Category: Faith Walk

Reflections About God, His Word and His Work

Counting the Days, and Making the Days Count

Rhiza2 Comments

It’s the first day of November and day 231 of this lockdown.

Most of you probably stopped counting the days but, as someone who can count on one hand all the times she left the house in the past 8 months, I might as well just keep counting.

And so it has been 231 days figuring out this “new normal”. For our household, grocery runs are the only essential trips we accommodated in the entirety of this lockdown, and thankfully the only essential trips we need to take so far. And by “we” I mean mostly my husband. (Bless his heart!)

Mask up, face shield on, alcohol spray in one pocket, and cashless payment on standby so that the cashier doesn’t need to return change; and once back home, groceries to go through an elaborate disinfection process, and grocery runner to head straight to the bathroom to wash any hint of the virus away.

As trivial as grocery shopping used to be, we know that this fairly normal activity is not going back to the way it was, at least for the foreseeable future.

Just like most things in the world.

Needless to say, I am also totally conscious of the fact that my family and I have never been *physically* stuck in one place for this long.

Just like most of you.

As some parts of the world started opening up and loosening some restrictions, the Covid situation where we are have not really progressed, hence our decision to stay sheltered in place. Where we are, children below 15 are still not allowed to go out of the house. There really isn’t much of a choice.

That said, I do acknowledge our unique privilege—to have the kind of work that can be done remotely, to have established homeschooling long before Covid happened, and to have the means to stay home.

I am fully aware that others don’t have the same privilege and my heart goes out to those who have to physically battle it out there, to be in the frontlines of this pandemic, to commute under these circumstances, or to shift to distance learning in the middle of the school year, without much of a choice.

I want to acknowledge this privilege before I start writing about chasing dreams again (or whatever it is I’m prompted to publish on this space).

I don’t want to come out of my virtual cave and resume regular programming as if nothing happened; as if the bandaid has not been ripped off, lives are not lost, and the world is not wounded and hurting.

How does one chase dreams in this new normal anyway, and in the midst of anxiety and uncertainty?

How do we inspire others to keep going, to not give up on their dreams?

And how do we do this whilst being mindful of the reality that people out there are fighting battles that are unimaginable, risking their lives for others, navigating through grief and loss, and/or barely surviving to even think about dream-chasing?

Whilst I have all of these questions, it brings me a sense of comfort to know that I don’t need to have the answers. For the first time in all my years being on the internet, I don’t feel the need to apologise for turning off social media, leaving some messages unread, or ruthlessly curating my social feeds to block unnecessary noise.

In the same way, when I feel prompted to reach out or to speak up, I also don’t hesitate to send that random “Hello, how are you?“, or to retweet a Joe Biden ad or two (or okay maybe more).

2020 has been everything we didn’t ask for nor expect (and more!) and I am one to appreciate the collective understanding and the unspoken permission we have granted each other:

That we’re allowed to cope in ways we’re comfortable with and are necessary to get through this year.

Whether that means tuning out the noise so we can focus internally, loving on our families, and quietly making an impact in our smaller circles of influence—our children, the people we work with and do life with, the communities we support. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, turning to social media to connect, to lobby, to advocate, to make our voice heard. Whatever makes sense in the given moment.

I hope wherever you are today you are choosing to see 2020 for all the good that came out (and can come out) of it instead of dwelling on all the terrible things it exposed.

I hope that you’re taking steps towards healing, whatever healing means for you, one brave step at a time.

I hope that more than just counting the days, you are making each day—each moment, each social media post, each conversation, your vote, your voice—count.

And when all of this is over, I hope we will collectively remember 2020 as the year that God turned things around for the better and made us stronger, kinder, braver.

In the meantime, while many things are beyond our control, I hope you’re making the few ones still within your control, count.

It’s been a while. Thank you for sticking around.

Love,
Riz

If You Want to Go Far, Go Together

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“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

This African proverb has never been truer in my life till late. Oh, the pressure to take the fastest way to a destination as if you lose time and miss opportunities if you don’t.

I had the impression that getting married would make me accomplish a lot more things, and fast. Two heads are better than one, after all. And while this is true in some cases—having a guy around does come a little handy sometimes 😆—David and I also quickly realized that having another person in the journey slows things down a notch. (And then kids enter the picture and suddenly any notion of “fast” is out the window, but, let’s talk about how getting anywhere with kids is a major production another time, shall we?)

