The God Test in Filipino

      Sharing the Gospel to the older generation has been so close to my heart. I lost Inang ( my great grandmother) last year and what kept my heart from being  shattered is the opportunity to share the Gospel to her while she's still alive.  The Gospel is the power of God to save and  I believe and I know that I'll see, hug and call out "INANGGGG" again in heaven.

 Speaking of grandmothers, I visited my friend's house last weekend and met her grandmother. When I'm about to go home, it broke my heart when she said, "Balik ka ulit dito hah? Sa burol ko." In my mind,  I'm screaming "Please no, Lola!!! Hear and believe the Gospel first!!!" 

       
        So, gusto mo rin ibahagi ang mabuting balita (good news / gospel)  sa Lola , Lolo,  Nanay, Tatay, Tita, Tito o sa mga malayo mong kamag-anak gamit ang mga tanong sa "The God Test" ni Ptr. Rice Brooks? Kaya lang medyo challenging I- communicate kay Lola ang mga English na questions di ba?  Ewan. Ako lang ba ang nahihirapan?  Haha. Anyway, I just want to share the questions I asked Nanay Lydia (my Lola and Inang's daughter)  when I shared the Gospel to her some months ago using Side B of The God Test. This might make you laugh or raise your eyebrow, but more than that,  I hope this will  help and inspire you to reach out to the generation ahead of us.

Sample spiel to start (of course it depends on your relationship with them):

"Lola, may mga tanong lang po ako tungkol po sa pananampalataya nyo, ok lang po ba? "

1. Do you believe in God?  

    Naniniwala po ba kayo sa Diyos? 

2.  How would you describe God? 

   Maaari mo bang ilarawan ang Diyos? 

3. What does God expect of us? 

   Ano po ang inaasahan sa atin ng Diyos? 

4. How are you meeting those expectations? Scale 1 -10

(Sobrang hirap nito, promise! Hahahaha)

 Sa one to ten po, gaano nyo po naisasabuhay ang mga ito? One po..hindi nyo talaga naisasabuhay , Ten po..naisasabuhay nyo po talaga...

(Give me an alternative way! Hahaha! HKRB! Miraculously, naintindihan naman ni Lola, haha) 

5. Do you believe in Heaven? 

     Naniniwala ka po ba na mayroong Langit? 

6. Does everyone go? 

     Lahat po ba ng tao ay makakapunta sa langit?

7. Do you believe you will go to heaven? 

Naniniwala ka po ba na makakapunta ka sa langit? 

8.  Why or why not? 

Bakit po? Bakit po hindi? 

9. Would you like to know what the Bible says about these questions? 

Gusto nyo po ba malaman ang mga sagot sa mga tanong na ito ayon sa Bibliya? 

(I'm so excited for this moment!!! Go go go!!! Share the Gospel!!!!) 

10. Are you willing to follow Jesus and trust Him with your life? 

Gusto nyo po bang tanggapin si  Hesus bilang  Panginoon at  Tagapagligtas  at ipagkatiwala ang inyong buhay sa Kanya?

(Then lead her in a prayer and pray for her!)

Yes! Congratulations! You just shared the greatest love story sa iyong pinakamamahal  na Lola , Lolo,  Nanay, Tatay, Tita, Tito!!! I'm rejoicing with you! I pray that they'll be discipled as well. 

This is not official and  not even professional translation (obviously). I'm not sure din if may Filipino version na sa The God Test App. If meron na, then cool, right? But then if you have a better translation  or ideas please do PM me on Facebook, comment below or just do it your way. :) 

To know and learn  more how about The God Test, please do visit their website here:  http://www.thegodtest.org/

If you want to answer The God Test yourself,  just message me or approach me! I'll gladly share to you the great message of all. 

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes--the Jew first and also the Gentile. Romans 1:16 NLT

Go. Kaya mo yan. Kaya natin to. Be courageous!! Family Salvation di ba? :" )

So, you also want to take Education Units in UP?

You suddenly want to be a Teacher but you have a different undergrad course? Maybe taking Teaching/ Educ units is for you! To take LET (Licensure Exam for Teachers) , 18 teaching/ educ units is required. 

Some of my friends and church-mates asked how to take Educ units in UP thus, I decided to post what I know about it. 

