In Search of the Light

I woke with a start. I put utmost importance to prayer as part of my daily routine, so grabbed my notebook and Bible and launched the Youversion app on my phone as a guide for my devotion. I started a 5-day devotional plan called What is God Doing? available on the Youversion app. Day 1 discussed on listening to God. It mentioned that truly there are a number of instances in the Bible where God revealed Himself to people through supernatural ways—burning bush, earthquake ang lightning, voice coming from heaven, among others. We don't always get to see events like these; instead, God usually presents Himself in a much softer voice, subtly, unknowingly even. But how do we hear a soft voice? We shut the noise of our surroundings. How do we hear God when we're spending more time on movies? How do we hear God when it's our deadlines that consume us? Or it's our tight finances that take place in our minds? I do not intend to invalidate these concerns. I do realize life...

University of the Philippines Los Baños. View from the Physical Sciences Building, my workplace. It’s been more than a month since I last updated this blog. I had just entered a new season in my life: I recently moved to Los Baños to work as a researcher at the University of the Philippines! That was not all though as I also submitted an application to be part of the Physics faculty starting next semester. There were seven applicants vying for two slots. This week, the decision on my application finally came: I was not considered to be part of the institute’s faculty. To me, this particular job application isn’t an ordinary one. It was not just some job posting that I came across online and decided to submit an application to. It was not simply a suggestion by anyone just to keep me going in my career. I prayed and waited for this. I wrestled with God for this. God knows how much I desire learning and helping other people learn through teaching. There was peace in my hea...

Think about those times people hurt you. Think about those times people talked behind your back, cheated on you, shamed you for something you had done wrongly. Think about those times when you had almost fought back but didn’t. You probably had wished you’d done the same thing to them so they know how it hurts. My friend, today I tell you that God knows how it hurts and how you endured the pain. And I tell you that He is pleased that you didn’t fight back. You just made room for Him to fight for you. Rev 3:9 “Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.” Let God do all the work. Surrender the battle to Him. I pray that while we are hurting, we understand that the best response is to pray for those who hurt us , just as how Jesus taught his disciples to pray for those who persecute them. I pray that we rest in the truth that God is pleased with us and that He will fight on our behalf. May we find the strength to continue to be g...

MS graduation. June 2019 Hi, you guys! My name is Ella and I live in the Philippines. I just turned 23 and I'm the eldest child in a family of four. I lay my life down for Jesus. I studied Physics and Materials Science and I delight in learning about science as a whole. I have a goal of travelling around the world both for the purpose of leisure and academic pursuit. I like blueberry cheesecakes, chai tea latte, and basically everything that is a product of my mother's culinary talent. This isn’t the first time I told myself that I want to write a blog. It started when my family travelled to Sagada for our annual year-end trip. That time, I had always held with me my camera which I received as a gift for my 18th birthday. I took lots of beautiful photos, blog-worthy ones, and so elated and fulfilled I was from the trip that as soon as we got home, I hurried to open my laptop and transferred the photos from the camera. The next day, I wrote a few lines and foun...