We're just in the second week of 2023.
How are you keeping up with what life has been giving you?
Are you still pursuing that dream of yours or do you have a new dream now that we are in the new year? Have you made any plans? Have you listed down your goals? Have you made up your mind to be better? Are you overwhelmed or underwhelmed?
These are the same questions I ask myself. By now, I have decided to make an affirmation that this year is God's year in my life. He'd be magnified more and more in my life, His glory and majesty alone. That is how flawless my plan is. But the reality is there will always be a constant battle, and you have got to be a warrior. A warrior who never backs down. A warrior whose eyes focus on the cross. A warrior who keeps on moving forward.
Life is a battlefield, so make sure you and I put on the full armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-18:
- The Belt of truth
- Breastplate of righteousness
- Shoes with the readiness of the Gospel of peace
- Shield of faith
- Helmet of salvation
- Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
Be on guard against unseen enemies.
And in the battlefield called life, maybe a lot of things have already been happening to you, or probably, you feel like it seems dull or uneventful. Are you tired of waiting for someone or something, chasing your dreams, making plans, and trying to change for the better just to end up feeling disappointed again and again with yourself at the end of the day?
Well, I hope you never stop waiting, chasing, making, and trying. The same hope I have for myself. I pray that you and I will always look and move forward, all through His grace.
Suki Day Book 2023
The planner year-end giveaway of Mercury Drug Store is one of the many things I look forward to at the end and beginning of a new year. It is one of the simple things that completes the start of a brand new year. If I remember correctly, I was able to redeem Suki Day Book three (3) years in a row since I started saving points in 2020 by purchasing essential products from Mercury Drug Store.
By using your Suki Card points, you can redeem one planner for only forty-five (45) points. Such a steal! Warning. It is not for sale, only redeemable. So, if you have Suki points, don't miss this chance to get a high-quality planner for free. I chose the 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅 design from their Better Tomorrow series Suki Book Day 2023. It has three (3) dainty designs and classic colors you can choose from:
- 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅 (calm, peaceful, and tranquil)
- 𝑹𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒍 (joy, good health, and love)
- 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒚 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒚 (soothing, cooling, and relaxing)
Just like the meaning of the 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅 design planner I got by redeeming points, I am so looking forward to a calm, peaceful, and tranquil life ahead of me. We move forward to a better tomorrow with Him.
Disclaimer. This post is not sponsored.
Another Boring Year
Bye 2022, hello 2023!
So what, then?
This cycle comes every last day of the 365 days of every year. What's new? What could be special about it? Matter of fact, I can't seem to comprehend sometimes the hype people give into this kind of tradition, and that would make me appear so weird and out of this world, am I the only one who thought of it? I do wonder.
I don't mean to minimize or cancel the effort of the people who try their best to cook mouthwatering meals and wonderful dishes, decorate their houses to vibe in the holiday trend, and put up a table with all the best food in the town. In fact, I love it and appreciate it. I want delicious food! Hehe.
Where do they get all the energy every year to consistently participate in this worldwide tradition and share it with the world for all the people to see what they have on the new year's occasion?
I feel like I'm making myself sounds bitter here. Haha. But, I truly wonder. Because I tried following the trend like taking a photo of our food on the table from the little resources we had and I attempted to post a photo of it like some of the posts we can see on our social media news feed, but I couldn't. I lack consistency in this area of my life. Why is that? Am I an odd one for thinking like that? I questioned myself with this petty or silly thought.
A Better Tomorrow
Sometimes, I wish I have the desire, energy, and of course, consistency to put up exciting posts on my social media handles, instead of my boring content about books and my musings. But I am still glad that most of the time, I am good all by God's grace. That wishful thinking only comes in a while, once in a blue moon. I guess I am the type of person who prefers boringness. Or in other words, the kind of life that isn't exciting and happy as it appears to others? And why would I care anyway? Why would you even care? HAHAHA.
Just live your life, I live mine. Simple as that!
