The year before that was full of activities with my hospital projects–securing sponsorships, getting the kids’ (with cancer) needs met, etc. Lots of production work there, as well as a lot of instability at home–which contributed to the balance, ha.

My “years” seem to start somewhere near the end of the actual year date, if that makes any sense–like, September, October. That’s when everything seems to kick in. So, as this cycle turned, it became apparent how the Lord was leading me and my not so little family.

We went through so many ups and downs, oh wow. I could write so much on that…but I think, for the sake of this blog, we’ll leave out the negative. Then the Lord did some miraculous things which could have only happened thru complete, Divine Intervention. These were changes of heart, of lifestyle, of the dedication of individuals and requiring me to yield even when it seemed impossible to my nature. And although we’re not nearly in the “perfect” spiritual state, we’ve come a long way in a year, and you can tell by the happiness we’re experiencing as a family.

The latest exciting thing is that the Lord has opened up the doors for a brand new prison ministry. This has been a dream of mine–not so much the prison itself as the actual work we are doing, through art. Going back to the topic of years in a life, it seemed that in each one of mine, the Lord was trying to say to me that destinies had a lot to do with the experiences and choices one made. And the way He is in constant control (for our own happiness) of our lives and surrounds us with people whom He knows will play important roles in our future, giving us experiences that will take us even further than we have dreamed before–that is so interesting.

The current Prison ministry is detailed and very challenging. But, exciting as life for the Lord always is. More and more, I see the intense Spiritual Warfare, the necessity of staying close to the Lord and following His guidance, the wisdom of His Love, and the Power of Prayer. I know this all sounds a bit vague at the moment, but I’ve been so delinquent on this blog that there’s too much to tell. I will though, as thinking back what’s ensued only puts my mind more at ease. So many stories!!!

…His Plan is perfect, and there certainly is “A Time For Every Purpose under Heaven”.

Completely crippled. Which can either be depressing or an excuse to find other things in life to do. Like gardening, exercising, and immersing myself in spending quality time with people. –Going out, dancing again…cleaning house…it’s really quite refreshing.

Most of all, I’ve benefitted from being able to spend more time with the Love of My life …and He’s put me at ease about a lot of concerns I had with not making my deadlines, getting to my work, or operating on the highs that I get from accomplishments, etc. It’s hard to switch gears and realize that when physical work isn’t getting done at the speed you’d like, then spiritual things like prayer and a positive attitude can actually bring faster results.

But they can, and they do, so I’ve learned in these last couple of weeks. Living life isn’t about meeting deadlines and making the salary cut. It’s about laughter, love, and the warmth that comes from a thankful heart…it’s about waking up every morning and being grateful for the ability to breathe.

So…I’m thankful that it was just my computer that died.

After groggily waking up at 1pm, someone from a Family Home nearby rang my phone, and I was greeted by a chorus of song. They must’ve had the whole Home singing over the reciever. And since they are such talented singers, it sounded like a pretty good recording! Sweet!

…It’s been an amazing year, and the one ahead is already greeting me with excitement and challenge. I know that, with Jesus leading the way in my journey through life, it promises to be one filled with adventure and constant learning. I am blessed to be travelling the road alongside some of the most amazing people in the world.

I find it hard to wish for more; everything I could ever ask for has already been given. Perhaps my prayer will be that I can share more of the Lord’s Love with others this coming year…that I may strive to live the creed of discipleship in my heart and actions, and that, as the days and years pass, HE will always remain the most important thing in my life.

I think performing arts come naturally to kids growing up in the Family International; music is very much a part of our outreach ministries, and we are taught at an early age to use the gifts and talents the Lord gives us to benefit others and to lift Him up in our witness.

Christmas was very busy, of course, performing at various functions and charities. Now, we’re working on our year-round repertoire. But instead of the usual dance numbers with a CD backup for audio, we’d like to try something more original. So my other sister and brother are learning the songs on organ to accompany the 3 sisters dancing. It’ll be a cute little family act, I think. –If all goes well…pray for it

Needless to say, you turn one corner of the house (and our house is very small) and there’s a dance class going on; in the next, the organ is cranking out tunes…and then, there’s the little brother who is always trying to sing in his own way (he’ll be turning three soon so is getting too talkative for his own good, ha!)

Will see how the week ends up and if progress is made on all sides, heh.

…so we threw a little despidida party with the other young people in Manila, the night before he flew out. Here are the…uh…”safe” pics! Hehehe…

Well the main lesson I’ve been learning is the cycle of the Lord’s Will. And how sometimes he takes us away into our quiet wilderness, or to our “Mount Sinai” just like he did with Moses, to get us away from the crowds for awhile and get us better connected with Him for the work we have to do. Then he brings us back into it with renewed inspiration.

