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to the new jmotive.com Sorry I haven't been around. i'm still here, please don't forget about me :), i promise some really cool things will be coming soon. they are what i have been working on forever, so they better be good! |
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Monday, July 21, 2008 3:38am This is why I married him... haha. Rock band. love it. Ray, Dave, Wendell, Zante rocking out at Aires (and soon to be Aleah's) place :)
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 1:20am Go to conference this summer! Whichever one you feel called to! :) Both will be amazingly awesome and God filled! Just register already! Always remember, we are one body praying for each other, lifting our eyes and others to Christ, making that simultaneous weekend nothing less than one big worship for God across the US! I'm excited for what God has in store for us all... http://www.cfcyouth-ffl.com (CFCYouth FFL) http://www.cfcyouthusa.org (CFCYouth GMFI)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 1:11am Some of you may have already heard that two weeks ago, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 year old daughter of Stephen Curtis Chapman, died tragically in an accident in the driveway of the Chapman home while her brother was driving. This event has been on my mind and has hit home to me in more ways than one. Maria Sue was one of the Chapman's 3 beautiful adopted daughters. Steven Curtis has always been one of my favorite musicians. His music has always inspired and moved me, but most of all i've been moved by his love for his family and his ministry to help the orphans of the world. The week before our wedding, Ray and I were blessed to be given tickets to see Stephen Curtis play in a concert. There, Steven proudly played alongside his two sons who are amazing on guitar and drums, and then he shared to us about his song, "Cinderella" which he wrote for his two youngest daughters, Maria Sue and Stevie Joy. It brought me to tears then, and how much more now...seeing how God inspired him to write those words not even knowing what was to come some time later. If you listen to the words (1st video below), how prophetic and moving to see that connection of the love of a father for his daughter, and the sacrifice of that love. Watching all these videos breaks my heart, but i cannot help but soak in seeing the love Steven has for his daughters, seeing how much love Maria had for him. He and his wife knew and saw the precious soul in her, they introduced her to know love...to know LOVE, Himself. That night I found myself crying myself to sleep at thoughts of her and her brother, and the rest of Chapman family who have done so much good for the world. Then in the morning, i was comforted knowing she was in Heaven smiling down on her whole family she left behind, and at me and the countless others in the world who have already been touched by her. This 5 year old girl, who brought love to our hearts just by being who she is...a beautiful child of God. She was brought home. This was the way in which she was led there. We cannot question how or when we are all finally led home, but to just be thankful we have finally made it there. Lately I've been having this repetitive conversation with God, asking Him, why is life so difficult? why does it hurt so much. sometimes i feel like i have nothing left in me. and sometimes i feel like i don't understand anything at all. but then i realize life will always be a longing, an awaiting, a searching...for what is to come. we will never be satisfied or in full understanding of this life, because it is a life to which we do not belong. we don't belong here. our home is yet to come. and we will never be satisfied until we are there with Him, and with Maria. Maria is there. Honestly, I really do not know why God is giving me these realizations right now, from a little girl who I do not even know, but somehow I know He is preparing me for a death and a life to come in the future. I only give it all to Him for what He perfectly has in store for me. This has been a resounding message to me these past few months now, even at the talks I had the opportunity to give at the Revives for the youth around the U.S. in February, God's great message to me was all about life and death, knowing God has a plan for this life...and that's only just to lead us to Heaven. Though we do not understand certain things, though it hurts more than we can bear, though it's not how I envisioned my life to be, though it's not what I wanted for me...God's plan is still more beautiful, it's still exactly what is given me purposfully so that I will one day reach the true and everlasting peace in Heaven that was meant for us all. Everything under the heavens is His, He is in control, He knows what is best...He has never let us go. Thank you for leading her home, Father... May You lead us all home in Your way. through the pain, through the hard lessons, through the joy and realness of You. in your time, Lord, lead us home, bring us back to You, and may we be thankful for every moment, good and bad, that may have finally lead us there. Amen. Please pray for the Chapman family especially Will Chapman. To make a donation please click here.
Thursday, March 13, 2008 3:00pm
Wednesday, March 5, 2008 1:04pm Props to some of my friends who are doing their thing, sharing God's talents with the world and doing it with the freshness online. j13.wetpaint.com | Fr. Francis Mendoza & J.Trece youtube.com/emceemiko | Miko Sy jandeevents.com | Jhoanne Sy (soon to be Gabagat) pipitmusic.com | Jeryl Pipit (soon to be...jk) patreekare.imeem.com | Patrick Rosal Yep. I love positive media. keep bringing POSITIVE to the web. LOVE IT.
