reinasthoughts

          Going away from the daily routine of work, traffic, and stressful day, could be refreshing sometime. I was away during the weekend and had a very unforgettable and relaxing moment during those times. I also had a spiritual filled activity last week. My husband and I attended a church activity which is the general conference of our church. It is the time when pastors and other church members from the different parts of the Philippines gathered together in one place with guest speakers from foreign countries. It is the time when a lot lectures had been given, new officials had been elected and a night service. It was my first time to attend that conference and I was happy to be able to do so. I receive a healing prayer in one of the night services conducted. The feeling was unexplainable and somehow it gave me relief. It is a nice feeling to be part of a large crowd that praises and worship the Lord. Almost all of the participants have same faith, sa...

      Another false hope it has been. There are some certain things that we ask from God that only He knows when is the right time for it to be given. Then there are these things that we never asked for but was given, only to realized we badly needed it. Only God knows what is right for us. It is better to have false hope than never really hope at all. It is better to have false hopes, which reminds us that there is God who is more powerful and better designer of our lives than us, than to have granted hopes which made us forget God. Another false hope it may have been but it keeps me clinging on the idea that someday God will grant my special request. Fortes in Fide!!! Strong in Faith!!!

      I was so glad to be able to be a part of the LA (Ladies Auxiliary) department of our church. LA is the department for married women in our church and recently the 3rd Regional LA conference was held. It was my first time to attend a LA regional conference and it was worth it. When I was informed about it, I was hesitant at first because of my job. I was tasked to play at a scrabble  game to represent our section that it compelled me more to attend the said event. It was a three-day event and I was able to attend the last two days of it.It was held at Camp Mariano in Marbel, which is very memorable for me, it is where I receive my holy Ghost baptism during the District LA Conference last year. The feeling of being in the LA conference is very wonderful. It is the feeling that I won't exchange for the monetary worth of my leave absences. Aside from the experiences, I was also able to learned a lot especially from the American speaker Sis. Gleyson.  Ano...

         I had a blessed family day last Sunday . It was my first time to attend Sunday service at Tigatto church where my husband's uncle is the pastor. It was also a special Sunday because it was devoted  for families. A couple of families give testimonies and others dedicated a couple of songs to the Lord. I was touched, inspired and amazed by the different stories of each families. It was amazing to see in the children the combination of  the physical attributes of their parents. It was perfectly match and wonderfully combined. It is also very inspiring to see families attending Sunday Service. I really had a great time. Thank you Lord for that blessed family Sunday.

     I was glad to hear from my husband this morning that the crusade in my hometown was a success. Seventy people were baptized in the name of Jesus. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to come in the crusade and haven't witnessed the whole event. I was here in the city working and had already incurred two absences few weeks ago that I could not be able to have another absences. When I was not yet employed, I had been to crusades and been able to witnessed different people touched by the presence of the Lord.. Only this time that the crusade was held in my hometown and the VOT (Voice of Triump) was there to support the event. VOT or Voice of Triump was a singing group who organize crusades in the different parts of the Philippines. They are individuals who have strong passion to spread the good news and for the salvation of souls. Though I was not been able to witness the event, I am happy to know that there had been a lot of people that was baptized in my hometown. M...

             I am a newly converted Christian. It has only been months from the time I was baptized up to now. It is my personal decision and I am happy with it. I had been able to know more about Jesus and had a closer relationship with Him. God showed me everyday His greatness and words would not be enough to express my gratitude to Him. As a newly converted Christian, somehow I am challenged by my husband's nieces and nephews who had been great worshipers at an early age. They worship the Lord without inhibitions. They cry out and say Jesus in their worship. In one of the crusades we attended wherein mostly of the visitors are unbelievers, they never hesitated or be ashamed in showing how they worship the Lord. These great little worshipers had been an inspiration to me.

