My First Time To SPEAK

I’m a Nutrition Instructor, I’m not afraid of talking in front of my Nursing students.
I’m a Sunday School Teacher, I can deliver well my outline and I can even conduct a seminar about CLASS 301 to the whole church congregation.
I’m a Youth Leader, I can spontaneously exhort in our youth gatherings.
I’m a Small Group Leader, I can explain biblical concepts to my SG bros and sisses.
I’m a Song Leader, I can lead the congregation (even the whole Tanauan City alliance of Christians) for 30 minutes or so in praise & worship.

But I’m not a preacher.

when i was told, "Ikaw speaker sa Sunday," my initial reaction, sinabunutan ko sarili ko! I told my dad, I know I can do a talk in front of the congregation, I’ve done it before, when we had a church-wide workshop on Spiritual Gifts Inventory. But this one is not a workshop. It’s a sermon that I’m gonna be doing. hello?! sermon?! I know I’m confident I can do the talking but I wasn’t confident because I didn’t know what to say - i’m not yet an experienced person. wala pa kong alam sa buhay! But my dad just said, "Talk about your SHAPE. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit." YEAH, and I shut up.

Prior to this conversation, nakipag-bargain ako kay God.

1.) While waiting for a bus, kulimlim, tapos umambon. "God, hindi ako makakapagSpeak, mukhang masstranded ako."
- Biglang tumila ulan; the sky became clear.

2.) Riding the bus, nakatayo. "God, ayoko magspeak kasi wala pa po akong tulog."
- Someone offered a seat. no excuse. makakatulog na ‘ko during the travel.

3.) "God, pa’no nman ako magsspeak, wala naman akong na-prepare. [melan attack] bakit nman first time ko mag-speak eh wala man lang preparations, walang fasting, etc.
- Biglang nagsalita mommy ko, "may binabasa kang book a? (huh? naalala ng mommy ung book? kelan pa?)

4.) si kuya Erick na lang (our Missions Head) or si nanay Nita (Admin)
- [daddy] "eh kung sila ang sinabi sken ng Lord, sila kakausapin ko"
ano raw?! sinabi ng Lord?!

5.) "God, pag 25 na ako…" >>> ang logic, kasi, before ako mag-birthday, ‘twud be my regularization sa work. so, para sure na na-test ko talaga faithfulness ni God.
- [God speaking] "at ano? wala ka talagang faith? tingin mo hindi kita kayang i-regular sa work?"

6.) hmmm… God, ano ‘to? joke? isa pa! Wala pa po kaming bahay, sana mag-reply na ung sa room for rent at pumayag na 1 month deposit na lang.
- no reply. it’s as if God was saying, "sinusubukan mo ba ko? bket di ka muna sumunod?"

7.) sa Music Ministry Practice, ung head namin ang nag-lead ng prayer/devotion (which he never did). hmmm, kuya, does that mean, you’re going to take the leadership and obey God from now on?

- END OF LIST -

wala na ‘ko magawa. baka mamya biglang may malaking isda akong makasalubong at kainin ako. besides, i needed to do the outline for the sermon coz it’s already 9pm. whew! ’twas difficult and i changed topic thrice. haha… but when i was already desperate, God said, "just share your testimony." That meant share my stubborness! Share my murmuring! and share how God changed my heart to obey Him, then, His blessing followed. ah… i see!

Sunday morning… I was blessed even as i was doing the talk, kasi si God, kinakausap Nya din ako, and He was just reminding me things that I could just say "oo nga noh? galing mo God!"

After the service… I was more blessed to hear that while those people were staring at me during the service, one by one, they were telling me, God spoke to them, their tears were falling, it hit them, so on and so forth.

sigh… no great preparations but actually, the 3 years of God dealing with me about my prayer, was already His preparation for me. So that on June 8, 2008, i’ll have something to share to the church congregation.

(Thanks pa rin sa book ni Max Lucado, it helped me a lot in my first sermon)

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nag-reply nga pala ung sa room for rent. hahaha! di ko na naalala un. nagReply sya don sa time na i was thinking na humanap na ng ibang bahay.

The Pearl Of Letting Go

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five.  Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.
 
"Oh mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?"
 
Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face.
 
"A dollar ninety-five.  That’s almost $2.00. If you really want them, I’ll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself.  Your birthday’s only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."
 
As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last, she had enough money to buy the necklace.
 
Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath.  Mother said that if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
 
Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny,
 
"Do you love me?"
 
"Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you."
 
"Then give me your pearls."
 
"Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She’s my very favorite."
 
"That’s okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night." And, he brushed her cheek with a kiss.
 
About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"
 
"Daddy, you know I love you."
 
"Then give me your pearls."
 
"Oh Daddy, not my pearls.  But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."
 
"That’s okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you."  And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.
 
A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.
 
"What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?"
 
Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said,
 
"Here, daddy, this is for you."  
 
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket, pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls, and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure. 
 

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So it is, with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures. Isn’t God good? Are you holding onto things that God wants you to let go of?
 
Are you holding on to harmful or unnecessary partners, relationships, habits and activities that you have come so attached to that it seems impossible to let go? Sometimes it is so hard to see what is in the other hand but do believe this one thing. God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.

[author unknown]