Just The Start

For years, I have been like any other girl who is fond of things that dazzle her - clothes, shoes, bags and accessories. Almost every little girl wants to become a princess. I am now 21 years old and I still have such desire etched in my heart. Oh wait! Do not take it literally or you might get me wrong. I desire to be a princess in my own special way. And that special way, for me, is dressing up. So, my Facebook album "Look Great and Be Nice" came to existence...

During the course of maintaining said album, some of my friends suggested that I should establish my own shop. Long before, I had already exposed myself to that idea. But I had not actually thought about really pursuing it until I read my friend's comment. So, a few days ago I launched my very own on-line shop. We named it Amiye Asha which means Boundless Hope.

Courtesy of Multiply.com.

First Collection.

The items I sell.

I prayed to God that this year would be a "breakthrough." One of my faith goals this years was to have a business. Now, I have it. What a faithful God I serve! :}

I blogged about this not because I wanted to promote my shop. At this very moment, that is the last thing I want to do. I am sharing this because I wanted to acknowledge God. Without Him, there will be no me. Hence, no Amiye Asha.

My friend, I encourage you to delight yourself into the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. We fail sometimes, but God is graceful. This is just the start of His mighty works in my life, in all its areas. Jesus, thank you for keeping my dreams safe in your hands.

God hears. God sees. That's why I am with boundless hope. ♥

*Thanks to all my friends and relatives who support me unconditionally.

Stress Reliever

April 6, 2011, Wednesday

One of my favorite poems is Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare. It was taught to us during our senior year. I liked it because of its meaning and story. My English teacher, Ma'am Ruby, explained it to us. That day was one of the best days in High School. Everyone was thinking and participating, even the guys who were very "makulit" back then. And I have realized, when love is mentioned, we all feel connected. :}

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

William Shakespeare 

PS: Stress Reliever because I played dress-up, applied make-up, and did my hair last night. Relieving. :P

It Is For Freedom

It was Sunday, March 6, 2011.

The countdown started.

In about two minutes, the service would officially begin with the Praise and Worship team leading the people into the holy courts of God. People greeted their friends and acquaintances with hugs and kisses as if they had not seen them for years. I am not complaining, though. This, actually, is one of the reasons why I have loved this church; everyone is treated like family.

Familiar faces appeared.

“Hi, Pat! Kamusta?” A dear friend asked me while giving me a simultaneous hug and beso. This scene happened to me for three to five more times, but with different people.

I sat and looked around and…observed. Some were moving. The ushers delightfully directed incoming people to available seats. Some filled the entire venue with loud cheers and stories. Even Mar, my boyfriend, and I took part in it as we gladly spoke with some friends.

And soon before most of the church members could notice, the countdown ended.

Immediately thereafter, the musicians inaugurated the evening by creating heavenly sounds while the singers translated the same into divine words.

Everyone rose on his feet. Some hands were clapping. Some hands were raised. Some lips were singing. Some lips were uttering prayers. Some just stood and rested their hands on the part of the seats where one's supposed to rest his back against. And I was one of them, actually. I could not sing. I could not clap. I could not raise my hands. There was like a thick barrier that restricted me. It was mainly made up of guilt and shame.

While most of the people praised, I started to look around and observe again.

I saw different faces, different expressions. My guilty mind began to wander farther. Asking myself about their problems, happiness, weaknesses and prayers, I spotted people and thought about the matters they were thinking about. And when I could no longer answer my own queries, my mental expedition ended with me; I thought of what I was thinking.

“I should do well in the finals.”

“This week, how many times did I give God quality time? To begin with, was it with quality?”

“Kin is here. I have done so many mistakes at school. I wish he does not focus on that.”

“Liz is not here today. I wish to see her next week.”

“I have failed God in so many ways this week.”

And these things could go on for a day. I was troubled, preoccupied, and aimless that day.

But...

I came to my senses. I began to realize where I was, the reason why I was there – JESUS. I ransacked my mind to segregate the healthy thoughts from the unhealthy ones. I asked, “God looks at the heart, right?” Right after interrogating myself, I rephrased the question and turned it into its declarative form: GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART. RIGHT.

