on the Verge of

My fifth photo for the Encouragement Weekly Photo Challenge is from a favorite author Paolo Coelho. I quoted his tweet ' Happy week and remember: Avoiding Problems you need to face is avoiding the life you need to live'. Sometimes we are afraid to face the adversaries we encounter in life. But avoiding them will do no better. We need to take courage to look at the problem, find a solution, and solve it. There will be some pain, worries, and stress along the way. After all, life is a constant struggle. Eventually, there will be a relief in seeing an end to the problem and life goes on. So take courage and live.

One Saturday night, Keen and I ran out of ideas where to go out for dinner. We wanted to pig out without spending too much. He suddenly thought of the Grillery Smokehouse, the unli barbecue place beside Backyard Burgers in Ecoland. I've always wanted to try out the Grillery but I never really had a chance.  It was something new for us so we both agreed. One can avail of Grillery's unlimited rice and barbecue for Php169 only. That also comes with unlimited soup and fruits. If you also want unlimited drinks, you can pay Php199 instead. Keen getting his first bbq stick Naturally, Keen and I availed the Php199 promo. We were seated near the buffet of raw barbeque. We helped ourselves to some skewered bacon, beef kebab, our staple isaw, chorizo and I think pretty much everything else. Haha Unlimited Bbq Grilling everything in our table didn't take too long. Soon, everything was hot and smoky. It was probably the only thing I didn't like about the place. You

Before this week ends, I'll be sharing my fourth encouragement photo, one that best fits all the challenges I've been through this whole week. "Mountains are meant to climbed. Problems are meant to be surpassed." Each time I feel like giving up, I try to go back to the main reason why I'm doing this. Each obstacle faced is part of the struggle to get to where I want to be. Short breaks can be taken along the way, but never falter and give up. Move forward and know that the end in mind will be reached. 

James and I agreed to abstain something for Lent. We love eating so I finally convinced my boyfriend to give up one, if not the most, of his favorite food. For him it was his favorite street food proben. For me it was Jollibee. The past forty days was tough for the both of us. Proben was found everywhere in Roxas Night Market. I had to drag my boyfriend away so that he wouldn't dare grab a stick. On the other hand, Jollibee has been my comfort food ever since I could remember. Spicy chickenjoy was my Jollibee favorite and it always made my day eating one. It was tough for us to look away or walk away from our cravings. But each time we deny ourselves, we are able to triumph against physical/material urges. We are also reminded that our simple sacrifices are nothing compared to what Jesus has endured for us. I hope that our small sacrifices during the season of Lent may have been pleasing to God. Finally, Easter has come and the days of abstinence are over. Christ has risen fr

In this Holy Week, I go back to the Bible to find encouragement in life and inspiration for my photo challenge. On my way home last night from a hectic Monday grind, I find myself humming the song 'Here I am to Worship' by Hillsong. The last line of the song refers to Romans 10:13 which says "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." The line aptly describes what I felt earlier that day. I was in a middle of a crisis at work. I needed support and saving. I had to think and move fast despite the delays that I've been experiencing. It was during one of those brief moments of pause that I silently cried to God for help. And despite the hopelessness I felt that time, I knew I had to draw strength from Him and move on to the next. Thankfully, after hours of communicating to everyone, my crisis was finally resolved. I thank and praise God for His goodness and the goodness of the people who helped me.

It's been a while since my last Daily Reflection post. Life has been a whirlwind the past few days. Even now, I'm taking a quick break from the crazy tasks at hand to write a little and gain some sanity. Yesterday felt terrible. It was one of those days when I didn't want to get up and work. And yet I worked for 13 hours answering calls and emails, and procuring items here and there. It's crazy how sometimes it's the little things that make everything, well, crazy. But I cannot complain any further. I just need to get my head up and carry on with what I can. Thank God for a supportive boyfriend who has a better emotional quotient than me. Sometimes a little conversation can help lighten the burden can motivate you to move forward.

There are some days when it feels too dreadful to just even get up from bed. This is usually after a good weekend, holiday or travel. But when school or work is waiting for you, you can't help but feel defeated by the reality that strikes in. That's why it's good to know the reason why we are doing this: why do we go to school or work and what is our end in mind. It's knowing our short-term and long-term goals in life that we find purpose to carry on even in the most gloomy days.

Tonight, as I lay down in bed happily exhausted from today's events, I write a brief post just to share how grateful I am to the guy who made my world a brighter place. James, in the course of one year we've probably said a lot cheesy statements to each other. And yet sometimes I feel like words are not enough to express my gratitude for the love that you brought into my life. It's funny how sometimes I would still wonder how we ever came to this. Again and again, we remember our past and never imagined that we would end up being with each other. Thankfully, we never gave up despite the unfortunate circumstance we had to begin with. Now here we are, defying the odds and shrugging off prejudices. I couldn't be more happier with my decision of saying yes to be your girl a year ago. Happy Anniversary my love! One year down and hopefully on our way to forever ❤️