Mall and One Archer's Place, Taft (someone tell me where this is). I currently have no idea how and when I'll be able to visit Alabang Town Center. I'm also waiting for the branches in SM Megamall and SM Manila. Opening Soon!!!

A comforting thought

Just a short sharing post. This is one of my favorite christian songs, especially in times of frustration, fear, confusion and insecurity.  A constant reminder that no matter what, who or where I am, God loves me the same. 

Lessons from Kids Church

Like the adults, kids in our church are also taught to faithfully tithe. The last time we served in Kids Church, I was asked to explain the verse for the tithes and offerings. Because I find the verse encouraging, I would also like to share my interpretation here, with a bit more detail.

Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

There are several exhortations in the bible encouraging us to tithe properly and faithfully. Oftentimes, we are told that tithing is God's command, he is asking for so little compared to what he has given us - that is very true. But when I was studying this verse, it touched my heart in a different way. Have you ever thought that God loves to give? He is our provider, but he doesn't do it out of obligation or necessity, he genuinely wants to bless us abundantly. How do i know? Simple, if God was just asking us for our tithes and offerings, the verse would be so much shorter. It would just say GIVE. The end. But it doesn't, right? So let's see what the rest of the verse says, phrase by phrase.

3 trips to City Hall...

or  how I got my NBI clearance. Haha. Don't worry, I'm not going to rant, compared to the many blogs I've read regarding the authors' experiences in getting their clearance, mine was a breeze. Yes, it still involved waking up in the early hours of the morning, but not the part where you stand in line for hours on end.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter

Just so we're clear, this is a beauty post. Sorry guys, it does say I like makeup on my description, right? Sometimes, I don't know why I'm so fascinated with makeup when I don't use it that much. 

Since I started using makeup, around the time I started teaching, lipstick is the one thing I have always avoided. I can't seem to apply it correctly, it sinks into the lines of my lips (due to dryness?), it dries my lips out and the color never seems to last that long anyway. I only use lip balm on a daily basis. However, when I heard (I mean read) about this new product and how it has the effect of a lip moisturizer, I got curious enough to actually look for it in several department stores where I've seen revlon counters. 

Emma Stone for Revlon

I finally found them in Watsons at SM North Edsa. Tried one on, then bought three. Haha. 

Status: Engaged! (part II)

Okay, so with the rate i'm going, I just might get married before I even finish this series. Sorry about that. My first topic aimed to clarify the roles of the man and the woman in a relationship.

My second one is about one of the key principles to maintaining a healthy relationship: GOOD COMMUNICATION. Have you met couples who are so in tune with one another that they seem to have the capability to read each other's thoughts? My fiance and I are so NOT like that. Physically speaking, I have a speaking problem, he has a hearing one. It's great *sarcasm ^_^*. But, we manage to resolve conflicts by talking about them, including those conflicts that rise up from miscommunication itself. I won't go into much discussion on the importance of good communication, but I'll just share this quote: 

"Ultimately the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is conversation."

— Oscar Wilde      

So what are the essential ingredients of good, healthy communication?