Feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I’d like to stop feeling this way. Lord Jesus, help me understand and know Your will more. Today, I’ve been battling bouts of sadness and, most of all, homesickness. I have been missing Toronto lately, especially my friends that I’ve left behind. I’d like to go back and visit, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I’m not able to… yet. I really need to keep on trusting the Lord and His will. I posted about cloud hovering above me on my previous post. I know that I need to get my focus back on God, His work and His will in my life. I really need to be still and let Him guide me, teach me, refine me.

 

Trying times…

The Israelites were commanded by God to be still when the cloud was present. This truth is certainly not lost on me. I think my husband was absolutely right. God may be trying to get my attention with this heavy, dark cloud He has allowed to come over me. I need to camp out, slow down and seek Him with everything in me until the cloud disappears.

I can’t say the cloud has completely lifted as of yet, but I can say with great confidence that I have met with the Creator of the Universe in my dark, cloudy day and He has shown me great fire to light the darkness. When He blacked out the rest of the world, He slowed me down so I could focus on His promises. He has shown me Light in this darkness that I would not have seen had I not experienced the cloud.  If you have a cloud hovering over you today, seek Him. He is in the darkness and He is waiting to meet with you.  In fact, the cloud could be His blessed invitation to meet one on one with Him! What a privilege!

(This is an excerpt from a devotional by Leslie Nease, from Crosswalk.com. Please click on the link to read the full devotional.)

These past few weeks have certainly been very trying, to say the least. I’ve been frustrated, anxious, and short-fused. It certainly feels like there’s a cloud hovering over me, and I can’t seem to shake it off.

I read this devotional today. “Cloudy days” definitely come at such unexpected times, and it definitely has for me, but I certainly agree with the writer of this devotional, in that, God is trying to get my attention, to be still and to seek Him. I’ve been so pre-occupied with other things, I’ve been sort of putting my time with Him in the back-burner.  Maybe that’s why my life seems chaotic right now. On  my drive to work this morning, I actually cried out to Him and asked for a break, a room to breathe.  This devotional was a very timely reminder.

 

So…

…I haven’t updated this blog (nor any other blog) in a very long time. I believe I’ve been spending so much time on Facebook, an intervention is in order. Yes, I admit it. Isn’t that the first step towards recovery, anyway? Acknowledge that you have a problem. OK, my FB fixation is actually not as bad as it used to be. The funny thing is, those who pointed out to me that I spent too much time on FB, how did they know? If they knew that I spent a lot of time of FB, wouldn’t that mean that they spent a lot of time on there as well?

OK, so I’ve decided to update this blog. What do I write about? I suppose I’ll just begin with today’s events. Nothing much went on today, unfortunately. It’s my usual week day – woke up late, went in to work around 1pm, and I’m still here! Yes, working late on a Friday night. I should go out and do something. But alas, funds are short. Pay day’s not until Monday, so I’ll have to wait ’til then. But first off, must pay the bills, etc… then I can whoop it up. Incredibly jealous that my friend, Sherry is somewhere in New England right now, watching Rockapella, one of my favourite music groups in the world. Actually, she’s probably at the Meet-and-Greet right now, giving the boys the homemade cookies that she had baked for them. I haven’t traveled to see Rockapella in a while. The last time I actually traveled far to see one of their shows was 2002, in New York. Those were my crazy, groupie days. Only reason I would want to travel again is because one of the members, Kevin Wright, who’s become my favourite and who’s always been awesome towards me every time we see each other, is leaving the group at the end of the year, and I would like to see as much of him, on stage, as possible, before he leaves. He’s great, lovely voice, fantastic personality. A lot of people will miss his presence when he leaves. I guess I’ll just have to wait ’til December to see him for the very last time.

Anyway, it’s been quite a hectic few weeks for me at work. I work at a music school, and we just started a new semester, which means, new classes (private and group), new students, and the lot. I’ve been working 6-day work weeks for the past few weeks because of that. Two more weeks to go, and hopefully I can breathe again. I need some sort of distraction, thank God for my annual Disneyland pass. I’m looking forward to going again after all of this, and hopefully, Boyz II Men in Nov! Now, I just need to get through the next couple of weeks.