Here's the info that I got from the UP College of Education Website:

NON-DEGREE CERTIFICATION IN PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION (CPE)

Requirements:

1) a Bachelor’s degree

2) General Weighted Average (GWA) of at least 2.25

3) Official Transcript of Records (original and one [1] photocopy)

4) NSO-issued Birth Certificate

5) NSO-issued Marriage Contract (original and one[1] photocopy) for married female applicants

6) Three (3) copies of 2×2 colored pictures (any background color)

7) PhP 700.00 application fee (for Filipino applicants) or US$ 30 (for foreign applicants) to be paid at the University Cashier, UP Diliman through Trust Fund No. 9786-600-499-450

8) Medical Certificate issued by the University Health Service (upon admission to CPE)

All documents must be submitted in a long folder.



FOR INQUIRIES, please contact:
The College Secretary
Tel. Nos. (632) 9207815, 9818500 local 2807/2817
Email: updeduc.osec@yahoo.com

Source: http://educ.upd.edu.ph/certificate-in-professional-education/    (as of June 22, 2017) 

When you go to the office of college secretary, they'll give you a leaflet about CPE as well. 

After submitting the requirements, I had an essay exam and waited for two months to know the result. They will send an e-mail or a text message. :") For other questions,please do contact the office of the College Secretary.

 I hope this helped you somehow for your #roadtoUP. :") 

For my own #roadtoUP you can read my post here: Little Girl's Dream: UP 

I'll be forever grateful to Teacher Camille for helping me in this journey. Hi Cams! You're a blessing! 

Why do I love sunflowers?

They're not that beautiful.

Honestly, it wasn't natural for me to love sunflowers. I didn't find it appealing at first. Most especially their big brown/black center part called seed head (I hope I'm right).  Some years ago, I think  roses and tulips are way better. But then, though the sunflowers are not that beautiful, there's something about them that's so charming and I fell for them over time. I can't resist the facts that  they stand tall and confident no matter how they look. They remind me of being  secured of who you are and that you don't need to compare yourself to the other beautiful flowers/people around you. You have your own kind of beauty.  Yes, they're not that beautiful, but they are secured and that makes them beautiful.

They're yellow.

Some sunflowers could have a touch of red or orange but they're mostly yellow right?  And I love yellow. The color is so optimistic. You just always want to look at the brighter side of things. There would always be hope.

They even grow in a challenging season.

In the University of the Philippines, it's been a  tradition to have sunflowers every graduation season. It gives hope to the graduating students and it's as iconic as the UP's Sablay.  The tradition was threatened though because of the calendar shift in the university. The graduation season now falls in a rainy season. But then, we're grateful that the sunflowers managed to stay and we're still enjoying them!

Despite some challenges, the sunflowers teach us to just continue blooming and growing. We were not promised a storm-free life but a storm-proof life in Christ.

They're a source of nourishment for others.

Last Saturday was the fourth time that I saw the sunflowers in UP and I noticed the bees that stay in the disk/ seed head. According to an article, "Sunflowers grow with everything they have only to give away what they spent so much time growing. They are selfless." Embrace that it is always better to give than to receive.  Let's live to love and to be a blessing to the people around us.


They look towards the sun.

This is actually my favorite reason why I love sunflowers. They encourages me as they look to the sun. As for me, I will look to the Son. I will just look to Jesus and by His grace turn my back on the dark. I will live, love, bloom, grow and stand looking  to Jesus.  It reminds me of the verse Hebrews 12:2 which says ".. fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."


They have a lot of seeds.

When I think of seeds, the Word of God came to mind. In one of Jesus' parable which is The parable of the sower, He said "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God's word." Luke 8:11

Over the years, they are a lot of seeds that has been planted in my heart through my quiet time or through my leaders. My prayer is that for the seeds in me to just grow. And as I plant the seeds/ Word to the people around me, the desire is still the same .. for it to grow, stand, shine and continue to multiply. I'm grateful though that growth is God's work.

"It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow. " 1 Corinthians 3:7

"When the sunflower is done blooming, the seeds fall to the ground to wait til next spring, when they'll be new sunflowers."