Friday, February 15, 2008 11:57pm Long term, in no particular order:
I can't deny that He's already fulfilled about a hundred other lists I've dreamed up before this one. And now I'm striving on my way down this list...(not to mention some other more personal ones that I can't really share out loud). And by God's grace, anything I desire and reach for can happen, if it is part of His will. Who knows when, but it can. Life here is just temporary. But our true home is after this life. While we're alive, each breath has a purpose, each thought and idea imagined is set in our hearts by a God who has made us for a distinct part of a greater plan. A God who takes delight in our innocence, and allows us to feel His presence in unseen occasions. How can life really be lived without Him? It would...have no meaning. It would be all for naught. because any other way of living would lack fulfilling its true purpose. we are created by Him, and for Him...with the purpose to only ultimately be united to Him fully and completely. Life is short. Life is fleeting. Make the most of each minute, and wake up with a purpose. Cherish your loved ones, don't hold grudges, seek forgiveness, don't sweat the small things, trust where He's leading and follow your calling...to be used for great things. For today is merely the next opportunity to get to that place... So...we keep on striving...as we step closer, each number will be crossed off that unending list of dreams to be lived out. Only to see in the end that each one of those dreams just leads us to the greatest dream of all. So...shall we continue on with the list? This is my number 1 for the moment. What's yours?
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 1:23pm God, thank you.
(Thanks Bethany Dillon and Kat Robinos :))
(Ash)Wednesday, February 6, 2008 10:51am Message for Lent 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we, in turn, become more merciful toward our brothers and sisters. In the Lenten period, the Church makes it her duty to propose some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in this process of interior renewal: these are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. For this year’s Lenten Message, I wish to spend some time reflecting on the practice of almsgiving, which represents a specific way to assist those in need and, at the same time, an exercise in self-denial to free us from attachment to worldly goods. The force of attraction to material riches and just how categorical our decision must be not to make of them an idol, Jesus confirms in a resolute way: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Lk 16,13). Almsgiving helps us to overcome this constant temptation, teaching us to respond to our neighbor’s needs and to share with others whatever we possess through divine goodness. This is the aim of the special collections in favor of the poor, which are promoted during Lent in many parts of the world. In this way, inward cleansing is accompanied by a gesture of ecclesial communion, mirroring what already took place in the early Church. In his Letters, Saint Paul speaks of this in regard to the collection for the Jerusalem community (cf. 2 Cor 8-9; Rm 15, 25-27). 2. According to the teaching of the Gospel, we are not owners but rather administrators of the goods we possess: these, then, are not to be considered as our exclusive possession, but means through which the Lord calls each one of us to act as a steward of His providence for our neighbor. As the Catechism of the Catholic Churchreminds us, material goods bear a social value, according to the principle of their universal destination (cf. n. 2404) In the Gospel, Jesus explicitly admonishes the one who possesses and uses earthly riches only for self. In the face of the multitudes, who, lacking everything, suffer hunger, the words of Saint John acquire the tone of a ringing rebuke: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?” (1 Jn 3,17). In those countries whose population is majority Christian, the call to share is even more urgent, since their responsibility toward the many who suffer poverty and abandonment is even greater. To come to their aid is a duty of justice even prior to being an act of charity. 3. The Gospel highlights a typical feature of Christian almsgiving: it must be hidden: “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” Jesus asserts, “so that your alms may be done in secret” (Mt 6,3-4). Just a short while before, He said not to boast of one’s own good works so as not to risk being deprived of the heavenly reward (cf. Mt 6,1-2). The disciple is to be concerned with God’s greater glory. Jesus warns: “In this way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Mt 5,16). Everything, then, must be done for God’s glory and not our own. This understanding, dear brothers and sisters, must accompany every gesture of help to our neighbor, avoiding that it becomes a means to make ourselves the center of attention. If, in accomplishing a good deed, we do not have as our goal God’s glory and the real well being of our brothers and sisters, looking rather for a return of personal interest or simply of applause, we place ourselves outside of the Gospel vision. In today’s world of images, attentive vigilance is required, since this temptation is great. Almsgiving, according to the Gospel, is not mere philanthropy: rather it is a concrete expression of charity, a theological virtue that demands interior conversion to love of God and neighbor, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who, dying on the cross, gave His entire self for us. How could we not thank God for the many people who silently, far from the gaze of the media world, fulfill, with this spirit, generous actions in support of one’s neighbor in difficulty? There is little use in giving one’s personal goods to others if it leads to a heart puffed up in vainglory: for this reason, the one, who knows that God “sees in secret” and in secret will reward, does not seek human recognition for works of mercy. 