Pixies & Stardust

Tag: God

  • Perfectly Flawed ©

    Few days back, I started writing down tidbits of praise and prayer.  The back story for how it started and why:

    I sat contemplating about envy, anger, things happening around me, things going on inside my head, temptations I fight and failed to fight.  Then, I am inspired by St. Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth…

    2 Corinthians 12:9

    “ But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

    By His Cross, I see my sins and shame crucified.
    By His Resurrection, I see my salvation and victory.
    In my weakness, I see His strength.
    In my sins, I see His mercy.
    In my fallen state, I see His unconditional love.
    I am made perfect in my weakness, through His strength.
    I am fearfully and wonderfully made, flaws and all.
    I am perfectly flawed for His glory.
    I am His child, so dearly loved.
    I am a child in awe of my Father, my God, my King.
    And I will sing and proclaim His goodness, His mercy, His grace, His love, and this Hope through His gift to me – writing.

    Debbie

  • Why am I Still Here?

    7/30/2013 5:04 PM

    Closing time… Wasted time…?

    Here I am, waiting for the clock to strike 6 so I can leave – few minutes less of an hour to go.

    What am I doing with my life?  Is this really where I should be?  I try to grasp the meaning of this all.  If asked how I ended in this place, I often say, I just went with the flow.  Half-truth.  Circumstances led me here, but it is my indecision, my lack of direction that kept me here.  With that being determined, with that fact laid out there, what’s next?  I have often been told and judged to be too timid to act.  Friends meant well when they try to push me out of this zone, when they pep talk me to leaving this job, when they encourage me to work at Ocean Adventure (yes, to that point!).  Believe me, I took a step I normally wouldn’t.  I did act.  I went ahead.  I resigned.  I enrolled.  And still, I am here.  Resignation denied.  Home-schooling stopped.  What happened?  Was it still my indecision?  Didn’t I fight hard enough?  Didn’t I push harder?  All in the realm of ‘maybe’.  Wasn’t I misunderstood and misjudged once again?

    As a daughter, let me tell all parents out there, be as supportive as you can be of your children.  Do not impose your dreams on them.  You may know best but you are not your child.  Not because you find a career good meant it will be good for your child.  Not because you cannot do it doesn’t mean your child cannot achieve.  And do not compute the money, the time, the effort you have given them and use that to threaten or coerce them to do your will.  Give them wings to fly, and never ever ever tell them they can’t fly.  My parents are supportive… partly, as typical Chinese parents do.  They support you in the arts while you’re young and when you are about to enter the real world, they only support you if you take business or whatever they think will bring in the most financial stability for you – definitely not drawing or writing or teaching or even singing.  If it had been differently, I would be on TV.  They divide your lives in numerical periods –at a certain age you should be like this, accomplished this, and yet they keep treating you like an eleven-year-old.  I know I may not understand yet how it is to be a parent.  I will write about that when the time comes.  But for now, this is the sentiment of a daughter who wanted to spread her wings but found herself caged in.  It is easy for other people to say – go ahead, jump ahead, to push you forward – because they are not the ones who will dishonor their parents.  Sometimes, I do think about it – this is about me and my life, my happiness… and I should be the one in control, not my parents.  But how do you act on something without considering the feelings of other people, especially people who have been with you through the years?  I must say, my parents did teach me well – they did a pretty good job in instilling respect for them, even though they always tell me I disrespect them (when I answer back).  I can be a rebel with a cause, a daughter who fought for her happiness in spite of, the girl who reached for her dreams and (hopefully) found that it’s what she expected and more, and then what? All that is ahead are uncertain.  What I only have is right now – this job, this family, the community and God.

    Sometimes, like today, I am bothered.  An idle mind is truly the devil’s playground.

    I pray, Lord, that you sort through my heart’s desires and take away those against Your will for me.  I ask for Your guidance and for the fulfillment of these desires.  I seek You and Your will, Your plan.  I knock and knock and will keep on knocking until You make a way for the fulfillment of Your will.  And I will hold on to the hope and future You promised, Lord.  And I will hold on to your command to honor and obey parents as it is well for me (Ephesians) and it pleases You. (Colossians).

    When I look to God, when I see Christ, when I remember all that’s been done for my salvation … I know I am not lost, and I have this Hope that wherever I am, God will still fulfill His will for me.  He already has a set time for every event in my life.  I just have to be a little more patient and a lot more courageous.

  • The Gift of Time

    I used to feel bad seeing my friends and majority of people around me caught up and busy with work, leisure, dining out, traveling, I felt I’m missing so much of life.

    I check Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and see all these places, food, travels and party posts it made me feel jealous and I ask myself, ‘what am I doing with my life?’

    Now, I understand and see the wonderful gift of time that God has provided me.  For giving me this much time to enjoy His Word, to do things for Him, to be there for people who need me.  I will not be deceived.  I am living my life to its fullest whenever I spend it with and for the Lord. (:

  • Shifting Focus

    Cos really, it’s not Brazil that is the goal – it’s the maturing of my faith.  It’s not getting on that plane and arriving there – it’s the journey from the moment of yes to the moment of least resistance, total surrender and acceptance of His will… so I won’t let this monster of “I want to go to Rio” eat me up again and derail me from seeing the real, bigger picture.  Yes, God said I should be clear with my destination – destination = goal and it is every Christian’s goal to run the race and win the prize that is – heaven. (:

  • Angels & Messages

    Few days back, I struggled with my desire to attend the World Youth Day next year at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  The desire was overtaken by anxiety over the amount of money I need to have for the trip.  It came to a point where I consider to just let go of the idea of being there.  And throughout that struggle, I never prayed about it.  The Lord reminded me to do so, through a friend, heaven-sent.  Sheila asked me to pray about it, for His will. When it is in His will, He will make a way for me.  How easily I forgot about all His providence.  This is a wonderful thing I have, to trust Him and see Him personally work a miracle, a big one IMO.  And day after day, from the night I prayed, I continuously got messages about trust and obedience, of trusting Him even when it doesn’t make any sense, of Elijah’s story and what the Bible say about money.

