looking back and looking foward

i cant fully explain how i felt for the past year. its been an emotional but blessed year.

Honestly, i still had hangups for what happened last 2011. Discovered a lot about our relationship, that totally wrecked me. im still praying God will heal me and just forget about those painful memories. i know God allow those things to happen for a reason for which i dont understand and I pray that He will just change us instantly to resist temptations and overcome pains. For me to be fully confident in Him and trust in His plans for me and my husband.

yes, now my husband.. due to some circumstances we were married in haste. its not what I dreamed of, the proposal and everything but its what I wanted at least.

then i lost my job, but thats okay. but then I lost my baby after 19wks. everyone was excited and to be honest im pressured. And then it happened. literally, wages of sin is death. I know God is telling us something and that He has greater plans we just need to go back to His time table,

remaining months went by, preparing for the wedding this year and then me finding a job.

and now, im a bit sad that not everyone are excited with the wedding. So im not excited as well. But its just a state of mind. Im excited for what God has stored for me this year. i know He will bless us again with a new baby and He will bless me with a wonderful changed husband.

Redundancy

After working for 4 yrs and 4 months with the company, I got terminated because of redundancy. I was working for 3 yrs with Tech Support and I could say I did a good but not enough to glorify God. Then I got transferred to system integration team where I just did what was asked but still not good enough. So here I am, officially a housewife.

Im having mixed feelings
1) Sad because of the friends I had, its hard to say goodbye and then the next day I wont be coming in to the office
2) Angry because I'm just a small part of the company and they couldn't even afford it?!
3) Fear because of our future finances and my pregnant situation. I lost all the other maternity benefits.

Still I want to Thank God because He is still in control. I got a great husband who supports me. I have time to rest and reflect more. Time to study and be prepared on my next opportunity. I know it's God's way of saying that He is closing this door and will be opening a new one.

Just like what John emphasized in our today's devotion:
1 Samuel 12:16 "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!"

I'm excited to know what the Lord will be doing. Just as He promised:
Philippians 4:19 "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus"

So never fear nor be anxious of what lies ahead:
Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own"

God is reminding me to be more intimate with Him.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
"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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

11-11-11

There would be an upcoming 3-days Singles Retreat on November 11, 2011. We've been wanting to join but we exhaust all our Vacation Leaves for the year.

It was really a blessing that Pnoy announced October 31 as holiday. I filed a leave previously for that day so I will be able to acquire it back.

Yey! Truly it's a blessing. God really wanted us to join. Hopefully, money wont' be a problem.

Give Thanks and Praise

I've been praying for a lot of things and got frustrated when I don't get the answers right away. Then I read that I need to give thanks and praise than ask and ask. This shows how strong our faith is that God will provide answers.

After that, answers are coming my way ^-^

Thank you God you are so good!

No God, Know Fear --- Know God, No Fear

Fear Not. Do Not be afraid. --> this is oftentimes mention in the bible

FEAR is wrong use of the imagination. It is anticipating the worst and not the best to happen.


When you allow your fear to overwhelm your faith, your future is over.


Fear is a good emotion if it's for your own good. Fear is a bad emotion if it's irrational.

Matthew 25:25-26

    ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
   ²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?

Nothing under God's control is ever out of control.

Genesis 15:1

   ¹ After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
   “Do not be afraid, Abram.
   I am your shield,
   your very great reward.” 

Exodus 14:13

   ¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 

Deuteronomy 31:6

   ⁶ Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

Judges 6:23

   ²³ But the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

2 Kings 6:16

   ¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 

Isaiah 41:13

¹³ For I am the LORD your God
   who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
   I will help you. 

Jeremiah 30:10

 ¹⁰ “‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
   do not be dismayed, Israel,’
            declares the LORD.
‘I will surely save you out of a distant place,
   your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
   and no one will make him afraid. 

Joel 2:21

 ²¹ Do not be afraid, land of Judah;
   be glad and rejoice.
Surely the LORD has done great things! 

Matthew 10:31

³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Luke 1:30

³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 

John 6:20

²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”

Acts 18:9

 ⁹ One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.

Revelations 1:17

 ¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

Mark 4:35-41

 ³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
 ³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
 ⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
 ⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Psalm 4:8

 ⁸ In peace I will lie down and sleep,
   for you alone, LORD,
   make me dwell in safety. 

Faith is not believing in spite of circumstances.
Faith is obeying inspite of feelings and circumstances.

From the movie "Shawshank Redemption":
     I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living or get busy dying...

KNOWING GOD CONQUERS FEAR!

