I'm Too Blessed, So I'm counting My Blessings - Ready for a Fresh Start and a Beautiful New Beginning

The law is only a shadow of the things that are coming, not the realities themselves.  Hebrews 10:1

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

Do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere so that when you done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.  Hebrews 10:35

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed but of those who believed and are saved.  Hebrews 10:39

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

God had planned something better for us so that only together with us, they would be made perfect. Hebrews 11:40

I borrowed my title from the message of our last Sunday church service for 2013, it perfectly jibe to the scriptures and insights which I gleaned from my quiet times for the last 2 days of 2013. It's hard to look forward for 2014 without looking back to the things, lessons, experiences that 2013 had brought me. 2013 is not a perfect year nevertheless it gave me so many reasons to be thankful and look beyond what is truly important in life.

Her name is Joy, she is my former classmate and now
my bestfriend and my sister in the Lord

Personally one of my biggest prayer for the previous years was fulfilled this year, God allowed me to finally received my college diploma after many years of crying to God to allow me to finish school, It didn't come easy but God answer to that prayer reminded me that you will truly appreciate the blessings more when you persevere hard to accomplished it, my part is to do what I can and God's part is do the things I cannot handle for myself.  What is even more memorable about this experience is being able to reached out to one of my classmate, which is another prayer which I asked God to bless me with. I had learned that no matter how long you wait, God will not withhold anything good because He is a Father who desire good for His children. The scriptures that says "those who sow in tears will reap songs of joy" is the very words God had spoken to me the moment I received this blessings.



One of the most important lesson of 2013 is valuing relationship with people, we can be so consume at times with many other aspects of life our job, our dreams, that we fail at times to appreciate people in our lives and sometimes a big blow in life is needed such as sickness, death, calamities and other sad experiences so we will learn to value what we have or who we have. I'm grateful that in many ways God allowed me to learn to value relationships, It is never easy to initiate making peace with others who done wrong to you, or to continue giving and never receiving anything in return but I believe that the very essence of loving and valuing people is making what is important to them so much more important to you. One book I read says that "if you desire happiness from others, be compassionate.  If you desire your own happiness, be compassionate, yes it is better to live loving others, even though in doing so you will pay the high price." To value our relationship with people there will always be times that we feel unappreciated, betrayed, hurt and neglected but in the end I had learned that it is more important to do what is right and appropriate to achieve peace, peace in the relationship and peace in your heart. "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom." is a barometer that directs me in how I should put greater value in relationship, life is short, no one knows until when our time here on earth will last, but what we are making in life and in the life of others is what put value to our existence.

So much grateful for the health of my family, thanking God that I still have them with me and I will still be able to celebrate the many joys of life with them.

Grateful for each one them, each had their share in making life journey enjoyable and meaningful, for the new friends I met this year, grateful for the opportunity and I hope that the chance in life to know each other will results for us to find more reasons to be grateful in life.

My list continue as I look back in the year 2013, the recent calamities that took place in the Philippines, made me even more aware of God sovereignty, everything can be taken away in a single snap, you cannot control changes that can occur anytime but there is only One that we can put our total reliance, our God.  He is still in control and no matter what we had witnessed this year, the countless people who lose their lives and the traumatic events that many had experienced, life must go on, but we should not forget the lessons it gave us. Each person can do their share to make other lives better, may we strive to be a blessings to others.

2014 as we welcome this coming year, may we learn that everything that happened in the past years good or bad, God can use those situations to mature us and make us ready for our breakthrough.  Let us hold unswervingly, even many of our prayers still remain unanswered. God is faithful, in due time, He will see it done.  I believe that God is not only after the tangible blessings that He can give us but so much more for the godly character that we will develop as we wait on Him. Indeed, God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us, they would be made perfect.

I wish everyone Happy New Year! May we all be excited to start the year with a beautiful beginning.