I appreciated this light bulb moment with a follow-through, a prayer. I prayed for wisdom to be excellent in school and the grace to do what God wants me to do. Because of my propensity to sin, I prayed that people would not fix their eyes on me, but on God. I prayed for His loving mercy to wash away my iniquities.

Though my mind fought, I raised my hands, opened my lips, and sang His songs of praise.

The guilt and shame were dispelled. The barrier crumbled. That day, I was a freedwoman of God.

________________________________________________

1 Samuel 16: 7

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Galatians 5:1

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

You and Your Dreams

I was invited by my Alma Mater to be the guest speaker for this year's Elementary and Kindergarten Graduation. The MSIC Graduation was held last March 31, 2011 at MSIC Gym. The SJBA graduation took place on April 1, 2011 at the SM Event Center.

This kind of opportunity does not come and happen every day. By this reason, I was more than joyful to have been given this chance to inspire kids. On March 23, 2011, my phone rang. I was hesitating to answer my phone at first because the number was unregistered. But lo and behold! When I pressed yes, it was our dear principal! According to Ms. Jo, before choosing the guest, she prayed for it. I thank God for the favor He has for me. I have been receiving so many blessings!

Below are the pictures taken during the MSIC graduation. Enjoy!

With our dear principal, Ms. Jo. I missed her so much!


While delivering my speech.

With our dear Principal and President.

Never expected to see this. It was an honor! Thank you so much. :}

The speech I used on March 31, 2011 and April 1, 2011:

In 2008 there was this movie Kung Fu Panda. It is about a lazy Panda named Po, who is the biggest fan of Kung Fu. Po works faithfully in his family's noodle shop, but by night he dreams of becoming a true master of the martial arts. One day he learns that the Jade Temple is setting up a competition to select the Dragon Warrior. Po goes to see the competition between the Furious Five: Tigress, Viper, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis. He enters the contest by accident, and is chosen by Oogway, the old sage, as the Dragon Warrior. Now Master Shifu must train Po into a Kung Fu Master, as the city comes under the threat of Tai Lung, a treacherous snow leopard who had been Master Shifu's favourite pupil, and is now coming to the Valley of Peace seeking revenge.

Like Po, we all want to become SOMETHING and SOMEONE. Today, we have a little activity here. I wish that everyone would participate. Friends, can you do me a favor? For 10 seconds please keep your eyes closed and visualize your dreams…the person you want to become and the things you want to have…your goals.

(Count ten seconds)

Now open your eyes.
My dream is to become a lawyer, establish charities and schools, and make history. Some of you may want to become doctors, engineers, teachers, famous writers, celebrities, or may be musicians. Some may dream of owning their own airplanes, of having a mansion with ten cars, of going to different countries, of inventing something that will make humans fly, or of making a medicine that may cure any disease.

Let me call someone from the graduates. (Calls someone) Did you feel happy when you thought of your goals and dreams?

Dreams make us feel alive. Every day, we bear them in our hearts just like how we carry every piece of our being when we go to school, office, church or wherever. It is an important portion of who we are that without them, we can still go on, but life would be reduced to mere existence. They have a special space in hearts that if they were taken away from us, we would feel like a bird that cannot fly because its wing is broken, like a kindergarten student who just knew that Santa Clause never existed, or like a twelve-year-old girl who was promised to be taken to Taylor Swift’s concert, but the promise was not fulfilled, or like a person who just came to know that the 700 million peso lotto prize had been won, ang kaso nga lang hindi ikaw!

Friends, I have only two things to tell – two things that we should always keep in mind. The first point is that you will have to work hard for your dreams and goals. In Kung Fu Panda, Po had to train to ready himself for the battle between him and Tai Lung, the antagonist in the story. He had to learn how to make a perfect split and had to combat with the furious five. Every day he was forced to work hard to become a true Dragon Warrior.

I learned that dreams are not free because they come with a high price. That high price may mean devoting less time to Play House Disney or Facebook, prioritizing studies more than your crushes, or practicing earnestly to hone your skills.

