What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday

Happy What's on your Workdesk Wednesday! It's been a while since I've joined in the fun of posting a picture of my desk and peeking at other people's desks! On my recent trip to Europe, my schedule was just too hectic for desk hopping and afterwards, when I got home, my desk was just too much of a mess, even for me!

Well, I finally got to clear up my prayer desk a little bit and here it is...

My sister got married recently and she designed her own invitations. The calligraphy is so pretty! I should have taken a close-up. That monogrammed handkerchief is from my daughter who brought it back from Budapest.

And now, for my main desk. Tada...

I know, it looks like a typhoon swept through!  I hope to get around to tidying up soon and seeing my desk again!  Til next time, be blessed, everyone!

WOYWW: Book Art

It's time for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday care of Lunch Lady Jan (Julia, the WOYWW queen, is on sick leave).  My main desk is filled with packing cubes, toiletry bags and all sorts of travel stuff.  I am packing to go to Europe in July!

My niece, together with her family, is opening a new bookshop soon and she assigned her mom (my sister) to make installation art using books. And so my sister gave us an open book each to do with as we pleased (only black and white please).

So this is what I made...

That's it for today!  Julia always reminds us to keep it short!  And I hope you don't forget to wear your invisible crown!

WOYWW: Faithfulness

Every Wednesday, as much as possible, a group of faithful WOYWWers post pictures of their desks (and all sorts of other things as well) for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday.  It is usually hosted by Julia, who is presently recovering from an operation.  Thanks to Lunch Lady Jan, the weekly blog party, continues...

There's not much progress in my main desk but I have finally gotten my prayer desk back to normal.  It is a lot easier to be faithful to my morning quiet time if my desk is tidy!

 

How reassuring to know that God is faithful even when we are unfaithful.  He loved us first!  A blessed week ahead, everyone!

WOYWW: Step by Step

After last week's "typhoon"desk, I hoped that I would be able to show you a tidy desk today for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday (usually hosted by Julia, but for now Lunch Lady Jan is subbing for her).

But instead of the calm after the storm, it's more like ongoing rehabilitation efforts. This is a classic case of the push back method!  

But then, in tidying up, just like life, we don't have to accomplish everything all at once.  We can always just take it step by step!

So sorry for the lack of creativity!  Here are some pictures from my recent trip... San Francisco, where my son lives,

 and Yosemite where God's creation is awesome!...

Happy WOYWW!

WOYWW: Packing

It's What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday and because I am packing for my next trip, my desk is full of stuff to pack (aside from the campaign materials for our upcoming elections).

I'm voting for Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo but there's this funny image going around that I thought I'd share with you...

Happy WOYWW, everyone!  Please pray for our elections!

WOYWW: Campaign Time

I took this picture for last week's What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday but I never got to post it because that day was my 14th wedding anniversary so my family went out for lunch (I often make my post during my lunch break.)

This is my desk today, with some campaign materials of the Roxas-Robredo team.  Wow, this election is crazy, with the survey front runner being a man who promises to eradicate drugs and crime but who can't make a speech without cursing, who jokes about rape and disabled people, who goes around kissing women during his campaign sorties, and who has confirmed his links to extrajudicial killings (as Mayor of Davao City).  He warned that, if elected president, he may kill up to 100,000 criminals! Whaaaat?!

So I am fasting and praying for our country and trying to do my part to campaign for Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo.  Mar Roxas has already done so much for our country and he was once recognized by the World Economic Forum as "one of the Global Leaders of Tomorrow who are expected to shape the future."  Please help me pray for the Filipinos to have wisdom in choosing our leaders on May 9.

So, there is not much to show on my desk except all the yellow campaign materials (the yellow watch was a gift from my hubby so that it would match the campaign ballers I wear every day).

Happy WOYWW everyone!

WOYWW: El Nido, Palawan

My desk has my sewing machine on it and one of the embroidered blouses I bought in India...

I missed What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday last week because I didn't have a desk to post.  This was my view during breakfast in El Nido, Palawan...