Tomorrow, I plan to sleep in and hang out at home. Then, I have to head over to our church to set up for our church anniversary celebration this coming Sunday. My church is celebrating its 16th year! We’re putting things together very last-minute because our original plans for celebration (a church camp) fell through because of the fires in the San Bernardino mountains last summer (the camp site has been temporarily closed down). So, our celebration this year will be very small and intimate, which suits me just fine. Praise God for his faithfulness and allowing his work at Olive to continue for 16 years now! May He be glorified as we celebrate on Sunday!

Alright, time to head home (yup, still at work). Will veg in front of the TV tonight. Maybe catch up on my Netflix movies. I have “Doctor Who” Series 4, Episodes 1-4 sitting on my desk.

 

“Bite me, Alien boy!”

These two are brilliant together! I’m gonna miss watching both of them as The Doctor and Donna!  I think Donna is my favourite companion of the Doctor’s.  She can really go toe-to-toe with him.  And I love how she called him “Space Man”.

 

San Diego Comic Con 2009 – My thoughts.

I didn’t have the opportunity to attend Comic Con in San Diego this weekend.  I’ve never attended one before, but have always been curious.  My urge to go really started right after seeing “The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring”.  Since then, I’ve always toyed with the idea of going to this convention one day.

I didn’t really make any particular plans to go to Comic Con this year. However, my cousin, Joyce, mentioned that she and our friend Marty were thinking of purchasing a one-day pass to check it out, and she asked me if I wanted to come along.  It was a very tempting notion.  I told her that I would seriously think about going.  A couple of weeks before Comic Con started, I found out that Zachary Quinto (Sylar from “Heroes” and Spock from “Star Trek” the movie) was going to be at the convention.  That kinda upped the ante for me.  So, I snooped around some more to see who else was going to be at Con, and that’s how I found out that David Tennant, Barty Crouch, Jr. from “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”, but more notably, the 10th Doctor in the most successful and longest-running sci-fi TV show ever, “Doctor Who” was going to be there!  My mind exploded!  I’m a fairly new “Who” fan, it probably started late last year.  I stumbled upon it on a local PBS station whilst channel-surfing.  At the time, it was still Christopher Eccleston (Claude from “Heroes”, Destro in the upcoming “G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra” movie), playing the enigmatic Time Lord.  I was immediately hooked!  I had a Netflix account at the time, so I decided to catch myself up with the series.  I fell in love!  Chris only stayed for 1 season (he and Russell T. Davies revived the show, which had been lying dormant since the 80’s). Then, David came along, and I was gone!  I couldn’t get enough of it!  I have officially joined the exclusive society of geeks and nerds when I discovered this show!

Anyway, I digress.  I couldn’t believe that David was going to Con, along with Russell T. Davies (main “Who” writer), and John Barrowman, who plays Capt. Jack Harkness in “Doctor Who” and, eventually, it’s spin-off “Torchwood” – another fave of mine).  My indecisiveness about going to SDCC was quickly replaced with determination!  I wanted to go to Con!  I just need to find out about getting a pass on the day David and the “Doctor Who”/”Torchwood” folks would be at panel, which was last Sunday.  I checked the Comic Con website again to find out more details, only to find out that all passes, both for the weekend and day passes, were SOLD OUT!  Waaaahhh!!!! I wanted to cry so bad!  I possibly have missed my only chance to see David Tennant in person!  When am I ever going to London or Cardiff?  Not anytime soon, that’s for sure!  Needless to say, I was devastated.  So, no DT, RTD and JB for me.

Then, I saw Jonathan Ross’ (“Friday Night with Jonathan Ross”) tweet on Twitter last Thursday, mentioning that he had just landed at LAX, with the lovely David Tennant, and they were on their way to San Diego.  I just about keeled over!  David was in Southern California!  Breathing the same smog-filled air as I am!  Again, I nearly cried!  (So dramatic, I know!)

