Have you ever felt that God seemed so distant in your life? You start to question, why? You know that you go to church, you are in the ministry, and never miss a church service at church. Yet, when you are alone, you feel broken. Your prayers are empty and your time with the Lord is just out of duty. Not as sweet as it used to be. Those outward services that we do for the Lord are not proofs that we are okay inside. There are times that because we do those things, we think that we are still okay. But when we search deeper inside, we realize that we have drifted away from the Lord. It can happe ..read more

Life throws at many things. Often, the ones that caught us off-guard are the ones that bring scars and wound us deeply. Trials and challenges are part of life. We are aware of this reality. Yet, whenever we go through heartaches and pain because of our hardships, sometimes, we forget that our desired result must be to overcome every situation by the enabling power of God. The word “overcome” has been on my mind recently. This is what I got from a conversation with a friend who is encountering many unexpected situations while serving in the ministry and working as a missionary for the Lord. The ..read more

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercy never comes to an end . . .” This song keeps reminding me of God’s love and mercy, even for someone like me who is stubborn and self-dependent. These past weeks, I don’t think I could say that I have been a good Christian. I felt that my heart was so unfocused with so many cares of life. The thing is my response is simply to slack off. I failed to guard my heart. Indeed, there are times that no matter how long we have been a Christian and how knowledgeable we are of the Scripture, we still find ourselves swerving away from the right path ..read more

Last week, I decided to use my free time going to a book sale. It has been a long while since the last time I had indulge myself with books.  As I looked around, the smell of the books enticed me to flip some of those pages near me. I picked up one book. Then, another. There were so many books that I wanted to hoard, but I was mindful of the budget that I set prior to entering the store. I was about to pay for those books that I picked, but a small, white book seemingly peeping out of the tens of books captured my eye. Dirt and dust covered this little one. It had some scratches, though u ..read more

In the quietness of my spirit I have whispered, “Lord, I have to learn to hold things loosely.” We all have a fair share of what we hold tightly in this life. Either it is a relationship, material possession, career, money, power, dreams and aspirations, influence, or no matter what that is, we know that as a Christian, holding things tightly brings pain and hurt when that unexpected moment, God takes it away from us. As I looked back many years after, I have realized that God has taken many of the things that I held tightly in life. It was not only one but many. Relationship, dreams, career ..read more

As I sat on the edge of my bed, there was this sudden urge to just sit down and ponder for a while. How many years has it been? A little over six years, “that long, Ann!” I thank God because until now, I am still here. Those valleys and mountains that I walked on and climbed made me the person that I am now.  As I looked back and remembered those long years, there is one thing that I realized – there is a pain that transforms the soul. It was not a secret how my life turned upside down when I was diagnosed with malignant tumors in my thyroid. I thought that was the end of all.&n ..read more

Life throws at many things. Often, the ones that caught us off-guard are the ones that bring scars and wound us deeply. Trials and challenges are part of life. We are aware of this reality. Yet, whenever we go through heartaches and pain because of our hardships, sometimes, we forget that our desired result must be to overcome every situation by the enabling power of God. The word “overcome” has been on my mind recently. This is what I got from a conversation with a friend who is encountering many unexpected situations while serving in the ministry and working as a missionary for the Lord. The ..read more

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercy never comes to an end . . .” This song keeps reminding me of God’s love and mercy, even for someone like me who is stubborn and self-dependent. These past weeks, I don’t think I could say that I have been a good Christian. I felt that my heart was so unfocused with so many cares of life. The thing is my response is simply to slack off. I failed to guard my heart. Indeed, there are times that no matter how long we have been a Christian and how knowledgeable we are of the Scripture, we still find ourselves swerving away from the right path ..read more

Last week, I decided to use my free time going to a book sale. It has been a long while since the last time I had indulge myself with books.  As I looked around, the smell of the books enticed me to flip some of those pages near me. I picked up one book. Then, another. There were so many books that I wanted to hoard, but I was mindful of the budget that I set prior to entering the store. I was about to pay for those books that I picked, but a small, white book seemingly peeping out of the tens of books captured my eye. Dirt and dust covered this little one. It had some scratches, though u ..read more

In the quietness of my spirit I have whispered, “Lord, I have to learn to hold things loosely.” We all have a fair share of what we hold tightly in this life. Either it is a relationship, material possession, career, money, power, dreams and aspirations, influence, or no matter what that is, we know that as a Christian, holding things tightly brings pain and hurt when that unexpected moment, God takes it away from us. As I looked back many years after, I have realized that God has taken many of the things that I held tightly in life. It was not only one but many. Relationship, dreams, career ..read more