John 14:6

 ⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 8:12

 ¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Psalm 27:1

 ¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation—
   whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
   of whom shall I be afraid? 

FEAR OF GOD, CONQUERS FEAR!

Mark 4:41

 ⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” 

Psalm 111:10

 ¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
   all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
   To him belongs eternal praise. 

Exodus 20:20

 ²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” 

Psalm 147:11

¹¹ the LORD delights in those who fear him,
   who put their hope in his unfailing love.  

Philippians 4:19

¹⁹ And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. 

John 11:25

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;

Matthew 10:28

²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Master Your Emotions: Of Envy and Jealousy

Jealousy and Envy often times prevailed over friendship and Contentment

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Psalm 73:1, 12-28 --Asaph expressed his struggle

Deuteronomy 6:1-3

1) If we truly delight in the Lord We need to recognize our struggle - know our enemy.

If we don't recognize our enemy we will be facing sure defeat, like not recognizing the struggle, will make us surely down

ENVY
* Envy is resenting the advantage of another, with a desire to possess the same advantage
* Envy is coveting what another has
* The Latin word for "envy" is invidere, which means means to look at with enmity.

JEALOUSY
* Jealousy is resenting another's rivalry or unfaithfulness, with a desire to guard or maintain what one possesses.
* Jealousy is possessiveness.
* The Greek word for "jealousy" is zeloo, which means "zealous or burning with jealousy."

Envy is ALWAYS WRONG
Scripture never portrays envy in a positive light.
God is never depicted as an envious God.
Matthew 27:15-18

Jealousy IS NOT ALWAYS WRONG
It is natural and normal for feelings of jealousy to surface when a meaningful covenant relationship is threatened by unfaithfulness.
Numbers 5:25-31

Why is God called a JEALOUS God?
Jehovah God initiated a special covenant relationship with the Israelites. Because of His Love for Israel, God felt jealous pain when they threatened to destroy the covenant relationship and became disloyal.
Exodus 34:14
   ¹⁴ Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

The difference between Envy & Jealousy
ENVY
- burning desire to have
- coveting what another has
- empty hands that crave to be filled
- usually involves two people

JEALOUSY
- burning desire to keep
- possessive of what one has
- full hands that fear being emptied
- usually involves three people

Galatians 5:19-21
   ¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

How we know we are Envious?
- we feel boastful
- we feel internal pain towards the success of others
- we became competitive

How we know we are Jealous?
- we became judgemental
- not allowing others to outside relationship
- we became anxious
- overly possessive
- unable to trust God, distrustful leading to insecurity

This enemy also disguises itself:
Here are disguises for masking envy or jealousy:
- Making an issue of unfairness of life
- Pretending apathy or indifference to people or situations
- Feeling of self-pity
- Avoiding problems or people that could produce envy or provoke jealousy
- Idolizing certain people by placing them on an unreachable pedestal
- Offering false praise and congratulations
- Dropping unnecessary, negative information about another
- Projecting jealousy or envy onto another
- Developing a superior attitude toward another
- Becoming a martyr

2) Run to the Lord after recognizing our struggles.

Psalm 75:4-7 --> Realize the Sovereignty of God

3) Resist Comparing ourselves from others

Managing / Mastering Your Emotions part 2

- 080711 -

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

1 Timothy 4:7-8  --> Discipline yourself for the purpose of Godliness

⁷ Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. ⁸ For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 

Discipline yourself:

- to have quiet time

- attend worship

- D-group

- Discipline of SOLITUDE

- Discipline of MIND --> what you think will impact your feelings and will impact your life

How to turn Negative Emotions to blessings ? 

- Master your emotions by being God-centered

1) Awareness

1 Kings 19:1-4  

Emotions are windows to your soul 

1 Kings 19:5-16

1 Kings 19:18

¹⁸ Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” 

2) Assume Responsibility -- God told Elijah to GO BACK and take ACTION

Psalm 32:3-4

3) Align with God

Psalm 32:5

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you
   and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
   my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave
   the guilt of my sin.  

Psalm 32:10-11

¹⁰ Many are the woes of the wicked,
   but the LORD’s unfailing love
   surrounds the one who trusts in him.

 ¹¹ Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
   sing, all you who are upright in heart! 

  

2 Corinthians 10:5

⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 

Philippians 1:12-13

Philippians 1:15-17

Philippians 1:18

¹⁸ But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

   Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,

Philippians 1:21  >> Reason why Paul is joyful

²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 

Matthew 6:33

³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 11:28

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.