Chase

My heart will never stop being grateful for all the Lord has done and how He is moving in our life.  I just finished reading Jennie Allen's book Chase and it encouraged me a lot to pursue a journey ... a journey to chase God's heart.

I want to be like David, Lord.
I want to love you with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength.
I don't want to just say it but I want it to be seen in my ways.
I don't want to live for the wrong things.
Lord, lead me to the life you want me to live.

Jennie stated it beautifully, "When I meet God, I want to face Him completely out of breath for having chased him with these few days I have on Earth. On that day, I want to have lived what I say I believe. I want to have talked to God more than I talk to anyone else.  I want to have trusted God and followed Him anywhere."

In my quiet time yesterday, this verse spoke to my heart. "Asa's heart was blameless all his days." (2Chronicles 15:17)   What made God say this about him? Asa removed the abominable idols from all the land and He restored the altar of the Lord.  I need to remove anything that takes the place of Jesus in my life. These things are not bad but they become my idols once I prioritize them over God. God's throne should be in its proper place - in my mind, in my soul, in my heart. By the time the Lord calls me back home, I want my heart to be blameless before Him.

Created using Leaving a Legacy Designs' FRESH START
 and template by Karen Diamond Designs
Visit Kimberly's website for updates:
LEAVING A LEGACY DESIGNS

And The Word Became Flesh

     In our family devotion this morning, we thought of what we would feel if President Obama or Queen Elizabeth would choose to live in our home for 33 years. We would have turned our house around and still feel unworthy of the honor. Yet Jesus, the King of Kings, the creator of the universe, did just that.

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His Name, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us ... " (John 1:12-14)

God sent forth His beloved Son to save me. Unworthy as I am, He dwelt in me and chose to adopt me.. He gave me the right to be called a child of God!

I like this quote from Chase, a book I've been reading by Jennie Allen, "Because of Christ, not one thing is the same. We are not striving to be new. We are just ... new. The old "us" died with Christ and we came back something entirely different ... He chased after us, not because we were worthy but because God is just that good." 

GOD

chose

adopted

filled

strengthened

enabled

convicted

restored

forgave

established 

US

What grace! What joy! What love!

created using GLAM CHRISTMAS by
Leaving a Legacy Designs and Queen Wild Scraps
Grab it here: GLAM CHRISTMAS

That is the essence of the season. We cannot separate Jesus from Christmas. He is CHRISTMAS.

"After chasing everything the world has to offer,
nothing is more satisfying than God."-Jennie Allen
I AM HIS.
--created using GLAM CHRISTMAS

Have a blessed and wonderful Christmas ... from our family to yours.

Created using ALL WRAPPED UP by Leaving a Legacy Designs
Andrea Gold Template 724

Christmas Kits And Goodies

It will be Christmas soon and what better way to document the special memories it would bring by using these wonderful kits by Leaving a Legacy Designs.

Joyful Noise is a fun festive Christmas kit with adorable caroling reindeer and mouse.

If you want to scrap the nativity scene, The Greatest Gift is perfect for you.

Both kits are perfect also for non-themed layouts.
Grab them here: JOYFUL NOISE, THE GREATEST GIFT

Here are the layouts I made for these kits.

WA by WA World

I also made some jar labels for your homemade goodies.

You can get them here: Christmas Movies Day 11

... And there's a fun Christmas mini-kit that just came out!  You can grab Ho Ho Oh No HERE.

 

12.13.2013 Coop Gift-Giving in Pasig. We donated books
and toys to our adopted Library.
 Our children acted out the first Christmas story, 
sang Christmas carols, gave food and goodies
& shared the 4 most important truths to the attendees.
1. God loves us..
2. We have sinned
3.. Jesus died for us.
4. We have to decide to live for Christ.

Visit Kimberly's blog @ Leaving a Legacy Designs for more kit updates.

