Today's Devo

I have to be honest. I haven't done my quiet time in a while. I try to read the Bible as much as I can; and I have constant conversations with God throughout the day, but lately, I haven't set aside time alone with God to talk with Him and read His word. 

I know I have to do my devo. There is so much I want to know. I need wisdom and understanding. Before going to work today, I decided to have breakfast at the coffeeshop across the street. I was listening to John Waller's "While I'm Waiting" on loop. As I walked in, the song, "Everything" by Lifehouse was playing. I knew that God is with me. 

Here is a part of the song: 

"Find me here, and speak to me 
I want to feel you, I need to hear you 
You are the light that's leading me to the place 
Where I find peace again 
You are the strength that keeps me walking 
You are the hope that keeps me trusting 
You are the life to my soul 
You are my purpose 
You're everything."

And this is what I read in my devo: Psalm 32:8-10

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
⁹ Do not be like the horse or the mule,
    which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
    or they will not come to you.
¹⁰ Many are the woes of the wicked,
    but the Lord’s unfailing love
    surrounds the one who trusts in him.

I was reminded again that my primary purpose on earth is to glorify Him. Indeed, He is everything in my life. He is my light, my strength, my hope, my life. I know I've been a bit lost and confused lately in a lot of aspects of my life but I have to look at the bigger picture and focus on Him, not on anything else. Not on all the trivial concerns that weigh me down and wear me out every day. God is my source of strength. Also, after I read these verses in Psalm, I'm assured that God won't withhold His wisdom from me. He will grant me wisdom and instruction, all I need to do is ask and to continue trusting in Him. I thank the Lord for continuously reminding me of His presence in the midst of confusion. 

Hello Monday

Today didn't start out so bad. I woke up early as always, had an unusually healthy breakfast, and even had the time to reflect on the message at the service the previous day about praying without ceasing. 

I went to work and I suddenly had mixed feelings about my career. 5 years into my profession, I still feel insecure about my skill and, given my passion for things not related to the law, I still wonder whether I'm actually still fit for this job. Circumstances (major, life-changing ones) the past week made me rethink about my track as a photographer. Suddenly, I want to devote a lot of time on it (again). I was telling my friend that morning that I wanted to have lunch alone at the condo that day, but due to some meetings, I didn't have the time to leave the office for lunch. 

As the day progressed, I received not-so-good news that may impact my future/my career. Later in the afternoon, I was asked to go to the Supreme Court for research. I went back to my old office to ask for help from a former colleague, who was nice enough to accommodate me. 'Also met up with an old blockmate. It felt strange visiting the court compound. It was the second time I visited since my employment ended a year ago. Some of the guards/employees still remembered me and were asking me where I work now. Whenever I mention I work at a private company, they would ask why I would prefer that over working at a government office. 

It was getting late, and people were raring to leave because of SONA and the traffic. I wasn't able to get the documents I needed to research on, and I thought about postponing my leave (I'm supposed to go to Palawan this week with the family), so I can finish this tomorrow. I felt frustrated at how difficult it was to obtain documents from government offices. I was even misinformed that some records were destroyed during Ondoy. Good thing the person in charge rechecked and told me the records are in tact. 

On our way back to the office, we passed through Quirino ave. When I glanced to my left, I saw a black car with a weird contraption on the windshield. It took me a few seconds to realize that the contraption was a camera, and a car scene was being filmed. I tried to look who was inside the vehicle, and lo and behold, it was Ser Chief and Maya. Haha. I think I exclaimed so loudly that the driver told me, "Gusto niyo pala sila, Ma'am?". I thought I was expressing a completely normal reaction. I felt that anyone, BCWMH fan or not, would've been as excited. :)) 

When I got to the office, I was so hungry that I almost consumed an entire slice of chocolate campfire cake from Purple Oven, bought by one of the people from the department. It's like devil's food cake from Chockiss, but infinitely better. I told our boss that I wanted to postpone my trip so I can finish the work at the courts, but he told me to push through with my flight. I'll just probably coordinate with them while I'm on vacation. 

I went home earlier today to an (almost) full house again. Though I was a bit late, everyone else was still at the dining table, talking and laughing. It lifted my mood for a while. And then I remembered that Pwintet (aka Princess. See above pic) is already dying and may pass on anytime soon, as told by the vet this morning. She's been in an out of the vet for weeks now and she has been really weak. She couldn't get up anymore. My mom and our maid cried the whole day when they heard the news. My mom's eyes were puffy from crying. We visited Pwintet at the vet after dinner and I felt bad that I'll be in Palawan until Friday and it may be the last time I was seeing her. Then we rushed home because I haven't packed yet and I need to do some other work. 

It has been a long, strange, and confusing day and I honestly don't know how to end this entry. Ehe. Hoping to get some stability and lots of great photos in Palawan. 

Yez I'm Back

Since I last posted, I turned a year older (I'm now officially in my early thirties :(( ); I've had two beach trips; my siblings from the US arrived (and the entire family is together again); moms' day passed; dads' day passed; my eldest niece just went to college; I lagged behind in running; and Maya Dela Rosa officially became Sir Chief's girlfriend. Harhar. I had tons of material I could've written about and a lot of photos to accompany them, but I simply couldn't make time for blogging.

Three weeks ago, our office sent us on a training to take up a course led by a Harvard Business School Professor. I've always contemplated going to business school, but I think I have too much on my plate already that it's impossible to add anything more (and that would probably force me to give up shooting, which I can't do), so I'm glad that we have the opportunity to take these courses once in a while. 

These are just some of the photos from our seminar: 

The fog was so thick, a friend messaged me on Instagram, asking if I was in Singapore taking photos of the haze. :)) I'm hoping to get the official group photo soon so I can post it here. Ehe.

On our first night in Tagaytay, I had a lot of time in the evening and nothing to do (aside from reading up on a case study we were supposed to discuss the following day). I had no one to go with; the only other people I knew were the bosses and some acquaintances who had other people to go with. I had no means of transpo to go anywhere. I didn't want to spend the entire night holed up in the hotel room so I decided to stay in Starbucks to Facebook/study. Hehe loser. I realized then how much I missed my family. (And the sun.) I got so used to spending time with the entire family the past weeks that I wasn't used to spending time alone anymore. Thing is, before they arrived, being alone was the norm for me. As long as there's work to be done (and work never gets finished hehe), I'm ok with being alone. After the balikbayans leave, I'm sure it will be difficult to go back to my daily grind.

In stark contrast, this is how I spent the past week with my family: 

When I arrived from Tagaytay on Wednesday, I went straight to dinner with my siblings and their families in Don Day. Yes, I was home again. :)