Time to Serve

I was driving back home from work with my friends when one of them told us her realization after her experience in the recent Youth Encounter event last weekend.

Her realization was this:
That she has to give something back to the Lord... after all the worshiping and the good feeling and happy feeling she got from attending worship services. She thought she is not using all her talents and faculties yet to serve God.

Thus, she joined the dance group for the concert. Because she knows she can dance, she wants to serve God in dancing. She wants to give back and offer herself through her talents in dancing.

All of this boils into one point: That it is time to serve the Lord.

That it is time to start being a disciple... no... but an apostle for Christ and to serve...
not only worship Him and feel goody-goody inside...
not only feeling uplifted and high everytime.

But to spread the Good News with not only your words... but also with your actions... no... WITH YOUR WHOLE LIFE.

Use your God-given talents to serve him. To REALLY SERVE HIM. Better yet... use your CORE GIFTS, things that makes you happy when you do it especially when you do it for the good of others... serving others... loving others.

As for my friend, she is starting to realize it at her young age... she is starting to use her talents for to serve others... to serve God... and to love others... as well as to love God.

A Failure

I failed on my first day of class..

I admit that it was a bit chaotic then :D
Maybe I wasn't that too prepared to teach about that subject...
or I got another headache because I slept late again :D
or I was new in the craft of teaching...

I failed...
And I didn't reached my expectations and the expectations of my students on my first day of teaching...

I thought that day "Was teaching for me?"

The failure was eating me... But I can't let it do it to me again...
I have to do something... and that is to improve myself.

Fortunately, I met with my "Ate" for a "cup of coffee" (Yeah... I do have an "ate" = big sister... although I am the eldest :D) She's also a teacher ranging from kids to "kids" (ermmm.. for those who couldn't get it: "kids" = college).. I asked for tips to get the attention of the kids and she gave me many advices :D

I also remembered watching Bo Sanchez in the Kerygma Feast giving an example on how Swedish teachers teach their students by not giving them grades with errors in their papers but helping them know why they got the wrong answers and helping them to correct these wrong answers.

I learned so much that day :D and it is because I failed.
If I haven't failed or felt my failure... I'll be one of those teachers na boring... No life...

Every failure is a learning stone... and I'm learning to move forward after each failure...

There is one big difference between a winner and a loser... the answer: how to respond to failures.

If I have let myself be eaten by my failure.. By the next day, I will lose my passion for teaching... and I'll be more of a failure by then...
But I chose to be a winner: I chose to learn from this experience.

and I want my students also to learn this: If they want to get the highest grades from my class... they have to fail first... and learn from them...

Now don't get me wrong... I did not want them to get a grade of 5 to get a grade of 1. I want them to allow little failures into their lives... and process them... so when the exam comes... they know how to answer it correctly.

Also I don't want them to fail always... they have to learn also not to commit the same mistake twice :D

We have to know how to handle failures in our lives to be successful...

last words: Failure IS AN OPTION :D

The Eucharist: Reloaded

What joy!

The 1st advent...I finished the whole mass :D
And though we thought we were late again, the mass started at the time we arrived at the church.
It is like the whole church was waiting for us to arrive before it could start the mass (ok, I exagerated that part hehehe)
I can feel the Lord saying: "Oi... you're just in time :D tara let's start (come on, let's start) "

So I participated in the mass fully... sang the song when I know the tune... and listened well...
But this is the best part: when I participated again in taking the Eucharist.
I can feel deep inside, tuwang tuwa ako (I am so happy)... parang ngayon lang ulit ako makakakain (It's like it will be the first time to take the Eucharist)...

It's like I am then a child :D "Yey!! Itetreat ako ni Lord ngayong araw na to (The Lord will treat me today)" :D

After so many months that I am not with Him through the Eucharist...
After so many weeks that I can't focus myself in the mass...
After so many days dwelling on my own self and my sins...

I have come back again into the light of His presence...
and have recieved what my soul really wants...
Jesus...

Do you know the feeling?
Try to come back... You feel the "I miss the Lord... that I want to be with Him again :D"

And you will hear this reply: "Yes my child... I also missed you :D"

Welcome to the New and Improved Spero-Lumina Stories

Before the 1st day of the year 2007 ends... I want to welcome you to a new set of stories.

A cleaner and newer set with simpler but full of wisdom and knowledge.
Join me as we bless each other with much reflections about life, love and God.

Join me in a new adventure where we fail, stumble and fall...
But for every pain, suffering and failure... we stand up... look-up and walk again...

This is life...
May this blog inspire change... as I am always inspired by change through stories of others...
May this blog console hurt feelings... but also learn lessons in storms...
May this blog be a harsh reality... and also something to free us from lies...

May this blog be simple... giving hope and light to all...

Welcome...
Welcome to the new and improved Spero-Lumina stories...