 Some shots while my family went island hopping in paradise...

Wow, God's creation is so awesome!

Our boatmen grilled some fish and porkchops and prepared our food right in our boat.  Look at the presentation of the eggplant salad!

See how "El Nido" is spelled out?

Thanks for dropping by!

WOYWW: Jesus is Risen!

A blessed and joyful Easter season to all of you!  It always amazes me that the week goes by so quickly and it's time for another edition of What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday.  My main desk is still the same as last week and so I'm showing you my prayer desk which is also quite busy.  

Here is an illustration in my prayer journal, reminding me to "Go and carry the news."  I guess that's why I started out this blog in the first place!  May you experience the joy, hope and power of Jesus' victory each and every day!

WOYWW: Sew Busy

There's something new going on in my desk for What's on your Workdesk Wednesday! 

I'm doing some sewing. Nothing exciting, I just finished the seams in one of the blouses I bought in India.  I plan to wear it during the Easter Vigil Mass. Now that the sewing machine is out, I may decide to do the rest of the blouses as well.  I wish I had a serger or lived near Annie who offered to lend me hers!

By next Wednesday, we would have celebrated Easter, so I wish for you a meaningful and joyful Easter.  It is a such a special day for us, celebrating Jesus rising from the dead.  And that's why I just had to unearth my sewing machine and get my special outfit ready for Easter ;-)

WOYWW: Contrasts

My main desk is in the middle of a tidy up and so for What's on your Workdesk Wednesday you can't see anything creative...

In contrast, my prayer desk only has what's necessary... my journaling bible, some colored pencils, a pencil box filled with my basic pens and some devotionals...

And the illustration here is also about contrasts...

Last week, I shared about my father-in-law's accident.  At first we thought he had a stroke, but apparently, he just lost consciousness after a bout of coughing while drinking his morning lemon water. Unfortunately, he fell in such away that he got a compression fracture in his neck.  He had spinal surgery last Saturday and we're hoping that he will regain control and strength in his hands, arms and legs.  What a contrast his dependence is compared to how independent he used to be. A reminder of how much we have to be thankful for!

Thank you to all those who have been praying with us.  Please continue to pray!

WOYWW: Lent

It is amazing to me that the week has whooshed by and it is Wednesday again.  And this Wednesday is what we call Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season.

From Catholic Culture. Org...

"Remember, man, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." 
So says the priest as he makes the sign of cross with ashes on our foreheads...This is a vivid reminder of our mortal nature. We are bodies fashioned from dust. "Then the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being" (Gen 2:7). Our bodies were made from nothing, and will return to nothing when we die. Ashes are a symbol of this passing world, a reminder of our death. 

Last Friday, we got a reminder of how fragile life as we know it is.  My father-in-law, who was a very strong and independent man, suddenly fell after he choked on his morning glass of lemon water. He fell and couldn't get up again.  He lost all his strength and control of his arms and legs and just lay face down until someone turned him over.   What a timely reminder that everything can change in the twinkling of an eye.

Today, he is confined in the hospital.  He has regained some movement in his arms and legs but he has no strength in his fingers.  There is talk of surgery of the cervical spine (in his neck) but I am still hoping and praying that he can recover on his own.  Won't you pray with me?

Here is a verse I printed out and taped to his wall... "They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

God bless you!

WOYWW: Last Week's Post

I had problems with my computer last week, so here is last week's post for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday!  I couldn't resist showing you this hand lettered box that my brother made to package one of his gifts...

a mini folder decorated with some pretty weaving (although I must have shown it to you before)...

a painting my sister Patsy gave me last Christmas, or was it my birthday?...

and one of journal illustrations...

That is such a blurry picture!  Anyway, I love this verse from Romans 1:7.  This is how I see myself - beloved of God and called to holiness (well, I'm working on it!)

Have a blessed week, everyone!

WOYWW: WIP

There's nothing interesting on my main desk so for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, I'm featuring my prayer desk, all nice and tidy with my bible opened up to a WIP illustration.

