2019 Year-end Reflection

Few days to go before 2019 ends and I just can’t believe how this year is packed with God’s blessings and surprises.

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

God’s grace is indeed more than enough and through His power, He blessed us more than we’ve asked and imagined this year.

1. Line LND breakthrough – I’m amazed how God blessed my husband’s business this year. Last year was pruning, and this year is all about harvesting. God taught us to patiently wait for his perfect timing. He blessed the business abundantly with clients, opportunities, and resources.
2. Short–term assignment in Vietnam – It has been my dream to work abroad, learn different culture, and make an impact. At first I was puzzled why it happened now that I’m married. But God slowly showed again that he has better plan for me. I learned to be more independent (hello life skills), to take care of myself more (hello running, healthy food), and strengthened my relationship with Erwin (hello LDR, communication, and avoid temptation if we’re just bf/gf). Praise God for a mission accomplished and it’s only because of Him who guided me, surrounded me with supportive people to help me, and made all things possible.
3. Vietnam vacation of parents – It’s such a joy to see my parents to fly in an airplane and travel for pleasure abroad. Thank you Lord for the provision and giving them the strength to walk around and enjoy the beauty of your creation.
4. Brio Condo turnover – 5 years of waiting and it’s now finally turned over. It maybe small in size but it’s a wonderful reminder how big God is in providing all throughout those years of monthly payment and turnover fees. The place is in a prime place given the traffic and thankful for giving us that ‘convenience’ that we need, especially for my husband.
5. Baby Rapha – the most unexpected blessing this year. Erwin and I have been trying since last year, I even had check ups but those were not working. Then, I got pregnant during my assignment. Something we didn’t plan and imagine as Erwin and I thought to try again after my assignment. But God again has better plans and timing. This is the best surprise and our greatest blessing.

Thank you would never be enough to express our gratitude to the ONE who allowed us to experience all these blessings that we don’t deserve.

I’m excited on what God has in store for us for 2020!

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

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My First 10K Run

Let me TELL you my first 10K Run experience

Thankful for…

• Mandatory company run in Manulife. I have no choice but to participate 🙂
• People who are generous to share their tips and encouragement for someone who has sedentary lifestyle
• Enough time to prepare and discipline to wake up 4AM or 5AM in the morning
• Strength. There was a time I almost fainted in trying my first 5K practice.

Enjoyed…

• Gaining new friends in running
• Exploring the nature while running
• Musing while running

Learned…

• It’s never too late to start to be active
• To be patient on my pacing and not compare. It takes a process to be good at what you do!
• Music helps
• To have 20 min. run, 3-5 min. walk, and repeat
• Enjoy the race

Looking forward…

• Continue running
• Influence my husband to run too and do this together 🙂
• Join another run again, maybe try 16K or 21K

Hello SeptemBER!

Hello SeptemBER!

Glad to have a quiet time today in this lovely café near Vivo City.

The weather is starting to get cooler and I’m currently enjoying the light pour of rain.

 

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts in social media about many ways of welcoming the Christmas Season in Manila. Haha! Time flies indeed and we’re now almost at the end of the year. How am I in the past months?

 

Thought of TELL in sharing the highlights of what I’m Thankful for, Enjoying, Learning and Looking Forward.

Thankful for…

• 1st wedding anniversary with my husband
• Provision and career growth for Erwin. Grateful to witness how God works in miracle every single day to grow the business and help more clients
• Short-term assignment in Vietnam
• Recovery of my mother from her operation. Thankful for provision in all the expenses 
• Virtual Dgroup and having support system through sisters in Christ
• My first 10K run in Danang

Enjoying…

• Catching up with the husband after weeks/months apart
• Coffee conversations. Compared to my shy self before, I now enjoy listening, talking, and being with different people
• Coaching. Grateful how I’ve discovered my passion in coaching this year and I’m really enjoying it.
• Eating and trying Vietnamese food. Love vegetables and fruits!
• Running and exploring new places

Learning…

• To be more forgiving and bearing with one another in LOVE
• Embracing differences (personality, working style, background, etc.)
• To be comfortable being alone
• To be in the present and pray for God’s will every single day
• To have more empathy with Filipinos who are away with their family
• To be more grateful and contented

Looking forward…

• To accomplish my mission in my short-term assignment
• Rest and be with the husband in Hanoi this September
• Have more coffee and coaching sessions 
• Take my ACC certification before the year ends
• Have Christmas celebration in Dalat with Erwin
• Move in our new condo in Makati

 

Bear with one another in LOVE

This verse totally resonates with what I am experiencing lately. I noticed that I tend to easily get hurt, irritated, or judge other people by their words, thoughts, and actions. I realized that it’s becoming not healthy and I tend to focus on the wrong things they’ve done.