The important thing is to live a life with a purpose. Live your purpose. Do not leave it. Live it! Do I sound like I am demanding you? No, I am not. This is just a reminder for you and me. Find your purpose and live it.
A better tomorrow is ahead of us. Another boring year is also another exciting year. I am quite excited about another boring year ahead of me. I am positive that there are a lot of surprises in store for all of us. So prepare your heart, mind, and soul. It is reassuring that God holds our future, I pray that we are all hopeful because the hope that comes from Jesus is much, much greater than the hope that this new year brings. So be hopeful, always!
I've finished another book by Marcelo Santos III. Yay or nay? Yay, of course!
As I read the book Para sa Hopeless Romantic, I couldn't help but feel the cringe that loomed just around the corner. I almost put down the book and stop reading it, but I was committed to reading and seeing it through until the end. I have to see the ending of everything that was going on with Maria, Ryan, Becca, Nikko, Jackie, Matt, and RJ. I need to know if the author decided to give them happily ever after.
I believe every character deserves the happily ever after ending in their story. I empathize with characters who don't get their good ending in some of the books I read, such a bummer. It hurt me as well to see the characters, be they, the antagonist or the protagonist. They so deserve the happy ending. They need it! Though they are fiction, I can't help but relate them to the people around me whether they are good or bad, they still deserve a happy ending. Every character has a background story, and if we are not aware of it, it is better to put on hold our judgment and never comment negatively or insensitively on their lives just because they appear weird or peculiar based sometimes on our biased standards, especially if they never do us wrong.
The path to happily ever after is not an easy road and for some, it is even impossible. The fairytale-like ending seems not very fitting to the real world we deem to exist. Most grown-ups no longer appreciate the magic, and it no longer amazes them. Some realized that happy ever after is completely BS, which is very similar to what I feel sometimes.
This book brought me back to my high school days, while reading this I thought I was too old for this teenage love story, the cringe almost suffocated me in the middle of the story. But I continued reading anyway, I was sure that the story was good in its own way and I came to like all the characters. They all have their own story to tell. I admire the author and the whole team for making sure that the book will turn out well for every character.
Everything happens for a reason, be it good or bad. Destiny is real. One big shot is real. Taking a chance is real. Our happily ever after is so real. If we are yet happy, then it isn't the end. Be rest assured that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
Christmas is...
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
It's the season to be happy.
It also means only a week before the end of the year 2022.
And another year is about to begin. Isn't it surreal to be able to survive another life year here on earth where everything is passing and only temporary? Yes, it is, definitely.
How life has been for you?
I hope you have lived and have been alive in every moment for the past 358 days. You did a great job of making it today, and in advance, as well as in the years to come!
The year 2022 has been good for me. Well, I'm not saying it's perfect and free of concerns and challenges just like the past years which I thought were not even good. I am just glad and grateful that I am here. Having the time to do things that must be done. Though difficulties and failures are ahead of us, it is important that we move forward. To keep on moving toward the future and never look back or dwell in the past. We must forgive but never forget. We learned so much from the past and it is a great gift to live in the present and look forward to the future.
Every year has its own difficulties. Be it a problem, heartache, frustration, disappointment, failure, fear, sorrow, or even death, this passing life can never be free from any of it. They are also here to pass, thus, life is still good.
Why do I say that life is still good?
Because the Giver of life is good. He made everything good with a purpose. I wouldn't be able to say that life has been good or that life is good if it wasn't because of receiving the greatest gift ever. The peace, the love, the life, the hope, and the joy He brought to this passing world make everything seems bearable because of Him, the greatest gift ever.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Have you received the greatest gift ever?
If you haven't, then, now is the perfect time to receive the perfect gift and the greatest present ever. Don't let it pass on you. May I just remind you that accepting Him doesn't mean we already become perfect in this imperfect world, this sounds cliche but it's true. Instead, we're getting better and better because He is the great enabler we all need. Receive and you live! Unwrap the greatest gift ever!
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