A Very Memorable Birthday

This year’s birthday has got to be one of, if not the most memorable one I’ve had my entire life.
It’s not because it’s my twentieth, although that’s really a huge number in my opinion. After all, this officially ends my teenage years, but that’s not really why this one is very different from the others.

It’s not because this is the first birthday I had that I spent working. The past ones, I was in school or I was too young to remember anything. I ended up feeding cake and ice cream to my officemates, which gave almost all of us a really huge sugar rush. We giggled our way to following our HK bosses’ orders, which was actually quite effective. That would have made it really memorable, except that there was something else that happened that made this pale in comparison.

Quite simply, I received a gift… from the enemy. Now, a lot of people would think that that’s a good thing, because this would mean that bridges can be crossed. Some would even think that I’m so lucky that my foe was the one who made the attempt to close the gap between us. And, in all honesty, I do like receiving presents now and then. However, all these are not the case right now, because this enemy is the one who we’re supposed to declare spiritual warfare with. This is the one who’s caused us to fall time and again, and is always attempting to tear us away from our loving God. Y’all know who that is. What did he give me, you ask? From Wednesday onwards, I couldn’t eat normally, because I’d end up throwing up whatever stuff I ate. To prevent this from happening, I only had a few bites to eat per meal, which isn’t really satisfying to say the least. One of the saddest things during that experience was during my birthday dinner in a restaurant of a distant relative. Everyone was having quite a good time because the food was really, really good. I loved the taste of what I ordered (beef with mushroom sauce), but I had a major problem: I couldn’t eat it. The same with the dessert, which is actually my favorite part of every meal. Imagine incredibly yummy food in your face and you can’t eat it. It’s sheer torture. Go ahead and blame me for being a bit hedonistic, but really, is there anyone who can say s/he wants to eat horrible-tasting food? Of course not! By the end of the evening, a lot of people have noticed just how pale I was turning (I was valiantly trying hard not to puke because I was seated at the far end of the table, and I couldn’t get out without having to pass the others) and my lack of appetite (which is a very rare occasion), and they began voicing their concern. Problems like appendicitis and dengue fever cropped up, which didn’t really console me, but at least made me finally decide to go to the doctor the following day (I wasn’t able to go the past days because our bosses from HK were in the country). My mom actually wanted for us to go directly to the ER after the dinner, but I was against it. I didn’t want to have my birthday finale end up in the hospital.

The following day saw me confined to the hospital. There wasn’t any definite finding as of yet, but appendicitis is a prime suspect, which I’m paranoid about. I didn’t really enjoy the thought of having myself opened up for the world to see. I want my insides kept inside, thank you very much. Praise God it’s not that, after the initial tests were done, but on what my actual problem is, nothing’s really definite yet.

Today at noon, I’ve finally been released. This is after four lab tests, four huge dextrose packs, a number of med injections to my tubings (that made me feel like a plumber, for some reason), three doughnuts, several packs of juice, and two runs of Cheetah Girls. During that time, I’ve been starved (their term was “fasting,” but I beg to differ), prodded, and mistaken for a pregnant woman (I really need to lose weight, if that’s the case). I’m typing right now with my left hand swollen and the path of one of the veins quite obvious because it’s really red. I don’t know if that’s the result of my body gobbling up four large packs of glucose through IV, or if I have a weird allergic reaction to the medicine that they injected through the line.
The findings? An intestinal bacterial infection and a normal process that men would probably pale if they find out (women would probably be sympathetic, but they’d be thankful that they’re not one of the fortunate few who have to go through that). My tummy’s still feeling really weird. It’s not that it really hurts, it’s just that there’s this sort of pain in that general area that I can’t pinpoint which part exactly hurts. Hopefully, the medicine would take effect soon and rid me of this sensation, which is really not welcome. Still, all’s well that ends well. I take comfort in the fact that I didn’t need to be turned into dinuguan by the doctors.

Happy birthday, Lani.

Birthday Wishlist

Since I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get any of these, I'll be posting my ultimate birthday wishlist here.:P This will most probably be incomplete, so I'll be editing this from time to time.:p This is also definitely not in order, but only according to which one pops in my mind first.