So, basically, this past weekend was torture for me.  I had turned into a complete and utter geek this past weekend.  Thanks to other “Who” fans who posted pics of DT, RTD and JB, and videos of “the kiss” and the “Doctor Who” panel, I felt a bit better for not being there in person.  Still, it would’ve been such a thrill for me to have seen my lovely favourites in person.  I’m hoping that DT, RTD and JB would go to Gallifrey One, which is a “Doctor Who” convention held here in Los Angeles!  One can only hope!

Here’s a pic

My lovely Doctor, camping it up for the camera at Comic Con! (photo courtesy of Jonathan Ross)

David Tennant poses with Jonathan Ross' friend and co-producer, at Comic Con (David's the one in blue). Millenium Falcon shirt, FTW! (photo from Jonathan Ross)

I hope Jonathan Ross doesn’t mind me posting the pics.  They ARE all over the internet by now!  LOL

This takes the cake though… I fell to the floor, much like John Barrowman did here on this video!  Crazy fools!

And here are the videos taken of the “Doctor Who” panel.

PLEASE NOTE: These videos aren’t mine. Credit goes to the owners of course. Thank you for sharing!

 

Thoughts on Michael Jackson.

I ain’t gonna front, I was a mess after watching Michael Jackson’s memorial service yesterday! He was a big part of the soundtrack of my life, just as he was a part of everyone else’s. I had a lot of very vivid & fond memories, & his music was prevalent throughout my 34 yrs. Back in Manila, growing up, I bonded with my neighbor across the street over MJ’s music & dance moves. I remember coming home from school every afternoon, and I would hear “Beat It” blasting through his living room window.  He would dance up a storm, and my uncles, aunts, and I would watch him from our driveway.  He would come over the house at times and he and I would dance to “Beat It” & “Thriller”! choreography and all!  He even taught me how to moonwalk!  And I’m proud to say, I can still do it! He was a huge fan.  I wonder how he’s holding up right now.

Michael had a lot of eccentricities, and a lot of his actions were looked upon as strange or weird.  But sometimes, I think most of these actions were done on purpose.  Part of a publicity stunt.  Regardless of what has transpired in the past 10 years, as far as his life is concerned, he is undoubtedly a musical genius.  He was an amazing singer, even at 11 years old – very soulful and expressive.  And his dancing is just unparalleled.  No matter how hard you try, when you watch him dance, even with dancers all around him, you cannot help but zero in on him.  He just pulls you in and you are just mesmerized.  I’d have to agree with Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Michael is the greatest entertainer that ever lived.  Unfortunately, we will not see anymore of his brilliance.  However, his music will continue to live on and on.  He has changed pop culture, and was the bar that every one wanted to live up to.

When I learned of his death, I immediately thought “did anyone talk to him about Jesus Christ and presented to him the Gospel?”  However, I ran into a tweet by Sheila E., fantastic percussionist, a believer, and a friend of Michael’s, on the day of MJ’s memorial service, in which she said, and I quote, “Michael received Jesus B4 he passed. I will attend his home coming. Pray for his family.” If this is true, and I pray to the Lord it is, it would’ve been the best thing that had ever happened to Michael.  No matter what happened to him while he was still alive, receiving God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ definitely had set him free from all the burdens he has been carrying all these years!  He is now in the arms of Jesus!  The best place to be!  No more pain, no more sorrow.  I can just picture MJ, moonwalking on the streets of gold!  That would be something!

Ever since his death, I’ve been listening to his songs and have found a new appreciation for them.  I listen more intently on the way he sings a song, the amazing basslines and guitar riffs of his more upbeat songs like “Beat It”, “Billie Jean” or “Smooth Criminal”.  I guess it also comes with the fact that I’m older, and know a little bit more about music compared to when I was 7, 8, or 9 years old.  His music and legacy will continue for a very long time.

 

I survived, barely.

