Thank you, dear friends, for your congratulatory greetings and support. Celebrating with me and God’s accomplishments through this God-given life is highly appreciated. You may want to support me all the way by visiting my online store through the link below. Thus, you can get either or both copies of my two self-published e-books.
Aside from learning practical skills and knowledge about the book subjects, it is both written along the line of the GOSPEL, with the hope of bringing the GOOD NEWS to people through these topics. Additionally, discount coupons are available too! Simply navigate the site to get this “good news” in these e-books! Again, thank you very much, and God bless!
Lately, you have seen the accomplishments I had posted here. I am truly grateful to those who rejoiced with me. Thank you! Many people say that most of the time, we only see successes. More often than not, we never get the chance to see what’s behind it, such as the humble beginnings and difficulties needed to endure and overcome to achieve that success. Well, since my life is beginning to be an open book, here is your opportunity to see how it all started.
Image by Marc Peralta
Thus today, I am launching my second e-book entitled, “How To Start A New From The Rock Bottom.” If you are experiencing a rock bottom situation in life, then it is written for you. It could be a story of how I weathered the storm of life. However, the principles or steps to rise above from below are yours to take. Check it out and see for yourself. You can get your copy and download it through the link below.
Never have I imagined that I would be taking the path of the highest degree of learning. Thus, the title of this article. When the Lord called me to a helping profession ministry, I was already happy and content with finishing a master’s degree in counseling. As usual, God has bigger plans more than we always could have imagined. Now that this phase of my journey has come to an end, I am reminded of a childhood dream.
During my kindergarten graduation, I remember we were asked to recite a statement. It was about what we dreamed we would be when we grew up. Mine was to become a doctor, but a medical one. However, as time passed by, I discovered that I could not be a medical doctor. Not only that, my parents cannot afford to send me to a medical school, but I also recognized something about myself. When I was in high school, I recognized the sight of fresh flowing blood makes me faint and feel sick! Those were the signs that led me to abandon the aspiration to be a doctor. However, a medical condition later led me to my passion for giving hope to people by helping them. It is a story along the lines of “it was meant for evil, but God meant it for good” kind of story.
It was through an HIV diagnosis that God called this prodigal son back into His loving arms. Fifteen years ago, there were several times I sought death at this darkest point of my life, but I found life through Christ Jesus via the light of a Christian medical doctor. This light of love is the same love that awakened my passion to help people who were as broken as me in every aspect of life. Moreover, it led me to unearth my potentials and purpose in life. At first, I served as a volunteer peer counselor and educator. Later, I served as an HIV psycho-educator and trainer for an international non-government organization that allowed me to discover my passion for people while adopting the principles and practices of Jesus. All I wanted was to serve God as a channel of His hope and an agent of His healing grace. But He led me to take another step higher.
Getting a Ph.D. was far-fetched for me. Perhaps it was His way of rekindling and keeping my childhood dream of becoming a doctor, but with a twist. I could not be more grateful to our Program Director, NCF, AGST, BSOP, and very dear friends & colleagues to make it happen. Using God-given potentials through this passion for people is truly a wonderful way to live the purpose and put meaning to this once lost soul. Thus, to the people I mentioned here, thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart. Soli Deo Gloria!
Today is IACM or International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day, an event to remember those who have died of AIDS-related illnesses. Also, it is a day to recognize those who are still struggling with HIV or AIDS-related stigma & sicknesses. More importantly, it is an annual occasion to celebrate the lives of those who survived victoriously from the diagnosis. And today, I choose to celebrate this God-given life by sharing the message of hope (written below the photo) I have been carrying with me for the past 15 years – a Channel of Hope! Soli Deo Gloria!
Beautiful is not enough to describe the content of the book. I am not even convinced if the word encouraging will give justice to define this work. But I am pretty sure that “When Trouble Troubles You” is both beautiful and very encouraging. Still, it is more than that. Why? God has called me to encourage people to be real and tell them that every experience matters. It is the very reason why I am doing what I am doing. This book did just that.