And to show you what I've been up to this past week, here's a picture of me and my hubby during our office costume party.

What about you?  What have you been up to?

WOYWW: Sewing Mode

It's What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday time and there's not much to see on my desk, just my sewing box and a few pieces of clothing.  I often stitch red thread in the labels of my clothes to help our laundry woman differentiate them from my daughter's clothes. 

Lots of you liked the WOYWW sign my son made and were surprised that he actually knew about WOYWW.  I was surprised, too!

Here's a page from my prayer journal that I made last Christmas season.  It's what Christmas is really all about, isn't it?  Happy WOYWW!

WOYWW: Happy New Year!

This was my post for last week but I didn't get to post it.  My desk is just as messy today so I just decided to post this.

Something's new on my desk for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, and it's not just the New Year! My eldest son surprised me with a wooden laser cut WOYWW sign that he made himself! Isn't it great?

May this New Year bring abundant blessings and answered prayers to all of you!

WOYWW: Advent

It's that time of the week again! Time for What's on your Workdesk Wednesday. What a difference a week makes, huh?   This is what my desk looks like today. I've been busy wrapping Christmas gifts. There's my box of ribbon scraps and gift wrapper...

In the midst of all the preparations of buying and wrapping Christmas gifts, putting up the tree and other decorations, I have to remind myself to observe Advent, "a season observed in many Western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas... The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming."  After all, as they say, "Jesus is the reason for the season."  

Have a happy week ahead!

WOYWW WOW

I call this my WOYWW WOW edition because this is the biggest area of clear desk I've had in a while! Without those newly purchased books at the far end, it would be even tidier! Wow, it's like the calm before the storm, considering I'll soon be wrapping Christmas gifts. I'm feeling so satisfied with myself... And so ready to mess up my desk again!

That's it for What on Your Workdesk Wednesday!  Happy WOYWW!

WOYWW: Something New

There's a new project on my desk...

And here's something I made with a new app I downloaded...

It's called MotionPortrait and animates portraits!  Such fun! 

This will be a short post for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday.  Oh, this is something new as well!  Happy WOYWW!

WOYWW: Contrasts

It's What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday and my post today is a study in contrasts. My prayer desk is neat and tidy, with only what's necessary on it - my journaling bible, my prayer journal, a little basket box of my basic pens and a pencil, some colored pencils...

In contrast, this is my main desk today...

I can hardly see the desktop because it is full of all sorts of stuff I need to put away. Seems like only my laptop is where it should be. And so of course, I can't get any work done on this desk.

I can't help but think about life and how I can't get anything done if my life is so full of unnecessary things. What should I get rid of, I wonder? Too much memorabilia? Old clothes that no longer fit? Pride and impatience for sure!  Something to think about for me.  I guess it is a never ending cycle of tidying up and messing up - my desk, and my life.  Hopefully, it is more often tidy.

Happy WOYWW, everyone!  Thank you for dropping by!

WOYWW: All Saints Day

My prayer desk seems to be getting really small and there is hardly any space to work on an entry in my journaling bible. Time for a tidy up! And this isn't even my main desk!

Last Sunday was All Saints Day, a big day in the Philippines. The cemeteries are super packed on that day so we usually go a few days before. Visiting the graves of loved ones that have gone on before us makes me think about the end of this life and the promises of God for the next. One of them is that...

A wonderful promise, my name inscribed in heaven. And so although goodbyes are always painful (even the passing on of fellow WOYWWers that I've never met saddened me), my greatest consolation is the hope of eternal life.  

My Mom used to go to mass every day and one of the other daily mass goers would say goodbye afterwards by saying, "See you in heaven!" When my mom passed away, we had the wake in the hall beside the church she went to every day. What a surprise we had the following day when we found out that her friend from mass had also passed away and the wake was in the hall upstairs! What a wonderful thought that they would, indeed, see each other in heaven.

That's it for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday and Word Art Wednesday. Happy WOYWW and WAW!