Get High

We've got a new song composition. I wrote the lyrics last night and we've put the tune this afternoon. This will be our theme song for our IXTHUS GENERATION's big night on June 27, 2008 dubbed as "Let's Get High".

GET HIGH

Lyrics by dre, music by ge-r and tom 

I.

Does your burden weigh you down?

Life's turning round and round?

You don't know what to do

 Lost on where to go

 

II.

There’s a place where you can go

Where you can be renewed

God is waiting there for you

Are you ready now to go?

Pre-chorus

Come be filled with awe

Fill your life to overflow

Chorus:

Get high, get high with God

Receive His power from above

Get high, get high with God

Feel His comfort and love

Get High! Get High! Get High!

 

Bridge:

Tell everyone you know

 Lead them where to go

(The lyrics above had been edited. The video below was our first attempt of trying to record the tunes. Enjoy our creativity... will post soon the video of the edited version)

 

Rest for My Soul

Last night, I came home with a drained energy. I woke up early for a whole day leadership summit and I went home late from an invitation to facilitate a group Bible study. I wanted to sleep right away to revitalize my strength but my soul's longing to connect with God was so heavy.

I started to play worship songs and found my heart singing. I felt the intensity of my soul's desire to rest in God's presence after a day of hearing intense challenges in the leadership summit and a night of helping the youth group in facing their life challenges.

While continually enjoying the music, a phrase kept flashing in my mind, so I grabbed my Bible and searched where I have read that phrase before. It's in Psalms 32:8 where God said,"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you".

There are four action words in this passage that I was quiet sure God wanted me to be assured of; (1)He is going to instruct me, (2) he is going to teach me, (3) He is going to counsel me, and (4) He is going to watch over me.

I knew in my heart that those were the words I needed from God last night. I have a lot of things I knew I needed to do. I have a lot of plans that I wanted to pursue. On top of that, I have a number of people that I so desired to grow-to do what they need to do just like what I should suppose to do. But the truth was, last night I didn't know what to do.

But those words were so powerful. It reminded me that even if I think I didn't know what to do or even if I really don't know what to do, God surely knows what to do. I have to constantly ask for instructions. I have to always seek His direction. I need to persistently walk in His counsel. And I have to always believe that He will watch over me, go ahead of me and will fight for me.

As I laid my head to sleep, my heart was thankful to the Lord. My soul had found rest in quietness and trust to my God. 

The Gift of Silence

I'm in the library while writing this blog today. It's not totally silent here. I can hear the sound of the air-con. I can overhear other people's conversation. But at least there's a certain silence that makes me feel relax, peaceful and restful (it's a good place to sleep! I'm yawning now. hehe).

However, there's a kind of silence that's not dependent on the noise outside. It's an inward silence. We may call it the silence of the mind or the silence of the heart. I would want to describe my mind and heart today as silent. I don't even know if my description is right. When I thought about what to write on the blog, I could not think of anything. When I searched my heart for a magical feeling, until now my heart is still resting.

I'm not an alien to this kind of silence. But for the past three weeks, I realized that my mind was so engaged with life's twists and realities. My heart was so captivated with the differing emotions propelled by my reflections and contemplations. 

I like to think that my life was in constant motion. My body was at rest but my mind is filled with notions. My blog had become my pre occupation. It makes my heart wander, sometimes far away.

But today, I started to enjoy the gift of silence. My mind is at peace. My heart is at rest. My body is relaxing. 

Time to Play

Its been a while since I haven't had a time to play sports. I'd been looking forward to play badminton again and experience the pleasure of moving around, smashing and dropping and simply being inside the court . 

Finally, I had a chance to play again last night with my friday cell group. It was a very good break time. I was not only relieved from tensions but it also helped break down the walls of pretensions in my group. We got real when we're inside the court. We've freely expressed our excitements and dismays. We've learned to say sorry when we miss to hit the shuttle cock . We've learned to utter words of affirmation. We've shown gestures of love. 

Since we only rented one court for the group, not everyone of us can play at the same time. So during my break time, I had a chance to talk with one of our group members who had been  sporadic in joining our cell meetings. He used to be very reserved and avoids conversation but last night he seemed to be very open and lively. He started to share about his emotional condition. He relayed that he just broke up with his girlfriend a week ago. He wanted to get back to God and rebuild his ruined life. He felt like he lost his identity since his life started to revolved around that woman. But now he wanted it back.

I affirmed him for taking such courage to make that right decision. I've personally witness how the relationship had dragged him away from God and his family and I'm just happy to see how the Lord had answered my prayers that God will open his eyes. I'm excited on how the Lord will bring restoration and healing in his life and his family.

It wasn't my intention to turned my play time to a counseling time but I believe that God used our play time to create an atmosphere of openness so he can freely share. In fact he was thankful for that play because it helped him get through another day with excitement.

I went home still feeling the pleasure of the game but more than that I brought home with me the joy of being able to hear his story. Then I realized that the time to play was over...the time to pray had begun.

Easing the Pain of Transition

We all go through a period of transition. When we change job, when we move to a new location, when we end and build new connections. Anyone could identify with the anxiety, the burden and even the pain of going through a life transition. 

Yesterday, I had a close encounter with two friends who were in a relationship transition. It was a gainful experience to listen and reflect upon their pain and realizations.

The first one was my college classmate. We were in a coffee shop waiting for our classmates when I started to ask her how's  the condition of her heart. She was honest enough to tell me that it's still bleeding inside. She's in deep pain when she found out that her former boyfriend had found a new one. Its been months since they ended their relationship but it seems like she's not yet over with the transition. Part of her was still hoping that someday she would gain back his love and affection. 