The flu hit me like a ton of bricks a couple of weeks ago. I’m such a weakling! I always, ALWAYS get sick during the winter. It never fails! I need to take better care of myself. It’s my own fault, I admit. I do not sleep early. For me, “early” would be 1am. Don’t know why. I promised myself that I was going to work on sleeping early for 2009. So far, I have not been successful. Please pray for discipline on my part. I need it.

The flu’s long gone, but now I’m coughing. It doesn’t help that I feel a draft coming through the window around the early hours of the morning. Thank God for the electric blanket that April got me for Christmas. It has helped me these past few days.

Prayer requests:

1. For our church, Olive Christian Church. We need a revival, BIG TIME. Pray that each member realizes that the Lord’s work is serious business and not just a weekend activity that’s optional or attended to whenever one’s personal calendar allows it.

2. My prayer life. I have to admit, my prayer life could be so much better. I don’t spend as much time in prayer as I would want to.

3. My health. For me to take better care of myself.

4. My mom’s health. She’s been doing well so far. Lots of ‘maintenance’. Praise God, her gout hasn’t been bothering her!

5. God’s leading in my life. I would like to have more of a clear direction in where He wants me to be, and what He wants me to do at this point. Would a move be a possibility?

6. In Harmony and Papuri. God has been refining us. And I know that there’s a reason why we’ve been on hiatus for a while. We all have issues. I pray that we get things right, individually. We need to put God as top priority. We’ve been focusing on so many things, that we’ve lost focus on Him. It’s hard to minister to people, when you’re not willing to work on your personal relationship with God. I understand that God accepts us for who we are. But He also wants us to become the kind of people He’s called us to be.

I’d appreciate the prayers!

 

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Well, the day is coming to an end, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day. I survived it, being single and all. I actually had to work for a little bit today. Almost had a situation to which I had to do damage control. Praise God, things went really smoothly.

After work, I had the urge to drive around, go to L.A. or something, but I decided to just do a bit of grocery shopping and then head home. I ended up watching the NBA All-Star festivities on TV while eating some of the leftover pork sinigang my mom made for me for my birthday.

Thus, ends my Valentine’s day festivities. I’m gonna hit the sack. Have to get up early for church tomorrow. Good night!

 

Birthday, fun-day at the Magic Kingdom.

So, I just celebrated another birthday. No fancy celebration for me this year, not even a dinner or anything. I just wanted to do one thing, go to Disneyland! As you may know, Disneyland has this special deal where you can get in to one of their parks for free on your birthday. So, that’s what I decided to do. I haven’t been to the Magic Kingdom since 2006, so I thought I would take advantage of this special deal they have and go for my birthday to see what’s new since the last time I was there.

I was joined by my niece, Nevaeh, my friend Vanessa (who took a half-day), my friend Gidget and her husband and son. We rode most of the “thrill” rides they had, except for Indiana Jones because Nevaeh wasn’t tall enough to ride it. I was a bit apprehensive in having her ride the “thrill” rides with me for fear that she might get scared. But Nevaeh’s a trooper, she loved every single ride we rode on! She especially loved Space Mountain! I love it! I had so much fun, and the fact that I got to spend it with my little niece, just made it even more special.

 

Girls just wanna have fun! :)

I spent the whole day today with 4 of my good girl friends, Ate Joy, Ate Gidget, Ate Gayle and Vanessa. We started the day early and met up at Mimi’s Cafe in Cerritos for breakfast, despite the fact that the rain was pouring! Thank God the rain let up for the rest of the day! After breakfast, we headed over to South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, sat around and had some Starbucks, then walked around and did some window shopping. I did come away with a couple of items, one I purchased for myself, and the other item, was purchased for me by my friends as an early birthday present! That was quite unexpected but I really appreciate their generosity and thoughtfulness. I’m truly grateful to them! We ended the evening at Gerry’s Grill and had some Filipino food for dinner. Yum-o!

I praise God for friendships. There are so many things that are fleeting and dispensible in this world, friendships, especially with fellow believers, shouldn’t be taken for granted!

Looks like I’m gonna be turning early tonight! Yes, 10:44 p.m. IS early for me. G’nite!