But God is amazing in speaking through His words that I have to accept the reality that we are all different (personalities, beliefs, backgrounds, etc.). God fearfully and wonderfully made us (Psalm 139:14). We are all imperfect and work in progress as we prepare for eternity.

This is indeed a humbling experience to me. I pray to be more patient and able to bear those differences in love. I pray to not magnify the 5% that’s not doing well, instead appreciate the 95% of goodness in every person and situation. I know with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

The Magic of Coaching

Last year, I’ve embarked my coaching journey. I had a privilege to undergo an intensive training, practice sessions and assessment certifications. Today, I now have 76 hours/100 hours to complete so I can take my next coaching certification.

I’m learning a lot in this journey such as:

1. Listen very well. Coaching taught me how to really listen. I don’t know about you, but whenever I talk to someone, I usually think of my next thoughts, questions, and words to say. Coaching taught me to clear my mind and (100%) focus only to my client — his words, body language, tone of voice, reactions, values, and the like. By doing this, it helps me to notice the patterns and ask more relevant questions. In parallel, the client would feel I’m really listening and would trust me more and share more.
2. Suspend judgment. Have you experienced talking to someone and at the back of your mind you’re already formulating hypothesis? Coaching helps me to suspend judgment and avoid assumptions. In coaching, you have the power to clarify and, if necessary, dig deeper (with client’s permission) to really understand the situation. The more you understood, the better questions you can ask and your client can further unearth the root cause of the problem and realize his potential solutions.
3. Contracting is key. This is similar with goal-setting concept that should be done at the beginning of a coaching session. You have to be crystal clear on what the client wants to achieve at the end of the session and have an agreement on this.
4. You don’t need to be an expert, in the field, to be a coach. Somebody told me that in coaching, the client is the master of his own world. This means that the client knows the answer. As a coach, you would need to facilitate the process of helping them discover the answers which are just within them. This is what the ‘unleashing the genius of people’ is all about. I’m honored to have opportunity to coach people who are from Actuary, Finance, Agency/Sales, Operations, HR background. They are even more senior and experienced than myself; and, I learned that as long as you facilitate well the process and give them the space to reflect, you can do it effectively.
5. Client – 80% Talking and Coach – 20% Asking. Did I just say space? In coaching, it’s not about being know-it-all and giving advices. It’s all about asking your client on their ‘own’ definition and thinking of their ‘own’ solutions. This is a usual trap that may hinder us in letting them reflect on their own. The space is all about giving them enough time to think (yes, be comfortable with silence) and a platform to talk. The coach is responsible in facilitating this thinking and talking process by asking the right question at the right time.
6. Trust the process. If you’ve read my previous post, you would know that I’m an impatient and control freak type of person. Whenever I have a presentation, I would write a flow, script, and all the necessary details as my guide. In coaching, it’s opposite. Yes, we have GROW Model as a coaching structure; however, you cannot religiously follow a script on what question you have to ask. Rather, you have to follow your client’s thoughts so you can ask the best questions.  All you have to do is to trust the coaching process and patiently have this journey with your client. 

I’m thankful for how coaching is developing not just my clients but also myself. I remember before, I’ve only thought that coaching is only about asking questions; but, as I immerse myself more into this kind of conversations, I realized how a seemingly simple process can bring a magical outcome that can help and add value to the client.

Things I love about running

I’m not an active person. I would usually prefer to sleep and enjoy the comfort of my bed. But when I was asked to join the company run (and had no choice), I suddenly stepped out of my comfort zone.

This week, I started running. Thankful for friends who provided tips and encouragement.  I was able to run thrice and I’m surprisingly enjoying it.

Things I like about running (so far):

1. It activates my energy for the whole day.
2. It gives me discipline to sleep and wake up early.
3. Quiet time before everything gets noisy and fast-paced.
4. Yes, I have a full-packed agenda for work; and so the more that I need exercise like this to be more energized, engaged, and healthier.

Lastly, running reminds me that I have to take care of my body to glorify God. Corinthians 6:19-20  (NIV) “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

I know I’m super novice on this and so I’m excited on what other things I’ll learn and discover in running. 🙂

 

New Chapter

And I’m back! 🙂

It’s been a year and I miss writing my reflections here.

