not only a year older

I was looking for a way  to celebrate another year of my life. I was thinking to reward myself for being stressed out and pressured working so hard. I needed a break or vacation. I deserved a gift or a treat. But what could it be? a new gadget? a pair of new shoes? fashionable clothes? or a salon makeover, perhaps? I know i needed something to make myself feel good for this once-a-year occasion. 

Actually..

A month ago, I was planning to climb a mountain with my friends as a gift to myself for my birthday. Though it was only my second time to climb, my whole system was determined to plan and set everything. I was excited because some of my friends confirmed to my invitation. So, i started setting all the stuffs to make the plan happened. But then 1 week before the set date of our climb, my friends back out. I feel saddened because i really really want to climb. If i could climb solo? i would, but it's not possible because it's too delicate. 

A few days before our supposed to be climb, i received a call from a friend who is a member of a mountaineering group. He was inviting me for an overnight hike the same date. So without a further ado, i said Yes! immediately. I thought it was a great way to celebrate my birthday and a best gift for myself as well. 

So here are some of the sneak peek..

Mount Pico De Loro at Ternate Cavite, Philippines

 

 

 

This is the very reason why i love to travel and explore my beloved country. 

I'll be sharing the other pictures and happenings on my next post.

After the full packed adventure, some realizations and reflections came to me. Yes, It was indeed a wonderful and ecstatic experience. I thought it was the greatest gift for myself this year. But as i was looking to my pictures and reminiscing my experiences, this question came to my mind, "what greater gifts can i received than the ones JESUS has already given me? 

The answer is, "there's no other greater gifts than Life and Salvation I have with JESUS". The Gift of Life and the Assurance of Salvation is the Greatest and Perfect Gift I've ever received in my whole life. 

In John 3:16 it says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

After another year of God's faithfulness in my life, I'm not only a year older but a year wiser and a year stronger. I gained new friends, strengthened relationships and had my faith tested with my experiences. These are simply the only gifts i need to take with me to another year. 

feeling good at 22,

Lhen

The Friendship

One of the best life's gifts is the Gift of Friendship. I think life wouldn't be complete without it. It has been a big part of my life and i think many of us too. It's one of the relationships i value so much. Personally, I'm so very thankful and grateful for all the friendships i have now. I can't even imagine life without these people i call "my friends", some from childhood, grade-school, high school, college, work, online, church and etc. One of the lessons I've learned as i grew up, is to value each friendship i have and simply to love my friends.

Recently, I experienced and felt again the Joy of having great friends and having genuine friendship. Last Sunday, i had a time to spend with my lovely church-mates. After all the busyness and stress i had in the whole week of work, it all faded away, as i spend time with them. Although i know i have limited time to spend, i just put in my mind that i have to savor every minute of it.

             

 

I enjoyed the wacky poses, non-stop laughs, heartfelt smiles, catching ups, and fun-games. Being with these bunch of young people is one of the best moments in life. I thank God for the gift of friendship He has given us. The Brotherhood and Sisterhood of everyone is enough reason to Thank and Praise Him. I know and I believe that this friendship is very strong because Jesus Christ is our rock and foundation. He first loved us, so that we would be able to share to one another the love we received from Him. God is indeed good because He has given me a lot friends, not just friends but good friends. I know in the coming days, months, or years He will still bless me with many more friends.   

One more thing, that night also, we started the revival of the Dance Ministry together with my co-dance leaders. The new young teens, had their recital as they join the ministry. We were very excited to share our passion especially with the young and new ones.                      

    

we are praying that this ministry will continue up to next generations of young people who are eager to express and share their God-given talents and most of all to Glorify God through it. 

AND, to all my friends out there, including You, yes You, who is reading this. I want you to know that I'm so glad to have you and be part of my crazy and cheerful life. 

Happy Friday, Cheerful friends! love you a bunch! 

Lunch Date

       

Hi there. Hello.

Here i am again, posting some updates of my life lately. so, lately, I hanged out with my big sister. we had a lunch date @ YAKIMIX (Sushi, smokeless grill restaurant). it's a buffets resto, they serve Japanese, sea-foods, sushi bars and many more. I super love all the food, grill, dishes, and desserts. 
it was really a "pig-out" day for me and for my sis. we ate all we can, until our tummies totally gave up. I just enjoyed every single minute of it, although i wasn't able to eat everything that i wanted because I'm really full. but, next time we'll come back there, and i'll surely eat everything. lol. 