The Greatest Gift - A Dgroup Christmas Outreach

It has been almost a year now when our Discipleship Group started conducting monthly Bible studies in Balubad, a resettlement area in Marikina City.  From a usual 10-12 adults and 35 kids,  our attendees increased to 15-30 adults and 150 kids.  God is using this ministry to help us train our Dgroup members to facilitate, teach and conduct outreaches.  It has truly been a blessing to all of us. My husband and I also use this to train our kids in ministry, showing them how to give and share their blessings to other people.

Our kids helping give some goodies to the kids

packing some loot bags for the Balubad kids

God has also provided this multi-purpose hall for our Sunday School

My eldest, Michael, teaching the kids an action song

Add caption

As a culminating activity this year, we conducted an outreach which was attended by around 352 residents (kids and adults). Our goal was to share with them the true meaning of Christmas, the greatest gift of all - Jesus Christ.

OUtreach Ticket
credits: LST/WA World

Created using Leaving a Legacy Designs' Joyful Noise.   
Check out her store for more kits: www.bitly.com/LLDSTORESNP

To learn how this ministry started, you can click this link: DGROUP OUTREACH MASS WEDDING 

All glory to God!

Our Chocolate Love Story

        My kids love everything chocolate ... from milk to spreads to ice cream! I guess our love story with chocolates started in the womb. When I was  pregnant with my first child, I ate M&Ms and  Chocolate Sundae (almost) everyday.  Working near McDonald's didn't help at all. My excuse: I can't feel my baby move. I want to make sure he is alive. (lame, I know. lol) The moment I eat my M&Ms, Michael would do his somersaults inside me and I would be comforted.

     That wasn't a very good idea, I know.  It was by God's grace alone that my blood sugar level was still normal but I did gain a lot of weight.  I only realized I was getting bigger and bigger when I saw myself in a photo.  When I asked my husband  about it, he sweetly said, "I didn't notice it at all. For me, you still look like the Ayenn I married on our wedding day."

No Wonder my kids love to each chocolates!
Template from JMC Designs for November 16-30 Template Challenge

We couldn't say no to the world's biggest Hershey bar.

Layouts made using Leaving a Legacy Designs' HOT, HOT CHOCOLATE.
Just click the links for the ALPHA PACK, PAPER PACK AND ELEMENTS PACK .  Each part is only $1 until the 7th!  This link will bring you to all three parts. 

 

Black Friday Sale!

Store wide ONE DAY 50% off sale on Black Friday! Don't miss it!

BLACK FRIDAY!

All Wrapped Up!

Can you smell the Christmas breeze? This is definitely my favorite time of the year!  And so the scrapper in me would always look for Christmas kits to scrap my Christmas memories with.

Leaving a Legacy Designs' new kit ALL WRAPPED UP just came out.   It's a fabulous kit with 132 elements, 91 unique elements, 7 solid papers, 20 pattern papers and a full alpha. Yay! Isn't that huge!  Here is a preview of the kit and a link to it in the Shoppe here - ALL WRAPPED UP or here - bit.ly/1h3Wdf9 Don’t forget today it is still on sale -- a huge kit@ 20% off!

Here are the layouts I made with the kit.

My 2 boys with their cousin, Miguel

One of my favorite Christmas memories with my Lolo and Lola

a non-themed layout I made for my mom's birthday

Visit and subscribe to Kimberly's blog - LEAVING A LEGACY DESIGNS for updates. :-)

Grateful

After the typhoon that badly hit our country, there is still so much to be thankful for. I wrote this on my birthday in October. I just thought it was appropriate to post it today.

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Grateful.

Knowing Jesus Christ is the best gift I ever received.  I am grateful He saved me and gave me the assurance that someday I'll be with Him. I am grateful because He loves me unconditionally that not even life nor death can separate me from Him. (Romans 8:37)

I am grateful for the gift of family, for a loving husband and 2 wonderful kids. I thank the Lord for the borrowed time I have with them.

I am grateful for the daily provisions and unexpected blessings.

I am grateful for the ministry He has entrusted to me and for the many opportunities He has opened this year. I am nobody, yet He called me. I am grateful for our dgroup, my spiritual family.

I am grateful that I know what joy feels like.

I am grateful for the privilege to pray, to commune with my  Lord.  I am so much grateful that He has never left my side.

