Rise and rejoice!

The search is over.

I have found what I have been looking for all this time

...in Jesus Christ.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

- 2 Corinthians 5:17 -

I pray for you to find in Christ that which will fill the hole, the gap, the emptiness in your life, your mind, your heart, and your soul. 

Christ has conquered death and has risen to give us a life renewed for the glory of God. Let's make the most out of this blessing by living life in grace and service of God and others.

Hallelujah!

Words of Wisdom

I need to constantly remind myself of who I am and what I am here for...

The calligraphy work above is made by a certain man named Brian Baker, whose work I just stumbled upon during my net browsing. :) Great job, sir!

Maayong Buntag, Davao!

For the first time in my life, I have traveled to the farthest place away from my home within the boundaries of my homeland - Davao. The Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) couldn't have held their 30th National Anniversary Celebration in a better place because Davao is associated with pearls (among many things) and that is just one of the many reasons why I think Davao is a great choice. :)

Davao is such an amazing place. To me, it's more like a province than a city really. When I arrived at the airport after an hour and forty five minutes of airplane travel, I quickly fell in love with it. It felt as if I have always been there although it was actually the first time I ever stepped foot on its land. Davao was familiar at the same time unknown to me.

For this trip, I was with my mom, my sister, my younger brother and one of my girl cousins together with the other delegates of the BCBP Lipa City Chapter. We went to three of the most popular places to visit there namely Pearl Farm Beach Resort, Eden Nature Park and Resort, and Jack's Ridge Resort and Restaurant. The group also toured around the city to see famous landmarks.

The actual National Anniversary Celebration was held at the extremely spacious Sports Complex of the Ateneo de Davao High School, where a college friend of mine, Jake, spent his four years of secondary education. We even met at SM Davao because he was home for the summer break. He drove us through the city to the markets where we can buy some pomelo and the famous durian fruit, which is said to "smell like hell but taste like heaven". Most people can't stand it but my family and I love it. Anyway, I jokingly told Jake that he looked more like the tourist than I am because he was wearing a cool Davao shirt when we saw each other. It was truly amazing to meet him there many miles away from the Metro Manila area. It's always good to see a familiar face.

There is so much I can say about Davao: the city is clean, the beaches are pristine, the food are simply mouthwatering, and the people very hospitable. I would love to go back; I will go back soon. Four days just wasn't enough to 'know Davao'.

Below are some of the photos I've taken during the trip from Pearl Farm and Eden Nature Park. You can hover on the pictures to see little captions I've written. :)

Davao definitely did not let me down. :)

New life

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."

- Hebrews 1:3 (NIV) -

Smile in my heart

Happiness

Arthur Bennett

from The Valley of Vision

O Lord,

Help me never to expect any happiness

from the world, but only in thee.

Let me not think that I shall be more happy

by living to myself,

for I can only be happy if employed for thee,

and if I desire to live in this world

only to do and suffer what thou dost allot me.

Teach me

that if I do not live a life that satisfies thee,

I shall not live a life that will satisfy myself.

Help me to desire the spirit and temper of angels

who willingly come down to this lower world

to perform thy will,

though their desires are heavenly,

and not set in the least upon earthy things;

then I shall be of that temper I ought to have.

Help me not to think of living to thee

in my own strength,

but always to look to and rely on thee

for assistance.

Teach me that there is no greater truth than this,

that I can do nothing of myself.

Lord, this is the life that no unconverted man

can live,

yet it is an end that every godly soul

presses after;

Let it be then my concern to devote myself

and all to thee.

Make me more fruitful and more spiritual,

for barrenness is my daily affliction and load.

How precious is time, and how painful to see it fly

with little done to good purpose!

I need thy help:

O may my soul sensibly depend upon thee

for all sanctification,

and every accomplishment of thy purposes

for me, for the world,

and for thy kingdom.

It has been a very productive and meaningful week. Most of the time I no longer notice how many days, or weeks, or months has gone by. In spite of the busy schedule and important things to do, I would like to share this prayer with you. 

I thank God that I have in my heart a HAPPINESS that only He could give. May you embrace that happiness, too. Always.

share the Word

Don't get entangled by all things worldly for they will all come to pass.

In an era where an overwhelming amount of facts and figures is just a click away, maintaining a healthy Christian worldview may be difficult to do but it is definitely not impossible. Although we are bombarded with more data than we can deal with in the world wide web, the final decision of regarding which set of information to process still belongs to us. We can avoid the wide path that leads to destruction with the help of our Lord and Savior.

A friend shared this to me last Easter: "Our minds gather the dirt and dust of human opinion everyday but God's words are like waterfalls that wash and purify our hearts and minds." I couldn't agree more.

Today is Internet Evangelism Day. When I learned about it by random searching and net surfing, I felt that God was telling me to do something more so I decided to create an event for Internet Evangelism Day in Bloggers Unite. I want to let Christian bloggers, including myself, realize that we can take a step further in inviting people all over the globe to personally know our awesome God! I strongly believe that we are all called to be instruments of the Lord whenever and wherever. All we have to do is say YES to Him. Hence, I aptly entitled my blog Adsum Domine (Latin), which translates to "Here I Am, Lord." 

Exploring different hosting sites, I began blogging when I was in high school about seven years ago. Unfortunately, I clearly lacked essence and purpose in my writings back then. Now and for the days to come, I want my blog to be a reflection of a renewed commitment to Christ. 

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

- John 14:6 (NIV)

Don't just spread the word; share the Living Word.