    To share some of the messages I got:

    9.24.12

    Sometimes, I will allow circumstances to cut down your resources.  Some go through hardship, poverty, and brokenness. Some lose relationships. Some lose their loved ones. And when your resources are down, that’s when you look at me—and become open to my intervention.
    Remember: The place of desperation is also the place of deliverance, your deliverance!

    9.27.12

    I operate in the area of the impossible. If you want to find me, operate in the area of the impossible as well. If you work with what’s possible, you may not need me. But if you work with what’s impossible, you will be forced to look up to me.

    10.1.12

    Money’s great to have, but it’s important to remember where it came from.
    Deuteronomy 8:17-18
    “He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.”

    God will always provide what you need to accomplish what he’s set before you.

    Thank YOU so much Father for such great love.  This is a journey for me.  I cannot guarantee that I will not doubt but I am always grateful and in awe of how He has time and again called me back and pushed away all doubts from me.

    Jeremiah 29:13
    You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

    Let us be vigilant, never tiring, in seeking Him and His will for us.  And to listen when He reveals things to us.  Sometimes I fall short in the listening because in the middle of the asking and seeking I have created in my mind the reply I wanted and when I get something not aligned with what I have in mind, there is the tendency to shrug off the message.  Yet the Lord has His ways and He replies to our asking and seeking, and to find Him is to have an open heart and open ears ready to listen, trust and obey Him.  For He has great plans for all of us and we are all put here for a purpose He has assigned to each one of us.  No one is without one.

    Isaiah 55:8-9
    “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

    Romans 8:28
    And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

    Jeremiah 29:11

    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.

    In all things, let us remember LOVE.  That our Father in Heaven loves us so and nothing in this world can separate us from that.

    Romans 8:38-39
    For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    -a child in awe of You-

  • Thank You so much Lord for loving me… PRICELESS!

    Isaiah 41:10

    “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

    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.

    Romans 8:37

    In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.

  • What Is The Point?

    The point in waiting is to enjoy
    To love and worship God
    In every act of your life
    Including the waiting.
    And in the waiting
    Remember His nature
    That He is the Giver of every perfect gift
    That He desires to lavish you with such treasures
    Treasures that are worth the wait
    Solely because He is in them.
    Rest in this:
    He is going to give you
    Exactly what you need
    At exactly the time you need it.
    That is reason to smile
    That is reason to breathe easy
    And rest in Him.
    Let go of “when” and “if”
    Because His way
    Are so much higher than yours.
    His thoughts
    Beyond what you could ever fathom
    Because He loves you
    Oh, how He loves you.
    And that is the point of your entire existence
    To experience His presence
    His love
    Inside every moment
    Especially in the waiting.

    – Josiah Schwartz

  • What The Lily Taught Me

    Last Wednesday, I got a Stargazer from the flower market on my way to work.  It’s a flower I’ve always wanted to have beside me, cos of it’s wonderful color and fragrance.  Little did I know I’d be reminded so much by this lily.  More than just appreciating how lovely they are and how nice they smell, they reminded me of life’s brevity, God’s glory, God’s providence, and His amazing grace.

    As I see a bud opens up, I’m reminded of Matthew 6:28-31.  Why worry?  See the beautiful flowers in the field, even in the short span of their life, how pretty the Lord has dressed them without them toiling that even Solomon was never dressed as lovely as them.   How much more, then, that God will provide for us?  It also showed me how these fragile creatures never hold back in showing off their beauty to bring glory to their Maker.

    Today, one of the lily has withered and it reminded me of life’s brevity; that beauty is fleeting, what is important is to praise God (Proverbs 31:30); of God’s faithfulness in the frailty of this life (Isaiah 40:8);  and the will of the Lord. (James 4:13-16).

    It is in the little things, even the tiny flower that springs up from a crack in the pavement, that teaches us the greatest lessons.  Often, it is in the things we take for granted.  So always keep your eyes, ears and heart open, cos our Father is always speaking to us. (:

  • Repost: Morning Glory @ Donsol Sorsogon (:

    Remembered this blog post of a MORNING GLORY because of the developments with the Stargazer Lily.  (: Thought I’d share this again, cos really, seeing the brevity of a flower’s life yet how beautiful they are reminds us how amazing our God is! (:

    Beautifully opening your eyes to the day
    Kissing the morning dews with the beauty of your face
    The sun rises in the East while you shine your best
    You know that life’s short and you don’t bloom anything less
    When the sun moves west and the day’s about to end
    Your colors start to fade, and with grace, slowly you bend
    You’ve brought glory to our Creator, you’ve done your part well
    Proved that a day is always enough time for one to be his best

    -debi-

    Photo taken: Donsol, Sorsogon. April 2006.

  • A Memorable Moment

    20120308-182151.jpg

    Got to work finding the bud that was yesterday is slowly opening up. And today, it’s slowly unfolding its petals. So lovely, and I’m loving the scent more and more.

    Thank You so much Lord for this wonderful gift of flowers.

    And it also reminds me of Matthew6:28. Look at the lilies of the field. They do not work or spin yet Solomon in a his splendor was not dressed like them.