1. A complete set of the Xiaolin Showdown Dragons, along with the actual dragon (Dojo please, not Chucky Choo)
2. A plushy of at least one, but if possible, the Xiaolin Showdown characters
3. A good copy of all the episodes of Xiaolin Showdown (yes, I am a fanatic of the show :p)
4. A comic book collection of the story between Rogue and Gambit
5. (Most definitely a wish) Marvel turns Gambit back to the good side, and he and Rogue finally end up together. Pleeeaaase!
6. A complete collection of music from Relient K, Audio Adrenaline, Thousand Foot Krutch, dc Talk, and Jars of Clay
7. A complete set of Madeleine L'Engle's books
8. Good books. These include those coming from the Christian, philosophy, and fantasy genres.
9. Money for shopping. Haha!
10. Madeleine L'Engle's books
11. Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
12. A Heart Ablaze by John Bevere (I'm not really sure if this is the book title OR author, but it's something like this. Someone's told me it's a very good read, but I can't find a copy yet.)




However, since I most probably can't have any of these, I'll just settle for prayers.:) I ask most especially that you pray for direction in my life, that I be true to the Lord my whole life.

Thanks, and God bless y'all.

A Craving for Chicken Inasal

Yaaay! I’ve finally satisfied my craving for chicken inasal (which had been going on from December) last Saturday. What’s more, God taught me some new things on that food trip.

After running a couple of errands, I went to the mall relatively near our house to get my Laking National card, which I had renewed a month ago. I haven’t had lunch yet, and I was debating with myself whether or not I should eat there or wait until I get home. I weighed my options: for Letter A, I would have an instant fix to my grumbling problem, but I’d end up spending, which is a bit of a turn-off considering I’m near broke. For Letter B, I wouldn’t be spending at all (except for the fare for my commute back), a yaaay factor. However, a mental image of a juicy chicken meal popped in my mind, and I decided to satisfy my long-overdue craving (even before Christmas, if you can believe it) for the Bacolod specialty (fortunately, I didn’t have to travel to that place to have that). I went to the restaurant and took a seat (not literally, of course). After giving my order, I took out my book (Tim LaHaye’s Finding the Will of God in a Crazy, Mixed-up World) and began reading it. Pretty soon, my food came and lo and behold! It wasn’t what I ordered! Praise God I didn’t blow up about it, and that He gave me good humor that day. Anyway, as I was waiting, I continued reading. Presently, my food arrived (the correct one this time), with the waiter apologizing for the mix-up. After assuring him that it’s alright, I dug into my food, pausing from time to time to continue reading my book. A few bites later, the waiter came back, and this time, it wasn’t to apologize again. It turns out that he’s also Christian, and that he was blessed to find another believer. He recommended some good books he’s read at first, and then he told me a bit of his story: he used to be a youth leader in their church, a drummer in their music ministry, and also served as one of the counselors to the kids there. However, he said that he backslid, and he stopped serving a prime position in their church. Praise God that he’s back on track now, although he hasn’t been able to regularly attend their meetings because he’s now working.

Now, people could say that it’s a huge coincidence to meet someone of the same faith as I do. I believe though, that there is no such thing as “coincidence” and that it was the Lord’s will for the two of us to meet at that day and at that time. There I was reading my book on how to make sense of my life, and then came this guy who, while not answering that question in my mind, assures me of just why I chose to walk in faith. After I ate there, I felt such peace that did not come from what I ate physically, but what He nourished me with. The waiter (I’m not trying to be demeaning by continually calling him that, it’s just that I wasn’t able to catch his name) himself said that God led me there specifically to eat, and I couldn’t agree more. I don’t know where the craving for chicken inasal came from, and why it came on December, but I do know one thing: He brought me there in that restaurant at three o’clock Saturday for a reason. I could’ve satisfied that craving earlier, but for some unknown reason, I didn’t (imagine a month-long craving!).

One of the things I’ve learned from him in those few minutes he came up to chat was something he was taught in one of their seminars. They were taught what “Christian” should mean for us: CHRIST, I Am Nothing. That’s true: we are nothing without Christ. The only way we could be something is if we are in Him. Another thing I’ve learned from Him, implicitly, is that He’s in control. Imagine this guy who was at the top of the food chain (figuratively speaking), but he falls. Yet he stands up again, and even without the previous standing he enjoyed, he is still at peace and filled with joy for the Lord. He also continues to feel the burden of other people who chose to follow the world and not Jesus. He’s also thankful for the job that God gave him, even if he already has, or is studying for a degree (I’m not clear on which one). For someone who’s trying to find meaning and direction in her life, that really shook me, because the Lord brought me to meet someone who is also clueless on what the Lord has in store for him, yet continues to believe in Him wholeheartedly that He’s got a perfect plan for him. I know that too, yet my heart can’t seem to catch up to that knowledge yet, because I still feel anxiety because the Lord hasn’t shown me as of yet what He’s calling me to do. I got convicted because of him, yet at the same time, the encounter brought me peace. As he said, the Lord had a plan why He made me eat there. I know that for my part, He taught me a lot of things. Hopefully, I also helped the waiter out in his faith walk by witnessing to him. Whichever case, it’s really just great how God works, to bring about a craving into something that’s for His glory.