        Music is pleasing to the ear and it is more pleasing if we sang it to the Lord. In our church, we had been lucky enough to have Bro. Vernon and Ptr. Rey with us. Pastor Rey had been the church worker and at the same time the one who leads and trained the youth in the field of music. Bro. Vernon is a retired US Navy who had been able to marry a Filipina, became a pastor and an evangelist. He had chosen to be under the UPC Baguer as his main church. He was also a former high school music instructor and because of his strong passion to share his talent, he donated music instruments and teaches music for free every Friday. He became also the music director of the church and wanted to form an orchestra. Aside from Pastor Rey's guitar lessons , the church now also has music lessons from Bro. Vernon involving reading notes, and how to use orchestra instruments. The church is so blessed to have them both. Last Friday, we had a dedication of the donated instruments to...

      Every Thursday is the scheduled day for prayer and fasting of the prayer warriors of the church. Since I got nothing to do, I attended the sessions and today is my third time to attend this endeavor. During the session, each of us will read ten verses in the bible consequently and we will have some sharing of thoughts of the verses we have read. Before we will have our praise and worship, we will talk about the different prayer requests of the church. In this portion, I get to know the different problems of some of the members of the church. Hearing these problems made me realize how lucky I am to experience minimal hardships. It made me appreciate the kind of life I am living. It is good to know that I am so loved by God. I also been able to appreciate the women and mothers of families. Since most of the prayer warriors are mothers, I get to know their pains, sufferings and hardships with regards to their families. They are like sponges that absorb these ...

      Renibon is a remote barangay of our town but still UPC has a church in there. Every once a month, the Men's Department, the  married men of the church, visit this little church in Renibon. Eventhough I am not part of it my husband invited me to come. We traveled by motorcycle, crossed seven rivers and tracked down the steep road. It was very challenging with the drizzle but it is full of fun with the splashing of water in every river we crossed. No matter how challenging the road had been, we never turned back and had been able to achieve our intention to have a fellowship at Renibon. Thank you Lord for the safe travel and for the adventure we experienced.       

         December 25, 2010 is the 62nd founding anniversary of United Pentecostal Church (UPC) Baguer, Pigcawayan,Cotabato. My late father-in-law was the pioneering pastor of this church and my brother-in-law is the  present pastor.The invited speaker of the event is the national music director of UPC Philippines, Rev.Samuel O. Embalsado. He is an ECE Board topnotcher who chosed to preach the word of the Lord rather than pursue his career.Aside from having an excellent speaker,the event also had a child dedication,mini concert and fireworks display.It had been a memorable, meaningful and successful event. Hope to be part of it again next year.

Christening or baptism is a religious ritual commonly done to welcome an individual into the Christian world. For Catholics it is the first sacrament to be received and usually done when they are still babies. For other religious sectors, baptism or christening is done when they reach the age of reason or the age when they can fully understand what they are into. As Catholics, my family and I recently welcomed into the Christian world my sister’s baby, my niece Edrich Joy. She was five months old. Even at her young age, she never threw out her tantrums during the ceremony and never cried especially when the holy water was poured into her head. Aside from her parents’ friends, her uncles and aunties are her godparents at the same time. I was one of them. I hope I could be a responsible auntie and godparent to my niece. I hope and pray that my niece would grow up to be a good Christian. Welcome into the Christian World Baby Edrich.

My bad mood was lighten up by a statue of Mother Mary. The statue arrived at our house around 9PM as part of a Catholic religious ritual wherein the statue will stay for a night in a chosen house. Our house was chosen to where it will stay.As I look at the statue it gave me a soothing feeling that vanishes away the bad feelings I had. Before sleeping that night I touched the statue and say my prayers.I am glad it stayed for us for a night. This Catholic religious ritual is done by conducting a rosary. After the series of prayers,it is now time to transfer the statue to another house. The prayer warriors will now light their candles to light the path of the statue while transferring it to another house. The house owner to where it will stay will accept the statue. It is done repetitively from one house to another in preparation for the Holy Week.