I am grateful simply because Jesus is who He says He is. 

"Oh Lord, I stand amazed at the wonder of your deeds
and yet a greater wonder brings me to my knees ...
Lord I praise you, because of who You are.
You're all the reason that I need to voice my praise.
Because of who You are."
(Sandi Patti - Because of Who You Are)

Layout credits:
This kit came at a perfect time.  
Newly designed by Leaving a Legacy Designs,
Count Your Blessings kit is perfect for scrapping the things you are thankful for.
It's 20% off today. Grab it HERE

I also made my desktop for November from the kit

... and to remind me of God's faithfulness, I wrote 30 random things I am grateful for

1.Jesus
2.salvation
3.alvin (my husband)
4.my kids
5.homeschool
6.CCF (Our church, Christ's Commission Fellowship)
7.Dgroup (Church Discipleship group)
8.Family/parents
9.coop/TMA - our homeschool coop
10.joy
11.Bible
12.music / Praise and Worship
13.ministry
14.daily provisions
15.time
16.prayers
17.hope
18.internet
19.roof on our head
20.friends
21.scrapbooking (digital scrapping)
22.books
23.laptop
24.camera/photos
25.family videos (we love watching family videos)
26. heaven
27. family bonding
28. grace
29. mercy
30. life

Hurting Vs. Helping Words

I found this great reminder as I was scanning last year's homeschool portfolio.  Are we building up our children with our words?

 

By Aethan, 8 years old

"Words have power, and we can either speak life or death into a situation...the Bible says that when we go to be with the Lord we will have to account for every careless word we have spoken. We pay for them here  on earth also. The price is too high to pay for something that can easily be controlled by our own will. We can speak love, joy, and peace into our world, or we can speak strife, hatred, deception, an all other manifestations of evil." - Stormie Omartian

Birthday Fun

Last week, our Homeschool coop gave a surprise birthday party for  Michael & Aethan.  They were asking a lot of things before we left home like - why are we bringing lots of food, why is there a cake, why will dad drop us off at Tita Beth's.   Somehow I think we gave a good answer to their every question because they stopped asking. :)

     The mommies were already busy preparing the cabana when we arrived.  It looked beautiful with Tita Beth's banderitas and Tita Onnie's candy bar. What made the day more special was the presence of their dad.  The kids were really ecstatic when they learned that Alvin took a leave from the office so he can be with them.  They had so much fun swimming, playing basketball and eating (gummies and all).

     On our way home, Michael said,, "This is a playgroup I will never forget!"

This layout was created using

Campfire Kit by Leaving a Legacy Designs

which you can grab HERE

The kit has warm, earthy colors 

that coordinates with your outdoor photos.  

Kit includes 11 solid papers, 

16 pattern papers, 103 elements 

and a full alpha with numbers and symbols.
You can also check Kimberly's blog for more of this kit.

 

Discipline and My Strong-Willed Son

     The first part of our homeschool day is always to read the Bible together.  Afterwards, My kids would write their reflection on the chapter that we studied.  I was reminded of this verse after I read what Aethan wrote.  “Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty." Job 5:17 

     He wrote:
"This is me when I'm an adult. I am happy cause I was disciplined. Like how God's people discipline their children, I should also discipline my future children, too.  When I have my own children, I should discipline them and tell them what God's law and word are."

     I  was blessed to know that this is how Aethan views discipline now.  Afterall, he is a strong-willed child. There was a time when he questioned our every command and would willfully disobey.  It was also difficult for him to say "sorry" when he commits something wrong. He would test our limits over and over again. I cannot count how many spanks he received while growing up.

     Prov 13:24 says  "He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently."   God loves our children more than I can ever love them.  We discipline our kids in obedience to God's command because we know that He knows what is best for my kids, We spank them as needed even if it is difficult.   But we do not spank in anger but in love and as we learned in our church, we should do so only for 2 reasons - disrespect and disobedience.  Now, I praise God that spanking sessions have become a rarity in our household....the kids, especially, my strong-willed son, have grown more mature and more obedient, all by God's grace.