Anyway, different things have come up these last few days which have been an encouragement to me about how the Lord can still use us wherever we are (as long as I stay yielded, of course). The other night I attended a friend’s brithday party (at first I felt I was too tired to go and honestly didn’t wanna spend the night in a bar but I went at the last minute anyway), and a mutual friend there, whom I have known for about 10 years said to me during the course of the evening, “I never got the chance to thank you.” Of course that comment surprised me, I was like, “Huh?” And he went on to explain, how, many years ago, in the course of our conversations, he’d had some positive changes in his life and maybe the Lord had used me to some capacity to be a witness. Although I knew that it was the Lord whom he had to thank really, that was pretty encouraging that God could still use little messed-up me.

A few minutes later, another young man called from across the room and said, “You’re a missionary, right?” He’d been told about me and my work by someone else at the party and went on to explain how God had been calling him to be a missionary too, and he’d just come to Manila to pursue that high calling. What a wonderful experience in sharing many testimonies and the things the Lord was revealing to each of us and bringing about in our lives. It was exciting for me to talk about my faith and life and share my experiences with this stranger while at the same time, hearing how the Lord had been speaking to his heart as well.

After he left the bar, I got a text message on my phone, “Hey, remember me? We met the other day, are you in (name of the bar)?” I was like, “Weird, how’d he know?” Then I look up and see him sitting there a few feet away. I remembered we’d met at an outreach project I’d had for kids with cancer just the day before. He’d accompanied a friend to join us, but we hadn’t talked all that much. So now, he’d been brought along my path, and as we continued conversing, the passion in my heart for sharing my faith grew in a way that was convicting even for me…it got to the point that I realized this was the Lord reaching out to Me by bringing different individuals along and letting me know that He still wanted me to reach out and testify of Him to others.

This is getting to be a long post, but I just remembered that also this week, someone visited my house with a mutual family friend–she lives in Canada but has been a long time friend of The Family International, and even a member way back in the 70′s. She spoke about this LTC site, and there was another way the Lord was telling me to continue being His missionary in whatever way He’s blessed me with. Sometimes I forget what a huge vehicle the Internet is and how far our witness goes. Im honored to be one of His children (or like my friend Rissa says, one of His “Brats”!)

…And I just also wanted to encourage all you other missionaries out there, that whatever place God has called you to, small or big, important or less significant (you may think), the Lord knows better than any of us what He is doing in our lives, and the destiny which He has specifically mapped out for each of you will be realized and fullfilled soon enough. We just have to keep believing, and obeying!

I love you!

Turns out my “Gift of Rest” was, in fact, the theme of the 2007 Word Feast. Wow! How privileged I was to partake of something so special! I pray I can make it an every day part of my life and continue to give Jesus the best hours of my time every day. Love you all!

P.S. The crazy costumes were for our hippy-theme brithday party…The Family began in the late 60′s you know… “Make Love, Not War!” Amen???

I hear that’s what the lesson of this retreat is all about, resting in the Lord, feasting on the richness of His Love, and such. He has to drill it into me because I never learn.

Oh well, see you when I’m good and stuffed.

As I did, through groggy, still–sleepy eyes, the orange hues blended with the still blue sky… and He seemed to say to me that He was going to give me a special gift for the coming year: THE GIFT OF REST. I smiled at the thought; I’d needed that rest, as the last few months–the whole year, actually–had been so hectic and stressed. About a week later, the Family Publications came to my mailbox, and one of them was called, “Entering Into Rest”…with the following series all about Resting in The Lord. It seemed so fitting, so perfect, and quite the confirmation I needed that He wanted me to grasp this concept of truly “resting”, and how to physically–and spritually–apply it.

However, in the days following, I did everything BUT slow down.

I had to make an out-of-the-country trip, so there went a week of rest… on the flight home, I had a slight accident, and ended up in bed with a fever for another week after that. I am the kind of person who gets very annoyed with myself whenever I feel useless or “an invalid”, and this series of unexpected, “unfortunate” events left me even more agitated.

Then, the Lord gave me another personal message, and this time, He said:

“I told you this year that I would give you the gift of rest. And yet, you are treating this gift like a beautifully wrapped Christmas present under the tree. You haven’t opened it yet, because you like the look of it sitting prettily there with your name on the tag. You haven’t opened it yet, even though the unwrapping date has been long overdue. Accept this gift which I am giving you freely! Open it up, and open yourself up in full faith…and then come, enter into that rest.”

I’ve since realized that “Resting in the Lord” can mean simply entrusting things to Him with full faith that He will take care of that which we cannot, so long as we do our part, and do our best. And then, when we have found our limitations, and know when to put the brakes on, we turn the steering wheel over to Him. Again, not a lesson that comes naturally to me, but here’s even better news: He recently supplied for my family to take a week-long vacation at the beach; something we haven’t done as a family in over ten years! I am going to seize the opportunity to appreciate the goodness of the Lord and recieve this gift He is giving me, with open arms and a trusting heart.

After all, His gifts are pretty awesome, aren’t they?