PS. It was really awesome to stare and enjoy the sunflowers with friends/sisters last Saturday. It was really wonderful  to pray with them while walking along the flowers!!  Hi Gabby and Arl! 

What a woman (or a man) needs to be in every season

"Healthy marriages are comprised of individuals who find their security and significance in Christ."

Last Tuesday, during our Leadership 113 class, we learned about the course "Marriage and Family". The objectives of the course was for us to grasp the purpose of marriage, family and parenting, to be encouraged to value  and guard marriage and family and to be inspired to have a Christ-centered life, marriage and family.

I know some of my classmates who were so excited for this and I wouldn't exempt myself. You ought to know that I'm so futuristic and I love things that would just prepare me for the future. Ever since I got the vision of having a Christ-centered marriage and family, I just can't help but be excited.

I learned A LOT. But what struck me the most is the great  difference of having Christ  in a relationship. It'll be really awesome if all couples would realize this. Allow me to share this to you, my single or married friend. I hope I could explain it well. :)

"Healthy marriages are comprised of individuals who find their security and significance in Christ."

Most, if not all, man is always after having that sense significance. They want to be valued and respected. While for a woman, she is always after having the sense of security. She needs to be secured that she is loved and accepted. If Jesus is not in the picture, they will find their significance and security in other places. For single people, it could be from their crush, career, savings,  family etc. but for those who are in a relationship,  most probably from their

boyfriend/girlfriend,husband/wife. 

During my B. C. (Before Christ) times, I was the expert in being insecure. I think I was the most insecure girl that you would know. I based my significance and security in my relatives, teachers, classmates and yes, even  crushes. No wonder I felt so unloved, ugly, not good enough, insignificant, nothing (Bakit kasi hindi ka crush ng crush mo di ba? hahaha). Indeed,  insecurity could be so dangerous  and it really distorted  the identity that God has given me.

According to our teacher, this is how it would look like when a woman start to feel insecure: 

She will fail to appreciate her husband. She will start magnifying the things that she sees is wrong more than his effort. When that happens, the husband will start to feel insignificant. He will start communicating less to a nagging wife. He will choose to watch NBA  all day  or go out with friends more that facing her. Then the wife's insecurity will just grow and grow, she will nag and nag, and the husband will continue to feel more insignificant until they just grow apart.

Here' s the beautiful thing  though when you have Christ as the center of your marriage:  As a woman, when you find your security in Christ alone, no matter how your husband fail or fall short in making you feel loved and accepted, you will always have that source of love, source of acceptance and source of security. It'll just overflow and you will just appreciate your husband's effort and choose to respect and talk to him in a good way. In the same way with man, when you find your significance in Christ alone, no matter how your wife or your job fail or fall short in making your feel significant,  you will always have the source.

After learning that, I realized the importance of being secured in every season. If ngayong season palang insecure na ako at hindi na si Jesus ang source ng security ko, paano na lang in the next season di ba? Pero more than as a preparation for the next season, this is in the first place what we're called to be in Christ.  If you truly understood His unconditional, eternal love, you'll be SECURED in every season.

So woman, what do you need to be in every season?  Be SECURED.

So man, what  do you need to know in every season?  You are SIGNIFICANT.

Praying for your Christ- centered and healthy marriage! :)

PS.  MOG, you are significant and by His grace,  I'll always choose to be secured in every moment. ;")

First Semester at UP

Hi! Good morning! I just got my grade from one of my subjects this sem (EDTEG - Foundations of teaching in the Early Grades) some minutes ago and I'm just so elated. Yes, my grades are finally complete. Look:

So it dawned on me. My first semester in the dream university is over.

My heart still breaks that I can't say that it was a very smooth, easy- going , so "sisiw" and purely God- honoring  5 months. Can I just confess? During those months, it was like I was slapped in the face with the fact that I'm so weak, so limited and  not good enough. I even became that group mate that people would usually hate. That group mate who can't contribute much, can't say much. I felt  desperate, useless, brainless and I honestly hated myself. I was too worried about my testimony (well, who wouldn't?). I felt so ashamed. At times, I think I deserve to be stoned to death. And countless times crying out to Daddy God to have mercy on me because I am such a sinner. Why is this happening? It shouldn't be, right?. I felt messy, so imperfect (surprise,surprise!)...emotions all over the place.

