One of the things that I thank God for is having really good friends at work. Sometimes, when it gets tough in the workplace, these friends graciously extend their help and encourage the people around them, including me. When I got to the office this morning, I found a bar of KitKat on my desk with a note from an “anonymous” person. But, because I recognized the handwriting, I knew that it was from one of my friends in the I.T. department.
She decided to give me and our friend/colleague KitKat chocolate bars today because she noticed how stressed we were these past few days. Hahaha. But, this random, simple, and awesome act reminded me of a verse in the Bible, where it says:
“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.” -Ephesians 4:29
God used this moment to encourage me in the morning. Before I even started with my tasks for the day, He reminded me through this that there are so many things I can be grateful for in spite of seemingly unwanted circumstances in life. He encouraged me through my officemate to simply find joy in knowing the Lord and in doing my best for Him wherever, whenever.
Here’s an awesome song by TobyMac. It’s called “Speak Life”.
I hope that you’ll be comforted and encouraged to find joy in Christ and extend his joy to others as well. :)
For the second time this week, I honestly thought that I was going to breathe my last this morning. I went to work earlier than usual today because I wanted to catch up on the work I missed yesterday. But after 40 minutes of settling down and doing some of my tasks, my cough acted up again.
My throat became so itchy that I had to excuse myself so I could cough outside our department’s office. I decided to go straight to the comfort room to ease myself; however, before I even got there, I stopped in the middle of one of our showrooms and coughed with all my might. I remember it happening so fast. I really couldn’t breathe for a few seconds and my face and neck instantly heated up and became red.
As soon as I could, I ran towards the comfort room, coughed again and again, and washed my face to cool myself down. I couldn’t talk much, but I remember my heart faintly calling out to God. I then went to the nearest room with a phone and I called my mom and dad. I told them about what happened and they advised me to go home as soon as possible.
When I got home, my parents (who are doctors) checked up on me and concluded that the bacteria in me had already reached my bronchus — which means that I most probably have acute bronchitis.
So many thoughts entered my mind after hearing their diagnosis. “If only I had recently taken more vitamin C.” “If only I had regularly gargled with Bactidol.” “Now, I’m going to miss a lot of work.” “This is such a hassle.” And the negative thoughts kept coming and coming until I was reminded of God’s sovereignty. He knew that I would have this sickness even before I was born, so why should I worry about it. God is in control.
From Google Images
Despite the many negative vibes I’ve welcomed in my mind, deep down in my heart, I still believe that God will always be with me and that His love for me will never change no matter what situation I’m in. I then remembered a song that I was listening to last night. It’s one of those songs that lightens up my mood and encourages me at the same time because it has so much truth in it.
I hope that as you listen to it tonight, you’ll be encouraged to let your heart and mind dwell on God’s truth too: That He loves you and me. :)
Because of this truth, we have so much to be thankful for, even though we’re having a really tough day (or when we’re already losing our breath :) ). Indeed, today still is a beautiful day.
Zephaniah 3:17 says: “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love…”
My sister (Camille) and I, along with our two dogs, got locked out of the house last night after going for a walk. It was crazy! Hahaha. But, it was also my fault. Before we left the house, I told our mom that I would bring the key with me. At that time, I thought she knew that I was referring to the gate’s key. However, after walking the dogs, we went back to the house and we found out that mom and I had a misunderstanding. By then, our parents had already left the house and locked both the main door and the gate.
“No way. No way!!” This was our initial reaction. Haha. Of course! We were locked out of the house; our other family members were still outside; we didn’t have our phones; we didn’t have money; we only had the key to the gate; and we (including our fluffy dogs) were very thirsty.
Copper & Clue
But, despite the trouble, God gave us peace and this encouraged us to find joy in Him while experiencing the crazy and funny situation. After a few minutes, we then resolved to walk to our uncle’s house (where our grandmother and niece live) which was almost a kilometer away from our place, with the two dogs.
I remember telling my sister how interesting the experience was. For some reason, I wanted to watch a movie that night, but God had better plans for me; for us. Because we got locked out of the house, we were able to experience these blessings last night:
Sibling bonding by walking in the village with our two dogs, Copper and Clue.
Enjoyed our stay at our uncle’s house with our Lola, niece (Marielle), and cousin (kuya OB), while waiting for our house keys.
Free dinner and dessert c/o Lola!
Brisk walking at night! (2 kilometers, baby! Plus, occasional weight lifting. Hahaha. Clue was pretty heavy.)
Enjoyed the awesome, cool weather.
Protection while walking around.
Privilege of trusting and hoping in God.
Thankfully, our lola had a duplicate set of house keys, so we borrowed hers and went home by 10 pm. Woohoo! And of course, because it was such a memorable evening, my sister and I documented it by taking photos of the door/gate’s lock and of ourselves with the furballs!
While I was taking photos of the gate’s lock, I noticed that the word “Faultless” was engraved on it. Somehow, God used it to encourage me because I remembered how it was my fault that my mom and I had a misunderstanding, which led to us being locked out of the house. But, instead of focusing on my past mistake and regretting about it, He encouraged me to learn from it, get back up again, and focus on His goodness and purpose for it.
“”My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength
of my heart and my portion forever.” [Psalm 73:26]
Before the day ends, I’d like to share this tune with you. It’s one of TobyMac’s songs called “Get Back Up”. I really get encouraged by this song, especially after experiencing failures/mistakes, because it reminds me of the hope that I have in Christ — the One who never fails. :)
I was looking for new songs last week when I found this amazing tune. When I first heard the verse, I instantly knew that it would be one of those songs that I could listen to all day long. It was unique, refreshing and encouraging because it talked about how we can freely open up our hearts and go to God anytime, in spite of our past or of the troubles and pain we’re going through at the moment. Plus, it had a beautiful, chill tune.
I then remembered what Ptr. Peter Tan-Chi said in one of our church services years ago: “Whatever you have done in the past, you cannot change. But starting today, you can tell God: “Lord, thanks for loving me just the same.” :)
May this song encourage us all to know God more as we draw closer to Him each day. Thank You, Lord, for constantly reminding us of Your love for us.
From Google Images
“Come However You Are”
by City Harbor
To anyone walking down a hard road
Worn out with blisters on your feet
To anyone with a heart that’s shattered
Doing your best to hold it together
With no prayer to pray and no song left to sing
Whatever pain you’re dealing with
Let me offer this
Come however you are
Come with all your heart breaks
Come with all the mistakes you’ve made
Lay them down at the cross
Give them to the God who loves you
Hurt, scarred, falling apart
Come however you are
To the girl who never had a father
To the guy who thinks he’ll never amount to much of anything
To those of us who feel unwanted, unneeded, unloved, and desperately incomplete
Come however you are
Come with all your heart breaks
Come with all the mistakes you’ve made
Lay them down at the cross
Give them to the God who loves you
Hurt, scarred, falling apart
Come however you are
Come with your regrets
Come with the things you can’t change
Come with all your fears
With all your shame with everything
Come with the pieces of your bruised and broken heart
Don’t wait
Don’t wait
Whatever pain you’re dealing with
Let me offer this
Come however you are
Come with all your heart breaks
Come with all the mistakes you’ve made
Lay them down at the cross
Give them to the God who loves you
Hurt, scarred, falling apart
Come however you are
1 Peter 5:7 says “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” :)
My name is Nicole Obligacion and I started this blog because I was inspired by Hebrews 10:24 and Hebrews 3:13. I love to eat, cook, bake, read the Bible, and encourage. :)
