WOYWW: Still Hoping

Not much progress in the tidy up plans for my desk but from the looks of my desk, I am still hoping to find some time to create... Newly bound journals (I buy big watercolour pads and have them cut and bound since there aren't any reasonably priced small ones available here) and mini canvas panels...

and some stuff I rescued from being thrown away.  Can you guess where they came from? (I would be very surprised if you know where they came from!)

Yes, I am still hoping to find time to return visits and check out what you've been up to, and I apologize for the delay.  I find myself busy with my Mom, who is not doing well, and I have been also trying to research for alternative ways to help her.  It is quite a challenge but I continue to hope. 

And so my prayer journal illustration is also about having courage and being stouthearted as I wait for the Lord in this challenging time.

Sharing this in What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday and Word Art Wednesday.  Thank you so much for your visits and your words of encouragement! They are much appreciated!

Happy New Year!

Joyful New Year greetings to all of my wonderful blog visitors!  Thank you very much for your encouragement all throughout 2013, especially during the times when I've found it challenging to return your visits.

This first What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday post finds my desk in need of a cleanup.  There is a wonderful pile of magazines that I won from Jean of Bluebirds Living in the Meadow long ago.  I had it sent to my brother in law in the US so he could send it to me and it arrived just before Christmas.  A wonderful surprise since I had forgotten all about it!  Lots of inspiration for the new year!

Another surprise, our cat, Truffles, who the vet said was having a false pregnancy (They even took an x-ray and said there were no kittens), gave birth to three kittens!  

Ah, life is full of surprises and we know not what the future holds!

But I know who holds my future and I can trust in Him! Sharing this also in Word Art Wednesday and Inspire Me Monday!  Have a blessed new year, dear blog friends!

Christmas Blessings!

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel which means "God is with us."  Matthew 1:23

May you experience "God with you"...

...may your life be filled with all things bright and beautiful...

and may the blessings of this Christmas season be yours throughout the coming New Year...

even in the midst of life's messiness and challenges!

Greeting to all my blog visitors and friends from WOYWW, Word Art Wednesday and Inspire Me Monday!

WOYWW: Finding Meaning in the Mess

What's on Your Work Desk Wednesday finds my desk in a state of disarray (so what else is new!) with some gifts waiting for their gift cards...

And in the midst of trying to get at least some of my Christmas list done, I remind myself that in this challenging time, when we are caring for my Mom, Christmas is not really about having my gifts ready on time for December 25 (the Christmas season lasts until Epiphany in January).  It really is all about Jesus who came to save us.

As the Advent reflection from Online Ministries states, "The powerful advantage of Advent is that it offers us light in the midst of darkness, hope in the midst of despair, liberty in the midst of captivity, and peace in the midst of war or conflict. The key to a grace-filled Advent is to begin by identifying where I am experiencing darkness, despair, captivity and war. Recognizing our own unique version of these struggles is the first grace of Advent. We can’t say “Come, Lord Jesus” with any real meaning unless we have a felt experience of what it is we need. Once we experience our need, then the desire can formulate in our heart to ask for what we need."

This Advent and Christmas season is specially meaningful for me because in the midst of my Mom's suffering, I can truly say we need a savior and I am so thankful for Him.  Come, Lord Jesus!

I'm also sharing my prayer journal illustration with Word Art Wednesday.  In spite of the busyness of the season, may we all have a meaningful Advent and Christmas!

WOYWW: Christmas, Finally

Everyone seems to have decorated their homes and finished their Christmas cards and I have only today decided to start wrapping some token gifts.  No creativity here since I did not make these ecobags, just my way of encouraging my friends to use less plastic when shopping.  But they do come in nice colors and patterns, don't you think?

And speaking of colors and patterns, here's a scarf I couldn't resist buying because of it's colors and pattern!

Last Sunday, we went to a wedding and they had a photo booth where you can have souvenir photos taken.  It's popular for weddings and other big parties here in the Philippines.  I wonder, is this popular in your country?

And lastly, a page from my prayer journal about God's great love for his children.  After all, I think that is what Christmas is really all about...

Sharing this in What's on your Workdesk Wednesday and Word Art Wednesday.  Be blessed!

WOYWW: Advent

The year has flown by so, so quickly and now, it is Advent once again, a season we celebrate as a time of waiting and preparation for Christmas.  Last Sunday was the First Sunday of Advent and we had a big "Catchfire" prayer rally.  I designed the theme for the event and on my desk for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday is a ticket and t-shirt that I designed for the event.  

Every Christmas, I plan to buy an Advent wreath but when Advent "suddenly" arrives and I haven't bought one yet, I turn to my makeshift one made out of a wooden/wire fruit bowl, a wreath and some candles. Turn the bowl over and voila...

my Advent wreath!