Through these moments though, I was in awe again of how God reminded me that He is not over with me yet. He is still molding me toward becoming the woman that He wants me to be. He told me that I have hope, that I still have hope  and that is Him alone. Right now, I can only stand and hope again because of Jesus. Pwede pa akong magbago. Sa totoo lang, hindi ko alam kung saan ako pupulutin or how I could go on in life without Him. Grabe noh? Paano nagawa ni Lord mahalin ang isang kagaya ko? Na yakapin ang isang napakaruming kagaya ko? Grabeng pagmamahal and I believe that is the great love that will continue to change me for the better. I know He doesn't want me to be like this forever so I am offering myself mercy.All I could do is ask for forgiveness and slowly, bitterly forgive myself."...falling is painful. But it also teaches" - Rica Peralejo

I learned and experience a lot from the erstwhile sem not just from that failure ) Hehe. Let me share the lighter and brighter ones!

• I learned that  Values Education is not an easy subject and shouldn't be taken for granted. It is very important for the teachers to be really equipped in teaching this.Decision -making and critical thinking skills are vital for the students. 
• "Hindi lang laro ang laro" just like how Johnson's ad puts it.  In playing, children can learn a lot. That's one of the things  that I learned when I took EDTEG.  It was such a wonderful subject that I just grew my love and appreciation  for children. I also thought for a while of becoming a pre-school teacher! And then I also became  a fond of pre-school / kindergarten teachers. I think they're awesome.  I would smile every time I would see children playing Lego and blocks! I would think that they're developing their fine motor skills. While when they are running around, I would think that they are developing their gross motor skills. It's not enough pala that a child can recite 1-10. It must be checked if they can really count / if they have what they call "number sense". When you ask a child to give you five apples, will he be able to give it? When I see a two year-old using a smartphone or tablet, I will feel sad knowing that her body is still developing and it might affect her posture in the future! It breaks my heart too when parents doesn't care if their children are watching a show with SPG rating or if they just let them watch in YouTube without any supervision! I think children will have a greater effect on me now. 
• It's possible for a Kindergarten class to be so behaved! I love UPIS (University of the Philippines Integrated School) ! Galing! 
• My classmates taught me about https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/ !!It's really helpful when we did our research paper and when I did my case study! You don't have to worry if  what you're doing is saved or not!  I love it. I think it's such a blessing! Speaking of case study, the deadline for that was last May 25 at 11:59 PM (obviously).  I passed mine at 11:57! I failed to proof read and I really regret it. Thus,  I also learned that no matter what, proof read!!! 
• I - CC ang mga ka groupmates!!!
• APA format for references!!
• The real Oble is in the library! Not the one displayed in the university avenue! 
• I can walk from shopping center to Eduk. 
• I can walk from Eduk to OUR. 
• Blue book is a must. 
• Palma hall is AS!!!
• Hotdog (should be Tender Juicy)on stick and dynamite are the best. I'm so grateful that kilala na ako ni Ateng binibilhan ko. hehe.
• The library could be a home. 
• Wi-fi. :) 
• Laptop is helpful (praying for one. Mag Amen ka. :))
• "Ganito tayo sa UP, we do research and we publish it!" - Prof. Muega
• "Dapat lagi kayong research mode". - Prof. Alcazar  

Above all the learnings is the fact that my God is my Father. He provides and He makes miracles like from the time that  I don't have any slot nor professors at first,  then when  I can't attend our observation day,  our presentation time (walang nag ask ng questions, haha!), reporting  up to Grades Viewing. I know it's only because of Him. 

 Kahit hindi talaga sya perfect na sem and it's nothing much as an offering, Lord.   I still want to offer it to You. Thank You so much Dad!!!Hindi mo ako binigyan ng deserve ko! No shadow of hope have I in anything I've done. It's all by Your mercy and grace. In Jesus' Name. Amen. 

Let's do better next sem! :)

PS. I'm eternally grateful to my prayer partners who prayed for me in this season! Hi to my Lola Lydia, VFs, Cherry blossoms girls / Ka - Vg sa office, Ate Jovie, Heart , Jhesie and most especially, Pauleen my loves! Tuesday nights are so wonderful because of your faith and prayers for me! I love you all girls!