4. In inviting us to consider almsgiving with a more profound gaze that transcends the purely material dimension, Scripture teaches us that there is more joy in giving than in receiving (cf. Acts 20,35). When we do things out of love, we express the truth of our being; indeed, we have been created not for ourselves but for God and our brothers and sisters (cf. 2 Cor 5,15). Every time when, for love of God, we share our goods with our neighbor in need, we discover that the fullness of life comes from love and all is returned to us as a blessing in the form of peace, inner satisfaction and joy. Our Father in heaven rewards our almsgiving with His joy. What is more: Saint Peter includes among the spiritual fruits of almsgiving the forgiveness of sins: “Charity,” he writes, “covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pt 4,8). As the Lenten liturgy frequently repeats, God offers to us sinners the possibility of being forgiven. The fact of sharing with the poor what we possess disposes us to receive such a gift. In this moment, my thought turns to those who realize the weight of the evil they have committed and, precisely for this reason, feel far from God, fearful and almost incapable of turning to Him. By drawing close to others through almsgiving, we draw close to God; it can become an instrument for authentic conversion and reconciliation with Him and our brothers. 5. Almsgiving teaches us the generosity of love. Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo forthrightly recommends: “Never keep an account of the coins you give, since this is what I always say: if, in giving alms, the left hand is not to know what the right hand is doing, then the right hand, too, should not know what it does itself” (Detti e pensieri, Edilibri, n. 201). In this regard, all the more significant is the Gospel story of the widow who, out of her poverty, cast into the Temple treasury “all she had to live on” (Mk 12,44). Her tiny and insignificant coin becomes an eloquent symbol: this widow gives to God not out of her abundance, not so much what she has, but what she is. Her entire self. We find this moving passage inserted in the description of the days that immediately precede Jesus’ passion and death, who, as Saint Paul writes, made Himself poor to enrich us out of His poverty (cf. 2 Cor 8,9); He gave His entire self for us. Lent, also through the practice of almsgiving, inspires us to follow His example. In His school, we can learn to make of our lives a total gift; imitating Him, we are able to make ourselves available, not so much in giving a part of what we possess, but our very selves. Cannot the entire Gospel be summarized perhaps in the one commandment of love? The Lenten practice of almsgiving thus becomes a means to deepen our Christian vocation. In gratuitously offering himself, the Christian bears witness that it is love and not material richness that determines the laws of his existence. Love, then, gives almsgiving its value; it inspires various forms of giving, according to the possibilities and conditions of each person. 6. Dear brothers and sisters, Lent invites us to “train ourselves” spiritually, also through the practice of almsgiving, in order to grow in charity and recognize in the poor Christ Himself. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the Apostle Peter said to the cripple who was begging alms at the Temple gate: “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk” (Acts 3,6). In giving alms, we offer something material, a sign of the greater gift that we can impart to others through the announcement and witness of Christ, in whose name is found true life. Let this time, then, be marked by a personal and community effort of attachment to Christ in order that we may be witnesses of His love. May Mary, Mother and faithful Servant of the Lord, help believers to enter the “spiritual battle” of Lent, armed with prayer, fasting and the practice of almsgiving, so as to arrive at the celebration of the Easter Feasts, renewed in spirit. With these wishes, I willingly impart to all my Apostolic Blessing. From the Vatican, 30 October 2007 BENEDICTUS PP. XVI© Copyright 2007 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Friday, January 23, 2008 3:42pm
Thursday, January 10, 2008 1:44pm I'm not gonna lie. Last year was filled with both the best and worst times I've experienced yet, as contradictory or dramatic as that may sound. it has been a stretch of my emotions like i never knew before. but as Relient K sings, "In the midst of all this ice and snow, our hearts stay warm beacause they are filled with hope." i'm still to this moment discovering meaning to it all. All i know is that my life is not mine. And God can do with it as He wants because His plan is surely better than mine. His plan for me is better than I could ever think up, so why mess with it by putting my own one in the way. There's still more to experience and live. and more importantly, there's still more God wants to use me for, even if I think there isn't. He still wants to use me if i just let Him. He still wants me to know Him more...and be even deeper in love with Him. Lately, i feel like i've been spending my days worrying about the things that i don't need to, which in turn causes me to forget Him and even who I am. right now i just want to hold on to everything and everyone that's dear to me. i don't want it to be taken away from me...but i know it's beyond my control. it just affirms me even more that now is the time to cherish the blessings we have in God, and in each other...even if it's the hardest thing to do, make the effort to hold on to them, because the truth is...there is not much time left for us to live in this life. In desperate times...times when i feel i've been deceived and disillusioned...times when i have lost faith, Jesus with His soft eyes unceasingly looks into me and nudges me to be patient...and just trust. He says, "This is what you have prayed for, and now that I have given it to you, it's up to you...to make it your blessing." I see that when I ask God for things, He doesn't just give it to me in ways that I assume He would. When we pray for love, God doesn't just give us love...He gives us opportunites to love. When we pray for patience, God doesn't just give us patience...He gives us the opportunity to be patient. We all prayed for conviction in our community. He gave us the opportunity to be convicted. We prayed for unity...maybe unity of hearts has a deeper meaning than we thought. We prayed for the whole world to kneel before Christ! He is giving us a reason why we would kneel. We kneel because He is God! He is in control! He is bigger than this and us...and His plan is better than ours. Our future is bright and our glory days are yet to come. The best time of our lives is not in the past...but is yet for us to experience. Heaven on earth is an everyday experience that we have to fight for. i'm not about to give up now, because the best is just ahead. James 5:7-10 Things are different now. But God's plan for us has never changed. He will not forsake us. Today is the day for me to experience Him again, to give my everything back to Him all over again, to surrender my heart in faith and trust once more. For the best is yet to come my dear friends...the BEST is yet to come.
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