All year round my Advent project is displayed on our wall but every Advent, it has special meaning for me.  It is made up of twenty five ATCs which have Advent symbols to make an Advent Calendar.

For me, Christmas is all about God's love and this verse from Romans 8:38 is one of my favorites.

Sharing this in Word Art Wednesday and Inspire Me Monday.  Be blessed, dear blog friends!

WOYWW: My Prayer Desk

It's that time of the week again and for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, I'm showing you the desk that I use for my early morning quiet time.  First thing in the morning, I sit at this desk to pray and read the bible and make a journal page.  I have started on today's page...

My regular desk is filled with stuff from my closet.  I spent the weekend looking through my closet for clothes to donate to Typhoon Haiyan survivors and didn't finish putting stuff away. Every little bit of help is much appreciated.

My cook, who went to her hometown which was totally destroyed by that typhoon is back with us, with stories of the devastation and great need there.  And so, we who live in comfort, always have to try to do more.  

And as always, I like to leave you with an illustration from my journal for Word Art Wednesday. This verse from Psalm 62 is a reminder to trust in God at all times. "I shall not be disturbed", it says.  Hmm, I'm still working on that.

Thank you for visiting!  Be blessed!

WOYWW: A Mystery

A great big thank you to all of you who visited and accompanied us through this challenging time in our lives.  Your support, prayers and words of encouragement are much appreciated.  I'm sorry that I did not find time to visit back.  On my desk for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday is today's journal page in progress...

Making a journal page, I start out with a blank page, make a rough sketch and then go on to complete it.  Looking at the blank page, it is a mystery to me what my final work will look like.

So it is with life.  We never know what will happen in our lives.  It is a mystery.

Sometimes, suffering comes to visit.  It has come to visit the thousands in Eastern Philippines who lost their homes and loved ones because of Typhoon Haiyan.  We can only try our best to help them through this time.  Here is what a corner in our living room looks like, with clothes waiting to be dropped off for donation.  

Suffering is another mystery.  I believe in God's great, great love for mankind and yet He allows so much suffering in our lives.  Suffering has come to visit my Mom, too.  She was in the hospital for a week, but praise God, although still in need of much prayer, she is back home.

But as I reflected on these past days, I realized that I can always find some good in the situation. The great need of our countrymen has encouraged so many to be more generous so that we are no longer like the rich man in Jesus' parable (Luke 16:19-31) who just looked on as Lazarus starved.  As a priest once asked us, "Who is your Lazarus?"

This time with my Mom has given us an opportunity to care for her and show her our love.  It has given me a greater understanding of the value of life, a reminder of how precious our time with our loved ones is.  And always, I turn to God's word for the truth that I proclaim...

and I share this also in Word Art Wednesday with hopes that it will encourage you, whatever your suffering is at this time.

If you would like to donate even just a little bit to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, here are some ways you can.  Be blessed, my dear blog friends.  Thank you again for your encouragement.

WOYWW: A State of Calamity

My desk is still in a mess today for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday but it is nothing compared to the state of calamity that Typhoon Haiyan, said to be the strongest storm ever to hit land, left the eastern part of the Philippines in.  In the words of a CNN report, "The stories coming out of the Philippines are unimaginable. Rushing water and wind tearing children away from their parents' arms. A death toll that may reach 10,000. A city of 200,000 in which no buildings appear to have survived intact."

http://www.theguardian.com/

From the time the typhoon struck early Friday morning until yesterday, our cook could not get in touch with her family in Leyte.  She saw news of the devastation in her hometown, with all the homes gone, but she had no idea if her family survived.  Yesterday, she finally got the good news that although her family no longer had a home, they were NOT among the thousands who died in the storm.  Thank you, Lord!

Last month, there was a strong earthquake in a another part of the country and we had not even recovered from that calamity when this destructive typhoon hit. The need is just so great and no matter how much we, who are safe and dry, try to help, it just isn't enough. And that is why, even if I don't want to give you bad news, I decided to share with you. If you would like to help, CNN has a report on how to help survivors.  Any amount will help because even just $5 will feed a family for three to four days.

We have also had a rough weekend with my Mom's health and we continue to fervently pray for her. Through all this, I remember the words of Viktor Frankl, a survivor of the Nazi prison camps, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

And so I choose to say, together with the Psalmist, the words of Psalm 46...

I'm also sharing this illustration in Word Art Wednesday.  Thank you for dropping by!  I'm sorry but it has been extra difficult to find time to go visiting.  I hope your days have been more tranquil than mine.  Be blessed, my dear blog friends!

WOYWW: Travel Mess

Happy What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday!  I thought I would post my picture for Word Art Wednesday first because my desk is in a very messy state!  Not even my usual push back method would work to clear up the mess in it.  We just got back from a weekend trip to the beach and I haven't put away my travel mess...

.

But, a nice weekend at the beach, with family and friends, is so worth a messy desk, don't you agree?