     Michael, my eldest, said before that my words hurt him more than my spanks so now I guard my tongue more.  My husband and I are very careful not to exasperate them (Colossians 3:21). There was a time I thought I did.  There were times when I thought I have broken  their spirit.  I have asked their forgiveness a lot times but in my mind, I was afraid that my words have scarred them for life.  I lifted my fears to God and prayed that my careless words won't have an impact on them as they grow up. I always pray that my kids will remember how much their dad and mom loves them that is why the one-on-one session that follows each "spanking episode" is longer because we want them to understand fully the purpose in what we did and assure them of our love and that we have their best interest in mind.  We end this time by hugging, kissing and most of the time, wrestling and tickling - because that is where we generate the most laughter. :-)  That is why Aethan's reflection meant so much to me.  It's an affirmation from the Lord that we are on the right track.

     Thank you, Jesus! All glory to You.

     "For those of us who have decided to follow Christ as our only hope for gaining truth, purpose, direction, and eternal security, there is no obligation that has greater significance than PARENTING. -George Barna

     The Layout was made using Leaving a Legacy Design's Halloween Glam kit. Yup, it's a Halloween kit but since we don't celebrate Halloween, I decided to make a non-themed layout for it. (Just shows how versatile the kit is, right?)  It's newly released today and it's 30% off!

Grab it HERE: 

This is the other layout I made with the kit.

Our family at Sambokojin - 09.16.13

     And here's a freebie for you! I hope you would like the torn papers that coordinates with the Halloween Glam kit.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Joint Dgroup Meeting

     Alvin and I always look forward to our joint dgroup meeting every month. This is a time for us to meet with our D12 and their DGroup members.  It's also a way for us to train the couples in our group to lead and facilitate.  This month we had our Lord's supper and prayer time in Villa Samonte, Lumban, Laguna.

     We shared with the group Dr. Gary Smalley's 'Fear Dance'.   In his book , The DNA of Relationships, he said that the problem in nearly every conflict is that something touched each person's core fear causing each party to react and get stuck in a destructive 'fear dance'.  Through a quiz in the book,  we were able to recognize recurring patterns in the way we think,feel and react to conflicts which hurt our relationships.  We hope to continue the study of Dr. Smalley's book in our succeeding dgroup meetings.

     Alvin also conducted Baptism. (His first, praise God!) I was teary eyed when I was listening to some of the testimonies.  It was a joy to see our brothers and sisters (including Alvin's mom - Praise God again!) publicly declare their faith in Christ!  More than all this, I thank the Lord for the opportunity to share His love to 3 women who we met as we hiked up the mountain. It was a divine appointment from the Lord.  Our souls are rejoicing as Nanay Gigi, Nanay Norie and Nanay Nene accepted the Lord Jesus Christ in their hearts.

Bro. Noel publicly declaring his faith to Jesus

Photo Ops for the newly baptized

Timeline of activities - October 5-6, 2013

       " When we learn to pour into one another’s lives, we learn to give life and lend strength so that the journey will not be lonely one. Instead it will be fruitful because of the synergy created and the strong bonds forged." (Ann/Edmund chan)

     I thank God for the privilege to serve Him through our Dgroup.  I praise God because He has given us a spiritual family - to laugh with, to cry with, to grow with.   It is our prayer that each and everyone in our D group will  grow more mature and live a life of committed to Christ.

     "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and established in your faith, just as you were instructed...." Col. 2:6-7


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The layout above was made using Leaving a Legacy's Design's NUTS ABOUT FALL kit which you can find HERE. 

Here are 2 more layouts I made from the kit

with our homeschool coop

with their Uncle Johlo...additional credits: shabby princess border

and here's a freebie I made from the kit:

DOWNLOAD HERE

Other Dgroup Photos:

photo from Sis. Irinne

Thank you for the surprise birthday celeb!

Yummy Lunch c/o Arlene's Dgroup in Laguna

Sharing the Gospel

Bonding moments

Rambutan picking - we were allowed to eat as much Rambutan as we want. 

:-)

Mountain trekking

Our dinner (eating time again!)