Looking back, there were a lot of things happened that I’m really thankful for.

1. I got married to my wonderful husband and spiritual leader.
2. Experienced our dream, intimate wedding with our family and closest friends.
3. We moved to our 1st humble home together.
4. Visited Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Australia in our 1st year together.
5. Partnered hosting different events with my husband.
6. Discovered my love and passion in ‘coaching’ which is aligned with my mission of developing people.
7. Discipling lovely ladies in growing our faith and relationship with Christ.

and the list goes on… 🙂

I’m totally blessed on how God is moving and keeping his promise in Ephesians 3:20 (NIV) “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

Most of these were not planned. But God is amazing for immeasurably giving and providing far more than we could ever ask for or imagine.

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God made everything beautiful in its time.

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A year ago, I’ve experienced one of the happiest moments in my life. I got engaged with my boyfriend of 11 years. And until now, I’m still amazed how God made everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

I admit that I’m an impatient and control freak type of person. I love planning, either for work or for my personal life. I remember that 2-3 years ago, I feel I’m already ready to get married. Wala lang, just gut feel and maybe I started to fall into the trap of envy since most of my friends and batchmates are engaged and married.  Yes, the #StruggleIsReal!

I recall there were some people who even suggested me to propose instead, that it’s the ‘in’ thing now. But I’m always reminded to not put the timeline in my hands, instead to God.

There was also a time I was planning for an out-of-the-country vacation, I thought that he may use that opportunity to propose to me. But guess what, God didn’t allow my desperation to happen since we’re both financially broken. Haha!

Plenty of times during reunions, either relatives or friends, people were asking, “Ilang years na ba kayo? Bakit di pa kayo nagpapakasal?” To be honest, those added up to the pressure and insecurity in me.

BUT, God is faithful in his promises that He has beautiful plans for us. Looking back, He used those 2-3 years to silently work in our character.

Erwin bravely resigned from his corporate employer to pursue his passion and start his training company. He had more quality time with his family, had more time to attend in Sunday Service, joined his own discipleship group, and had his church ministry. [In hindsight, he is building relationship with God, obeying HIS plans for him, and preparing to be a soon-to-be-spiritual leader.]

As for me, God was working on my patience, strengthened faith on his plans, and learned to submit to Him  who controls everything. It was a journey of waiting, praying, and trusting God. Those 2-3 years were also the best moments of my life. I became closer with my parents and had our weekly #sundate (church, dinner date, groceries, etc.). Joined in a new company and the time allowed me to adjust. I’ve also started leading my own discipleship group. I also had a privilege to initiate a simple charity project called SPARK Up! to empower youth leaders.

Then, exactly a year ago, he finally proposed in the most unexpected, romantic way I’ve never imagined. That night, I felt nothing but God’s love — His wide, deep, high, abounding love, that yes I don’t deserve.

Had he proposed 2-3 years ago? Maybe we might have missed those blessings and the amazing opportunity to grow our faith and character as we start building our own family.

We’re still both a work in progress with so many things to improve on BUT one thing is for sure, we have a perfect God who has better plans for us, if we are just willing to patiently wait, have faith in His promises, and trust Him in every single aspect of our lives.

Perfect is boring!

I recently tried an addicting game called “My Talking Tom”. This game is like a virtual pet where you can feed, play, and nurture him to be a fully-grown cat.

After few weeks of playing, I noticed that Boo, my pet, has accidentally leveled up to 999 and has a money of 99.5M which I guess is the highest level that a player could have. Literally, my pet already has everything he needs — food, outfit, house, money, and many more. At first, I’ve enjoyed it but then I realized that there’s no more thrill in playing this game anymore because everything is already perfect and there’s no push needed to gain more points, coins, and levels.

This goes the same way with life. Imagine if everything is perfect,  there would be no more challenges to conquer and opportunity to stretch further, it would be too boring.

 

My Talking Tom

True Love Waits

This morning, my boyfriend and I supposedly be meeting by 6:30 am for a run.

I was honestly worried as he was not sending any sms nor answering any of my calls.

When this happens, I usually overreact and blame the person who committed to be early. Aggravating the fact that this was his idea and I just planned to stay home and finish an urgent work stuff.

But when I heard our theme song being played in a burger restaurant while waiting, all those feelings vanished. It reminded me that I love this guy and I forgive him. My sole purpose for coming was to make him happy and support him. In short, it’s not about me, it’s about him.

True love waits, literally. 🙂