Happy Weekend! :)

Failing Forward

Turning Mistake into Stepping Stones for Success

 

First and foremost, this post is all about the lessons I've learned and the most significant words from the Book "Failing Forward" by John C. Maxwell. these are the encouraging  words/sayings of the well known people and the author himself as well that inspires me a lot. it taught me a new definition of Failure and how can i use my own failures and mistakes into stepping stones for success. that is simply, to Fail Forward. 

Another reason why I'm sharing this with you because i recently encounter a failure. At first, I'm asking God why I'm prone to failures, when I'm doing my best to achieve things. Why failure seems like part of every step i take?  Why it's hard to accept failures? Why others achieved and me, failed? if i failed, does it makes me a failure or a loser? Am i not that good enough that's why i failed? Those questions keeps knocking my head every time i meet failures or mistakes. 






I know i have weaknesses that's why i fail in some areas of life but that doesn't mean I'm not good. Failure is not the basis of whether the person is good or not. I also remember the time during school days, students were taught that Failure is a percentage. when you get 75% and above  means passing/success while 74% below means failed. If we continue that kind of thinking, it will not help us. as John Maxwell says, "Failure isn't a percentage or a test. it's not a single event. it's a process". 


I've been into many failures and I've done a lot of mistakes, and it taught me that God will not allow failures to just happen. He wants me to learn from those failures and mistakes and take that as a challenge to do my best next time. another lessons i got from this book, "if you're a human being, you're going to make mistakes." and  "there is no achievement without failure." 


I'd like to share this two list also from the same book  "Your First Step to Failing Forward." This is how any achiever approaches negative experiences, we can learn a lot from these list how to fail forward. You can also determine which one describes you attitude towards failure.


Failing Backward                                                     Failing Forward


Blaming others                                                         Taking responsibility
Repeating the same mistakes                                 Learning from each mistake
Expecting never to fail again                                   Knowing failure is a part of progress
Expecting to continually fail                                    Maintaining positive attitude
Accepting Tradition blindly                                     Challenging outdated assumptions
Being limited by past mistakes                               Taking new risks
Thinking I am a failure                                             Believing something didn't work
Quitting                                                                       Persevering




Let's choose Failing Forward instead of failing backward. If we are willing to do what are listed in Failing Forward, i guarantee that we'll be able to handle failure no matter hard it is. 


Here are some inspirational words/quotes from the book:

"Failure is an inside job.  So is success.  If you want to achieve, you have to win the war in your thinking first.  You can't let the failure outside you get inside you." 

"Ninety percent of all those who fail are not actually defeated. They simply quit." -Paul J. Meyer

"One of the greatest problems people have with failure is that they are too quick to judge isolated situations in their lives and label them as failures.  Instead, they need to keep the bigger picture in mind."

"Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves-to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today."  -Stewart B. Johnson.

"If you always do what you've always done, then you will always get what you've always gotten."

"If your perception of and response to failure were changed, what would you attempt to achieve?"

"Errors become mistakes when we perceive them and respond to them incorrectly. Mistakes become failures when we continually respond to them incorrectly." 

"Failing forward" is the ability to get back up after you've been knocked down, learn from your mistake, and move forward in a better direction."

"Don't buy into the notion that mistakes can somehow be avoided. They can't be."

"Failure is not a one-time event; it's how you deal with life along the way. Until you breathe your last breath, you're still in the process, and there is still time to turn things around for the better."

"You are the only person who can label what you do a failure. Failure is subjective."

"Generally speaking, there are two kinds of learning: experience, which is gained from your own mistakes, and wisdom, which is learned from the mistakes of others."

"Seek advice, but make sure it's from someone who has successfully handled mistakes or adversities."

"When to quit: (1) Quit something you don't do well to start something you do well. (2)  Quit something you're not passionate about to do something that fills you with passion. (3) Quit something that doesn't make a difference to do something that does." 

"all great achievers are given multiple reasons to believe they are failures. But in spite of that they persevere." 

"...[people] allow failure to get the better of them emotionally, and it stops them from achieving their dreams.  ...Failure can be very painful--sometimes physically and more often emotionally.  Seeing part of your vision fall flat really hurts. And if people heap ridicule on top of your hurt feelings, you feel even worse.  The first important step in weathering failure is learning not to personalize it -- making sure you know that your failure does not make you a failure.   ...For many people the pain of failure leads to fear of failure.  ...That's when many people get stuck in the fear cycle.  And if fear overcomes you, it's almost impossible to fail forward."  

Failing Forward book helps and inspires me to really pursue my dreams and don't let failure become hindrance in achieving those. 