The encounter also made me reflect how my relationship with God is these days. Whenever I need Him, I’d go and ask Him a question and then cut a Bible expecting an answer. Sometimes, I would receive one immediately, but sometimes, none of the verses on that spread strike me, so I continue cutting my Bible until I come upon one that seems to answer the question in my head, and then I’d be satisfied. In a way, that’s also like a craving: you’d get an itty-bitty piece of something that you feel you want to have. Once you get that taste, you’ll already be satisfied. However, maybe cravings aren’t really what we should have for His Word. Maybe we’re supposed to have a deep hunger for Him and His Word that will never quench. Cravings can be satisfied, but hopefully our hunger for the Lord would not be so paltry as to easily disappear once we get a taste of it. Rather, may the Word we receive from Him draw us into reading and accepting more and more, so that we would be filled with Him and not seek other things to fulfill this emptiness within us.

1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether we eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God

Lk 12:29 Don't keep worrying about having something to eat or drink. Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father knows what you need. But put God's work first, and these things will be yours as well.

And Then Came The Bride

The much-anticipated wedding (at least, in our families) finally happened last Friday, January 5, 2006.The ceremony was held at Santuario de San Jose in Greenhills, and the reception at one of the ballrooms in Edsa Shangri-la Hotel. We really won’t be able to say that everything went without a hitch (pardon the pun), because that’s really not what happened. Ask my sister, and she’ll probably tell you that everything that could go wrong went wrong in her wedding, even before the actual ceremony took place. Not only did the gowns come out not as planned (we had mutated obis in place of the real mccoy, my gown became magenta, for crying out loud!), most of these were also delayed in making. The band that was scheduled to perform almost broke up prior to the wedding, ultimately having one of the singers leave the group, threatening their date with us. The bridal car that was supposed to bring my sister and my parents disappeared off into some other dimension, making their arrival in the church late by almost an hour (at least I could say it was truly my sister’s wedding: it was late). The hotel rooms’ reservation also got somehow screwed up. Of course, I won’t forget my personal disaster – Lani the Klutz strikes again, tripping at the side of the hotel on my way from an errand. I’ve still got huge wounds on my left foot and my right knee as souvenirs). Everything was just really messed up, but it all turned out well in the end (at least, I think so. My sister’s mom-in-law, wedding planner, hotel coordinator, etc. would beg to differ). We got to see our cousins, uncles, aunts, and other relatives after quite some time, since a lot of them live outside the country. I also loved the sermon given during Mass. It goes something like, make sure your wedding day will be the happiest day in your significant other’s life. After that, however, you must ensure that the following days will be happier than the last. He (I’d really rather not name names) also said that your spouse will be the Cross that you will be carrying for the rest of your lives, and it got me thinking: Jesus bore His Cross as an act of love, and that is how married people should treat their union as. It should be seen not so much as a burden but as an act of love that you will renew, refill, refresh each day. Another thing would be that there is no other person who would be right for you than the one that the Lord gave to you, and that person is a testament of His love for you. He reiterated “right,” in that that person is really your GB (in not so many words), but s/he is not perfect. I guess that struck me also, because we’re always looking for the perfect person that we could be with (no matter what kind of relationship), and we end up forgetting that there is only one perfect being in the universe, and He is God.

It was sad that our other sister wasn’t able to attend (she’s had a few days’ break after she graduated from boot camp, but not enough so that she could fly here for the wedding). All of us pretty much missed her, especially since she’s the most psycho one among us all.:p A comedic thing that happened to me during the wedding was that during the single ladies’ game during the reception, I ended up literally running for the door when they were looking for participants. I told my sister beforehand that I didn’t want to join the game, but who can tell with a bunch of lunatic cousins present?

All in all, the wedding was great fun. I wasn’t able to take pictures because I got separated from P (my camera) for a, huge part of the evening (sniff, sniff). I’ll be able to upload more once my sister gives me a copy of the pics from the photographer. We’ve got some looney shots there.:p

Oh yeah, sorry for the rambling flow of this entry. I didn’t really have an organized mind right now.:p

My parting shots: The wedding ended, and let the marriage begin. May the Lord bless the couple’s union.

Also for the singles out there waiting for their GBs (God’s Bests): As what was said in the sermon, there is that person that the Lord has planned for each of us meant to live that kind of life, and that s/he would be a testament of His love for us. Let His glory be done in this part of our lives, as well as the others.

Click here for pictures. I'll be adding more as soon as I get the others.