God, Scriptures, and Life Experiences, specifically troubles or life challenges, are the three most significant factors that the author has carefully weaved into her life story. It depicts the only way to be able to go through the pains of life victoriously, which is to see our troubles through the eyes of our Father and of His Words and faithfully believe that He is our refuge at all times.
Moreover, three things have made an impact personally. First, her story is concrete proof not to trust our hearts but the Lord’s. Second, her story is a solid demonstration of absolute faith by holding on to God’s promises from the Scriptures. Lastly, it shows that our incomprehensible troubles or life challenges are all part of our eternal covenant with God through Christ Jesus. And that we have to learn looking beyond earthly life but eternally in His Kingdom. So, do you want to find some comfort or answers to your unintelligible troubles? I highly recommend you get this book, read it and learn from it.
The world teaches us to be educated, wealthy, famous (for some), and perfect from the time of our consciousness. Formerly, those were my goals or dreams in life. I even chased after those! I have experienced and got a taste of it. However, I questioned such achievements and caught myself feeling empty after fleeting happiness from such successes. Please don’t get me wrong. These are beautiful goals. Nothing is wrong with it.
According to Francis Kong, a meaningful life is not about being rich, being popular, being highly educated, or being perfect. It is about being real, being humble, being able to share ourselves, and touch the lives of others. And I could not agree more.
Photo from Google Images
I only find the true meaning of life as I rise above from rock bottom situation. I have learned to become true to myself, especially before God, and to the people around me. The mistakes or sins I have committed and my imperfections have taught me to be humble, knowing that without Christ, I am nothing. Overcoming life challenges has led me to share and touch the lives of others through the helping profession ministries God has called me to do. Thus, a meaningful life is living it with a purpose that God has called you to live.
We all know that nobody is perfect and that everybody commits mistakes. However, it takes courage for a person to recognize it and say sorry for such wrongdoings sincerely. What if saying sorry is not enough? I recommend you to read this easy-to-read book.
It will assist you on how to say sorry using the love language of the offended person. Also, it will give you an understanding of why saying sorry is not enough at times. Remember that genuinely saying sorry humbles us. It gives us peace and freedom from emotional pain. It is the road towards both the restoration of our relationship and becoming the person God created us to be – simply the real you.
John 8: 32 says, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (ESV). To be true to oneself is, to be honest. It means to be vulnerable. It is scary. Thus, it takes courage to reveal what is inside your heart, both good and bad. Yet, it is the most rewarding and freeing experience in life.
Photo from Google Image
Vulnerability is the essence of genuine relationships, and relationships are the essence of our existence. For without relationships, we are nothing. To be vulnerable is to be free. To be vulnerable is to be simply the real you.
One act of humility that is difficult to do, however, required for health purposes is forgiveness. Forgiveness to the person who offended you or forgiveness to oneself is both difficult. But the latter is even harder than the former for some people.
Photo from Google Image
For this reason, I have included it to be one of the seven steps on “How To Start A New From The Rock Bottom.” What Les Brown said is true, “Forgiveness opens up a pathway to a new place of peace where you can persist despite what has happened to you.” It helped me to be at peace with myself and with the once rock bottom situation I had.
“Sometimes, what appears to be tragedy may actually be God’s loudest expression of love.” – Gary Chapman
Over the weekend, I finished Gary Chapman’s “God Speaks Your Love Language” book. Yes, I am familiar with the five love languages – words of affirmation, touch, quality time, and acts of service. I enumerated it based on my major to minor love languages. I could not agree more with that statement. The biggest failure I had that appears to be also one of the two biggest tragedies I experienced turned out to be God’s loudest expression of His love for me. It was a call to a prodigal son like me to come back into His loving arms. For fourteen years, I never left. Experiencing God’s everlasting love is the most wonderful thing in this world. You will learn about this failure or tragedy in my next book. In the meantime, I highly recommend this book to read during your leisure time.