Most of all, Thanks be to God for always teaching and guiding me every step of the way. I always believe that during the most difficult times of my life, He's the one i can lean on to. He always wants the best for me. His plans are perfect than mine. and His grace is enough for me. 




Have Blessed day, folks! 

Pieces of Advice

source

what's on the first day of July???

#1. Yesterday, My dear Parents Celebrated their 31st Anniversary. Here's a picture from their wedding, taken June 30, 1981. I'm glad to witness how long they're been together and I'm lookin' forward for more years to come. Cheers! 

#2. Yesterday morning, me and my church-mates had a free aerobics exercise at QC Circle. it was sponsored by Nestle "choose wellness". They have free aerobics exercise every Saturdays from 6am to 8am. We actually went there to have a "Fun Run", but we end up joining an aerobics exercise. It was so fun and so healthy even though I'm experiencing muscle back pain right now. Probably next time, i'll do proper warm up and stretching to avoid muscle pain. Here's a glimpse of what happened yesterday. i'll share the other pictures on my next post. 

#3. this afternoon while watching a noontime show i heard a group of singers sang "The Time of my Life" by David Cook. I'm hearing this song for a long time but it was now that i appreciate it fully because the lyrics is very related to the latest happening of my life. here's my favorite line, 

And I'll taste every moment

And live it out loud
I know this is the time,
This is the time
To be more than a name
Or a face in the crowd
I know this is the time
This is the time of my life
Time of my life

watch the lyric video here.

#4. Finally, I'll be starting on my work tomorrow 2nd Day of July 2012. I'm soooooooo excited and I just can't hide it I'm about to lose control and I think I like it! lol. Anyways, my heart is really grateful for the wonderful opportunity God has given me. I'll do my best to make it good. 

I can't grasp haha, it's actually July, half of the year is over. The time is flying by so fast. And I'm looking forward for more adventures and good experiences this month might bring. 

Happy 1st day of July! 

Happy Graduation!!!

May 11, 2012 was really the HAPPIEST moment of my life, so far. obviously because, it was my Graduation Day. it just feel so good knowing the fact that college life is over. 

with Mama

during the Year-end Commencement Exercises. over 5,000 students graduated from Polytechnic University of the Philippines Batch 2012. I'm so proud to be one of the successful graduates of this batch. hey-yaaah! :D

jo-anne, my classmate and seatmate since freshmen because of our surnames.. :)

some of my classmates since freshmen.

(jo-anne, janine, eunice)

i finally got this..

with my sweet friend, Glenda. we've been together through thick and thin. she's really a good friend and i love her.


these gals were my high school classmates/batch-mates and then college batch-mates. 


with our college chairperson. 


with some of my closest classmates. I'm so proud of them. 




meet this two girls, Aya and Apple. they are my Best friends since freshmen year until now. they were the ones who encouraged me every time i got stressed out. they are such good friends of mine. i can't imagine college life without these two wonderful pretty girls with me. they're also my sisters in Christ, having them makes me draw near to God. we say goodbye to our college life but we'll never say goodbye to our friendship. love them both! 

 

victorious smile.. HAHAHA 

Thanks to my pretty sister! for all the years of non-stop support in my study. she was one of the best people behind my success. so thankful to have her as my sissy. 

behind every great men/women is a great woman. thanks to my Mother for all the support and care she has given me. i will not be able to continue my study without the help of my parents. 

had a simple lunch after...

by the way, thanks again to my sis for my make-up and hair-do. i so love it much. :)

like our commencement speaker said in his speech, Graduation is not the end, it's just the beginning of a new journey in life. well i guess that is definitely true, because after this graduation we're all gonna face another challenging chapter of our lives. finding our dream job, pursuing master's degree, and etc. are one of the top priorities. right now I'm really inspired to pursue my dreams further; have a good career, study again(in the future), get hired to my dream job. 

as i continue to face this new chapter of my life, i know that God will always be with me. i believe that he has something more in-store for me. i trust His plans. i'll continue to hold on to His promises in Jeremiah 29:11, "for i know the plans i have for you, declares the Lord. plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." what a wonderful promise? since i'm a new Christian, this verse had a big impact on my life. until now, it's one of my favorites and it is actually my life verse. 

and this Graduation is of course dedicated to the Almighthy Lord, my family, and friends/classmates who helped me made this far. also, this will not be possible without their help, support, love, and care. All the hardships were nothing compared to the Grace and Victory God has given me. i can't totally express how blessed and thankful i am because through all these years God is always always always faithful.  it was all worth it. 




I give back all the Glory to God!