But be reminded that it will never be easy. There will be times when we will feel like giving up. There will be times when we will think that nothing is happening. There will be times when we will doubt ourselves and instead of hearing encouraging words, we will hear people saying words that will discourage us all the more. When these days come, do not quit. DO-NOT-QUIT! Just close your eyes. Cover your ears. Cling to your dreams. Step forward. Friends, we all have dreams; it is our duty to protect them.

Are we going to fail sometimes? Yes. Sometimes you will get a low grade, or maybe a failing one. According to Bill Gates, “It is fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” Failures are not trash. They are our treasure. They will make us stronger.

(Looks at the kindergarten graduates)

Kids, when you do not get stars from teacher, do not quit. Instead, you study harder until teacher gives you stars.

Second point is about believing in ourselves. Believe even when no one believes in you. Believe even if it seems impossible. Believe even if you do not look like you are going to be a doctor, a scientist, an astronaut, a billionaire, a president, a dancer, or the next Justin Bieber or Hannah Montana.

You know what? This is why I have loved Kung Fu Panda. It has a message for everyone. Nobody believed that Po could be the Dragon Warrior, not even Master Shifu, the one who taught Po Kung Fu. Why? Because he was fat and was only good at eating a lot. In short, he did not look like a Dragon Warrior. But Po dedicated his heart into the task, and the unlikely hero ultimately found that his greatest weaknesses turned out to be his greatest strengths. He realized that there was no secret ingredient to being the Dragon Warrior, anyone could be a Dragon Warrior, and that he just had to believe in himself.

Friends, do not ever let somebody tell you that you cannot do something or become someone. Not even your family or your friends. “If you want something, go get it. PERIOD!”

This may be the shortest speech in the entire graduation history, because I do not want to overwhelm you with tons of information. My purpose for today is just to relay those two points to everyone who is here, especially to the graduates. So remember, point number one is we have to work hard for our dreams. Second and last point is we have to believe in ourselves.

But I do not want to speak to the graduates alone. I desire to speak to the parents by using the conversation between Master Oogway and Master Shifu. Master Oogway was Master Shifu’s superior. The conversation went something like this:

Oogway said, “My friend, the panda will never fulfill his destiny, nor yours until you let go of the illusion of control.”

Shifu asked, “Illusion?”

“Yes,” answered Oogway. “Look at this tree, Shifu: I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time.”

Shifu argued, “But there are things we *can* control: I can control when the fruit will fall, I can control where to plant the seed: that is no illusion, Master!”

“Ah, yes!” Oogway exclaimed. “But no matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.”

“But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung,” Shifu contended.

Oogway replied, “Maybe it can, if you are willing to guide, to nurture it, to believe in it.”

“But how? How? I need your help, master.” Asked Shifu.

Oogway finally said, “No, you just need to believe. Promise me, Shifu, promise me you will believe.”

I hope and pray that you got the message of Oogway and Shifu’s conversation. I hope and pray that you will not insist something to your kid just because it will make him earn a lot of money, but more importantly, because “that” something will stretch out his potentials and transform him into someone who is the best version of himself.

Some of you may think that I have the guts to lecture on these things because I had been a consistent honor student... because I have accomplished things and received awards from them… because I am now a Law student. No… I am standing before you because I am just like any of you. I have experienced to get a failing mark in a Math exam in High School, a seventy-nine in my report card in Reading in Elementary, a grade of C in my Marketing subject in college, and a grade of fifty-seven in mid-term exam in Persons and Family Relations in Law School. I lost in the Student Council election for Presidency during my senior year. I have lost in a lot of competitions. I made unwise decisions. I made mistakes. I make mistakes. I am not the greatest product of MSIC/SJBA. But the journey to our dreams is not about perfection. It is how you pick yourself up from every failure which makes every victory worth it. It is not about living for yourself. It is living for something and SOMEONE who is bigger than yourself.

So let me wrap up now with the following reminders:

Friends, go live your dreams. You own them!

To some who are on the brink of giving up, do not quit! Instead, work harder!To others who think their dreams will no longer materialize, believe again! Just believe again!

To the graduates and to the parents, CONGRATULATIONS! You are all a step closer to your dreams!

To all the members of MSIC/SJBA, thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity! May we all live and only live for the GLORY OF GOD!