Surprise Grace On My Birthday

found at pinterest via a place to dwell @ wordpress
Today I celebrate my birthday with a positive blog post and I also celebrate God’s faithfulness throughout my journey in life, yehey! Wow, I’m in this age almost close to kick myself out of the calendar yet I feel grateful and excited for more surprises to come! Knowing what God has in store for me, why worry? Of course, I worry sometimes but I'd like to share you something insightful as I hit my new age this morning.

In my previous years I could hardly enjoy when “change of plans” came along since these also brought me insecurities, discomfort, distractions and sometimes tears, tiredness, anxiety and frustrations. As you've just read, yes, I was a very negative person. Believe me, I was terrible on handling all of my negative thoughts, these used to control me. But also because of these diversions I became better and some of my habits, character, conduct and faith improved as well. How? By always running to my Maker. For He knows the deepest desires of my heart and only He can complete me: He offers eternal love and the best life we can have for now and forever. I always keep coming back to His strong arms and cry for help - a daughter seeking her Father's comfort.

And now I'm so happy to read this devotion from Grace@Work and I love what Rhoda just cried to God, "Lord, You have always helped me in my darkest hours. I shouldn’t worry now, should I?" (read full article below). I thought to myself, "This is exactly what I want to say to the Lord". Since one of my goal this 2015 is to have a meaningful and stronger intimacy with the Lord, I practice to talk to Him most of the time, I pray anywhere. I write my prayers in my journal.

Hardships, fears, sickness, failures, cancellations and even postponements of some of my dreams and plans are my giants in life but since I know and believe that God is with me for the longest time and He is ever-present, I ended up feeling better most of the time. Remember, He is also our hiding place (Psalm 32:7). I'm no King David but I'm the curly daughter of the King of Kings and Lord of lords, I'm special and beloved.


photo found at pinterest via bloglovin

Our pastor Terry Broqueza at God is Sovereign Church-Assemblies of God, also my eldest sister, taught us that it's a pleasure to serve God. And we must develop a habit of consulting God always. She always pray, "Lord, let me hear Your Word". And in quick time, the Lord answers through wisdom and His Word. Of course, our struggles won't be gone in just a snap but the peace of the Lord will be with us. And I love feeling that – the assurance that I'm safe as long as the Lord is holding me and my heart.... that the joy of the Lord is my strength and He loves me.

And by writing this now... I feel better. Thanks God for He owns me and He wants me. As numbers of my life continue to increase, I'm happy to gain not just the pounds (hehe!) and the aging but so my understanding of His will widens as well. "But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him?" (Read more at 1 Corinthians 2:6-14).

In some of my previous posts, I already shared the testing of my faith and patience. It was not really easy to move forward without holding on to some security but the Word of God teaches us to walk/live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). And by this, I challenge you dear readers to take a leap of faith and submit to God’s plans. Let God have His way in every area of your life, you’ll be fine (wink!).

Today I share to you yesterday’s devotion at Grace@Work book titled “Surprise Grace”. You’re correct; I got the title of my post from here.

Rhoda, a real estate agent, has not made any sale in months. Despite her frequent follow-ups, prospective clients have not replied; her SSS loan has been cancelled due to faulty documents; and an uncle who usually sent dollars had fallen ill.
She cried to God, “Lord, You have always helped me in my darkest hours. I shouldn’t worry now, should I?”
She worried anyway, thinking of ways to raise the money for her sons’ tuition fees as she headed home.
“Is that you, Rhoda?” someone tapped her shoulder and gushed, “Perfect timing! I’ve been trying to find you. My balikbayan aunt wants to buy three lots in the subdivision in your brochure. You think you can come to my house to meet her?”
“When?” Rhoda asked, silently bubbling over with joy.
“She leaves in two days. If you’re not busy, how about now?”
The word “now” had never sounded so sweet.
Prayer: Lord, when Your grace surprises me, I cannot contain my joy. Thank You for all Your provisions. Amen
“And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” 1 John 5:15

And here is something from Our Daily Bread 2015 devotional book, The Best Life by Anne Cetas.

A few months ago, I had to travel to Florida and back on business. On my flight home, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had a seat with lots of leg room. It felt so good not to be scrunched into a small area. Plus, I had an empty seat beside me! The makings of a good nap.
Then I remembered those around me in their not-as-comfortable seats. I invited several others I knew to join me in a better spot but was surprised they all wanted to stay in their own seats for various reasons: They didn’t want to be inconvenienced with a move or felt fine where they were.
As believers in Christ, we have a much more significant invitation to extend: We’ve received a new life of faith in Jesus and want others to experience it too. Some will want to do so, and others won’t. In John 1:40 we read that Andrew had begun to follow Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and invite him to meet Jesus, the Messiah, too (v.41). Jesus offered them a wonderful new way of life of knowing Him and enjoying His promises: His forgiveness (Rom. 3:24), continual presence (Heb. 13:5), hope (Rom. 15:13), peace (John 14:27), and a forever future in His presence (1 Thess. 4:17).
Won’t you join in? Jesus gives the best life.
If we commit ourselves to Christ
And follow in His way,
He’ll give us life that satisfies
With purpose for each day. —Sper
If you want someone to know what Christ will do for him, let him see what Christ has done for you.
Bible verse: [Andrew] first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.” —John 1:41

And since I celebrate my best life today... here’s an amazing music from For King & Country, it’s a fun and strong performance, watch the video below. 

Feels like I'm stuck in the movie that was never made
Jesus stranded with a flat tire and He's grinning from ear to ear
And whispering these words under His breath
It's a fine, fine life, it's a fine, fine life
Everyday I find, it's a fine, fine life

And another one from this amazing band, Run Wild with Andy Mineo
If your soul’s locked in a cage
You can make a great escape
We’re made to run wild, live free
Love strong, you and me

I'll definitely buy for KING & COUNTRY's latest album "RUN WILD. LIVE FREE. LOVE STRONG." album one of these days! They are blessed with remarkable talents, all for the glory of God! As for now I subscribed to their Youtube channel, ForKingAndCountryTV to listen to their music.

And hey, they just won their first two Grammy awards this week. Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for RUN WILD. LIVE FREE. LOVE STRONG. and Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for their collaboration with Lecrae on "Messengers", how awesome is that? I knew it, they're super good! Go, serve the Lord more and more! I really hope to see you live here in Manila in the nearest future!

So my dear friends, how are you feeling now? Hopefully, better as I do. It's a fine, fine life!


P.S.
Thank you for all the greetings ♥ I feel so loved and blessed, powerhugs!

Love,
MM

Comments