My Blessed and Sweet Graduation and Thanksgiving Celebration

I thought that the final defense of my dissertation was the main event but I was absolutely wrong. When our Graduate School Dean informed me that I was graduating with academic honors (Cum Laude), my heart was overflowing with joy and I could not help shedding tears of joy and thanking the Lord for the awesome thing He has orchestrated. The road to success did not happen overnight and it was never automatic. It's a result of journeying with God on a daily basis and doing things for His glory. God gave me victory through out my three-year journey in the graduate school. It's God who gave me wisdom and strength to hurdle the challenges of being a graduate student. It's hard to figure out things on the day of my graduation but I praise and glorify God for what He has done. I was chosen to represent Graduate School in the candle lighting during the Baccalaureate. And when my name was called as one of the academic awardees, it was truly a glorious moment walking on stage with my beloved husband on my right and my dearest mother on my left. Glory to God! I am always at a loss for words every time I see God's hands at work in my life. He is truly awesome!

Thanksgiving Dinner With My Graduate School Professors - June 10, 2016. Remembering the remarkable journey (UC Grad School). The thanksgiving dinner was attended by special people who were instrumental to this achievement. Medyo sad lang that my immediate family, in-laws and spiritual mentors missed it. It was an opportunity to talk about my testimony that I made it not because of my own wisdom and strength but by the grace and blessings of the Lord. To God be the glory!

External Panel for the First Time

A day before Mothers' Day, I received a text message asking if I can be an external panel to someone who's gonna defend his thesis proposal. It was unexpected and it's funny that I even thought it was sent to me by mistake. I knew it's serious when I got a follow-up text. I got the manuscript a night before the presentation so I really burned the midnight candle in order to catch up and understand the paper. I realized that it's a very challenging job to review someone's work and it entails a passionate heart to give reasonable comments and practical recommendations. To be a panel is to really understand the nitty-gritty of the research and take it as your own. The discussion with my fellow panel members was really healthy and engaging. To God be the glory!

Resource Speaker on Money Matters

It was in high school when they started calling me as "Senate Speaker". At first, I just took things lightly but later on I came to realize that I really wanted to be a powerful speaker - one that inspires and encourages the young minds. It has always been a part of my prayer that God will give me wisdom and boldness every time I am given opportunity to speak before an audience. After finishing Ph.D., my baptism of fire came when I was invited as one of the resource speakers in a career guidance seminar at UC. It's really an honor to speak about money matters to the graduating students. A sense of fulfillment flowed from within. It's my desire and prayer that God will use my new academic degree so I can reach out to more people and churches by sharing inspiring topics about the Lord Jesus Christ, giving, leadership and money matters. To God be the glory!

 

A Sweet Reward

My research paper is likened to bearing a new life from within. Yes, it took me nine challenging months to wrap up my dissertation. The conception stage is quite mind-boggling and it took me a couple of weeks to adjust to my "should be" schedule. As man is required to eat on a daily basis and so am I in working on my research. I am just so blessed to have my husband around and act as my largest and most powerful support system. I got used to a routine that is most academic in real sense. God powered up my faith and my will to survive. And so, labor pains came when I defended the dissertation before my panel members! I just thank God for enabling me to pass with flying rainbow colors! In all these, God is at work and I give Him all the praise, the glory and the honor. It is done! To God be the glory for the birth of this new academic degree!

Servant Leadership

The exciting yet challenging and thought-provoking day in Ph.D life came when I was compelled to stand on my feet and deliver my emotional public lecture before the panel. Emotional in the sense that my tropic, "servant leadership" is dearly close to my heart. For me, Jesus is the greatest model of servant leadership and He is the greatest leader the world has ever known. Two weeks before the public lecture, God has spoken to me through His word that I need to establish my focus and all I have to do is to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). I have also been reminded with the verse in Isaiah 41:10. On that remarkable day, my family, closest friends and my brethren at Baguio Christian Center united in the Spirit and prayed for the success of my public lecture. I felt in my heart that these people stormed heaven with their prayers and indeed, it worked wonders. When the Dean announced my grade, all I can say is, "thank you Lord for you are so gracious!"

BLESSED 9!

You are awesome Lord in the past nine years of our marriage! We are more than grateful for the blessings and gifts as well as the challenges and battles we won in the last 12 months. You were there. You always see us through. It's always a brand new feeling of togetherness. Who can fathom the depth of your love for us that you are ever gracious? Sim and I are growing in every aspect of this life. Yes, nine years and still counting!

Amazing Grace Concert in Dimantal, Bugallon, Pangasinan

It's been nine long years since I started to hear wonderful workings of God's grace in the church here and in the life of the Christians in this simple and far flung yet wonderful place. Wonderful in the sense that you'll truly marvel as you imagine how people really survive and draw joy and strength despite its geographical location. People are very warm and the brethren received us well. Literally, palatable food flooded us. The eating fellowship was like a typical barrio fiesta and it was really fun and relaxing. As the concert went on, the presence of God was powerfully felt all over the venue. The people's hunger for God's Word and presence was all the more inspiring. Christians from as far as Aguilar and Bani, Pangasinan also came to fellowship with us. After the concert, select young people and couple like us got to play a running game which is often played by grade school kids. That night, I realized all the more that Sim and I will always be a kid at heart. Praise God for the success of this event. To God be all glory and honor!