However, she realized that she must not be dominated by her emotion. She must move on. She must help herself. She must let go and let God bring healing to her wounded heart.

The second friend's story came as a surprise to me. I didn't expect her to open up about her own experience of pain and realizations. I sent an inquiry on her messenger about the promotional materials I was making when she said that she needed to share something that God had told her to share to me. I was surprised but I told her I'm willing to listen. She shared about the pain and confusion she's experiencing after his cyber boyfriend broke up with her. She was so hurt that his boyfriend did not fight for her and just gave up  the relationship because his mom didn't give her approval. She has loved him and was willing to work things out. But now it was all over

She could still feel the pain now but she had made the decision that she would not let it dictate her own happiness. The experienced taught her a lot of significant lessons. It helped her discovered what she is capable of. It drew her closer to God. It made her stronger inside and out.

This is the reality-we will go through different types of transition and each transition evokes and provokes different types of emotion. Some are less painful but others have left a deep wound. How then can we ease its pain?

Here are the things that might be helpful. You may add other principles, practices that you also find  helpful. Thanks

1. Don't deny the pain. Admit the hurt. It's when we are real that we experience healing.

2. Talk to a friend. Share how you feel. It's when we learn to express that we find release.

3. Give yourself a break. Rest and go for recreation. Its when we learn to play that we would learn to laugh again.

4. Embrace the change. Let go. It's when we let go that we will find freedom.

5. Trust God. Pray and obey. Its when we learn to be dependent on God that we will find the  strength to move on, face the new day with enthusiasm and live with great expectation.

A Day Without an Internet

It has been two months since we had an internet connection in the house. Since then, it has been my habit to check mails,friendster, multiply and facebook in the morning. It has also been my practice to update my blogs and see if readers had posted comments. I also get excited to find out whose online in the messenger and customarily I send a warm "hi" to find out whose available to chat with.

But yesterday was a different one. For the whole day there was no internet connection. At first I thought it was only in the house but when I went to my school and to the office,  I realized that it was all over Mindano and Visayas. Initially I felt bad because I'd been looking forward to do my stuffs on the net and connect with friends online. But eventually I found myself amused working offline for my next blog entry.

Aside from that, I realized that there were wonderful and meaningful things that took place that could have not come to pass if the internet was on;

1. I was able to get back to the book I was reading a month ago and started to read it again.

2. I was able to arrange my files in my laptop and got it ready for reformat.

3. I had enjoyed being with my housemates watching TV downstairs, drinking coffee, eating bread and killing the time.

4. I got a text message from a friend who had been asking for God's direction. Because the net was down he had plenty of time to listen to God. He texted me that he had just gotten the words he needed from God. He had been crying for an hour. God had spoken to Him like never before. 

5. I had a great time for personal evaluation. I had a good time just being with my Savior.

This is what I realized; sometimes, God stops something into motion just because He wanted to get our attention. He wanted us to appreciate the value of the essentials. Being with yourself, enjoying friends and simply  listening to Him.

 The next time we would face a day of internet disconnection, may be God just wanted us to focus on our eternal connection. May be He wanted to deepen our communication with Him. May be listening is what it takes to get our life into the exact motion. May we not deprive God of our highest attention!

Making Fear not a Factor

I had a chance to reconnect with one of my bible study contacts when I was still working in the campus ministry. He was just on his 2^nd year in nursing at that time and now it’s already two years since he had passed the licensure exams.

Just like most of the nurses I know, he too had wanted to work abroad specifically in the US. So to make that dream come true, right after he passed the board exams, he reenrolled in a review center to take his NCLEX. After months of review, he was finally ready to take the exams with much confidence knowing that he has given his best and he had prayed enough.

However, when he got the result, he found out that he didn’t pass. He felt bad but then he remained positive. He didn’t blame God nor blamed himself. “May be its not yet my time to pass”, that’s how he consoled himself.

With the continual support from his family, he reenrolled again for the review. He didn’t entertain any doubts that time. He didn’t want to fail again. After all it’s already his second time. So he was more relax and confident. He took the exam and patiently waited for the release of the results.

When he checked the net for the results, his tears fell down. He didn’t get it again. He was in pain but all that he could utter was “ok Lord, thank you. It was a humbling experience for him. He didn’t question God about it but he started to question himself and his competencies. “Was I that dumb? Was I overly confident?” It was easy for him to linger in pain for blaming himself but he chose to believe that everything happens for a reason.

When I asked him if he still planned to take the exams again, his answer was a positive yes. But he didn’t want to take it right now. He wanted to take a rest, reflect and recharge. He wanted to explore other possibilities in his field.

I commended him for having such positive attitude. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him. If not for his faith in God he could have been leaving in bitterness and pessimism. If not for his family who loved him and supported him unconditionally, he could have lost his faith in himself. If not for his Christian friends who encouraged and prayed for him, he could have lost the power of His faith in God.

As I reflected upon his experience, I started to think about the people I knew who had lingered on the pain of their past failure. They became prisoners of their frustrations. They ceased to dream. They stopped to believe on their capacities. They lived in fear. I wished they were courageous as my bible contact was.

 I also started to think about my way of addressing my own failures. I have to admit that I too am prone to linger on my past. I’m afraid to fail again. But I have learned not to let my fear consume me. I have decided not to make fear a factor. I always recognize the fear within but I strived to choose not to listen to it. I strived to listen to the voice of truth that brings hope, promises love and builds faith. That voice is from God. The God who promises to never leave us not forsake us, the God who plans for what’s best for us and the God who protects us that even when we walk through the valley and the shadow of death we will not be afraid because He is with us.