Ready to Serve

The 1-month sabbatical was cut short because of some plan changes at work, but I'm still grateful I had that much needed distance from the office.

Another week of vacation and I might not be able to free myself from the clutches of my oh-so-comfortable bed, hehe.

Now, I'm back in the real world, so to speak.

I've no more worries this time. I'm holding to God's promise that there's no direction but upwards to success when we stick with Him. Jeremiah 29:11 holds a new meaning for me and is etched deep within my soul.

I'm very, very thankful for the people at Maranatha First Evangels Church, particularly my friends and cellmates... er, cellgroupmates (Go, Job! Hehehe.), for their prayers and support. They are also the instruments God is using to show how much He still loves someone like me. I love you all! :)

To use the lines in a song of one of my favorite bands, Audio Adrenaline, I want to be God's hands and feet and go where He sends me.

I am now ready to serve.

Reasoning with Faith?

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
- Jeremiah 29:13

Lately, I have been devouring lots of books about faith, Jesus, the Bible and whatnot. I'm plagued with a lot of questions, and I hunger for answers. I'm happy with what I'm learning, even though I can't say that I know and remember exactly all that I've read, hehe. More questions are being raised in the process, but surprisingly, that doesn't frustrate me at all.

So, why do I keep on searching? Isn't faith in Jesus enough? Why do I need to rationalize everything?

I know that one should accept Christ by faith alone. (Sidenote: if you said you accepted Christ, and still went your own way, you may have to double-check your sincerity.) That is all you need to do.

Faith. Some say that you don't need to think much about it. You might as well ask for some major headaches if you want to do so. Some would even say that reason doesn't mix well with faith. Or as the atheist George H. Smith put it,

"Christian theism must be rejected by any person with even a shred of respect for reason."

Well, call me dumb, but I don't buy that. Faith and reason can coexist, or else God made a perfect waste by giving people brains.

I don't need to be, nor do I plan to be a Christian apologist.

Nevertheless, I know that sooner or later, I will share Christ to others. If the need arises, I have a few things up my sleeves to back up my testimonies. Don't get me wrong; I will not force people to believe. I will just engage in healthy arguments or rationalize if necessary. To paraphrase what a friend of mine once said, knowledge is useless unless you pass it on to someone else.

With that, I'll end this post and get back my reading again. :)

A Big Step

At last, I have told my mom that I'm a renewed Christian.

I'd been waiting for the right time to tell her about my new direction in life. To tell you the truth, the idea of telling her that scared the heck out of me.

I was raised in a devout Catholic family. My parents (well, mostly my mother) ensured that my siblings and I grew up having the fear of God in us. My mom also shared stories with me about friends and acquaintances who had negative experiences with Christians (to which the proper term that I just recently learned that best describes them is "backsliders"). Although it was unfair to generalize in such a way, it really was difficult to see the brighter side given the immediate examples we had. (Boy, I really need to sharpen my skills in debating.)

So, when I told her about my decision, I was really bewildered that it was "OK" for her. No violent reactions. No sermons. No World War III.

Apparently, I was not updated on the backslider stories. Through God's grace, they turned out with happier endings. Moreover, my mom had an inkling with my current state. Maybe it was because I regularly attended worship services at Christ's Commission Fellowship (CCF) a few months ago. Maybe it was because now I "disappear" every Sunday to go to Maranatha First Evangels Church (MFEC). Maybe it was because she saw the pictures of my Tokyo Baptist churchmates in my Flickr gallery.

Or maybe it was just that connection a mother has with her children.

I may not completely figure out why, but I'm so relieved that the trial was over.

However, I know that this event just paves the way for the other bigger tests looming over the horizon. I pray that God will equip me for these so I can be the person He wants me to be.

A big thanks goes to all of my friends for their prayers.

Now, the next part of the journey is going to be very interesting.

Time for Another Upgrade

Finally, my 1-month sabbatical has started! Yeba.

I have big plans for this vacation, but they're mostly for myself and my personal growth. It amuses me when people get shocked when I tell them I'm just staying at home and not going out of town or someplace else.

Not that I don't want to travel or anything, it's just on a lower priority in my To Do list. However, if any of my friends have vacation plans and they invite me to tag along, that would be great! :)

I need a lot of things to change or improve in myself. With work temporarily out of the way, I pray that I would be able to pull this off.

Also, I would really, really, reaaaally appreciate it if you could pray that there would be some improvements in me after this. :)

Ganbarimasu!

Still in One Piece, Maybe

I have finally reached that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel; my ordeal of a project is now finished! Praise God! He pulled me through.

Thank you very much for all of your prayers and support! :)

Now I just need to finish the postmortem report, and have a little discussion with the bosses.

That oh so sweet vacation is just around the corner.

Facelift

Finally.

This design has been in my sketchbook for some time now. I just haven't had the time to fiddle with the site's CSS.

Please tell me what you think about it, or if you found any problems with it. :)

Elsewhere

I want to be elsewhere. I need to be elsewhere.

However, I still need to finish this work. When this is over, I should be getting something back in exchange for all I have given and lost.

Vacation just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter.

But that's elsewhere. Reality check.