And so we learn. To navigate through the world’s pressure of doing things instantly.

To manage people’s expectations and opinions without letting them get into our heads. To take our time, to not feel guilt when we do. To sit still in coffee shops and resist the urge of getting our drinks to go. To take the scenic route, stop for pictures, tell another story, conquer another mountain, pour another cup. Slowly and surely.

It’s an art to master, without a doubt. But when “together” becomes second nature, you know there’s no way you’d rather go. Hand-in-hand you walk, mastering each other’s strides.

You’ll get there anyway, wherever that is, in God’s sweet time. But together, there’s no need to rush.

One Word 2018: An Invitation

Rhiza2 Comments

Hello! It’s been a while since the last post (sorry guys), but perhaps just like you, I want to start this new year right. And that’s exactly what this first post for 2018 is all about. ;)

Let’s talk about New Year’s Resolutions

I’m not going to deny. I love writing down New Year’s Resolutions—no matter how horrible I was at keeping them. I mean, how many of us make resolutions in January, only to forget all about them by February? ;)

Through all these years of making resolutions, I found out why it’s so hard to keep them to the end of the year: My list lacked focus and direction, and some resolutions were detached from my reality—my actual skills, circumstances, and seasons in life.

I realized that in order for my goals to actually make it through the end of the year, I need them to be purposeful, God-centric, and realistic. 

I also stopped calling them “New Year’s Resolutions” and started calling them “faith goals”. I’ve come to believe that there’s just no way I could accomplish anything without an abundance of grace and faith.

Over time I’ve become better at knowing and listing down my faith goals. More purposeful, more realistic, more strategic. And one thing I’ve proven to be very effective is to sum up all these faith goals into a single word that will guide me through the entire year.

I’ve been doing this for 4 years now (wow, it’s been a while!), and it’s always good looking back to those years and being able to associate milestones to the One Word I chose for a specific year. In 2014, my one word is Passion; in 2015, Pursue; in 2016, Remain; and in 2017, Seek. I will share my word for 2018 in a separate post. ;)

One Word 2018

There are many e-courses, tools, and online communities that do this little activity. Just search in Google to see for yourself!

But ever since I started doing this in 2014, I’ve always tried to bring this one closer to home.

Although the One Word journey is very personal in nature, I have loved (and benefited from) doing it with a small group of friends and prayer partners. It makes the experience more fun, but more importantly, it brings an element of accountability and  community to the process.

When we launched Pursuit Manila, the One Word excercise is our very first ice breaker activity. 16 women who were strangers to each other prior to the event, bonded pretty quickly through the sharing of our one words, life stories, and dreams.

Every year since then, I would share with a handful of people what my One Word is for the year and the process that went with choosing it. And every single year I would marvel at how powerful a single word can be, and how it comes alive in my daily walk with God.

Last week, during a post-holiday get together with my Pursuit friends, we picked and shared with each other our One Word for 2018.

As always I went home from that gathering feeling recharged and ready to march onto 2018 with this one word as my banner.

In fact, I was so inspired from our little get-together that I went home and started typing away on my computer to the wee hours of the night. The result is this handy little guide that will help you in choosing your own One Word for 2018 based from your goals and dreams.

The worksheet is FREE! All you need is to sign up and your free printable PDF file will be on its way to your email right away. ;)

[su_button url=”https://chasingdreams.net/one-word-2018/” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#333333″ size=”7″ center=”yes” radius=”0″]JOIN THE ONE WORD 2018 CHALLENGE![/su_button]

One Word 2018 x Lettergram

As you see in the photos above, we have loved sharing our One Words through our mini lettergrams*! So I thought I’d offer a PRO version of the One Word 2018 challenge which includes a mini lettergram (free shipping for PH residents), and a monthly email newsletter you will receive throughout the year with prompts that will help you stay on course.

If this is something you think you’ll find value from, just click on the button below:

This item is sold out.

*Full disclosure, Lettergram is a passion project my husband and I soft launched in September last year. It’s been quite a blast so far, and we have loved being in the business of letters and words. <3 Visit the Lettergram website to see our collection of retro-style felt letter boards. CLICK HERE.

A Year of Seeking and Finding

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I had to catch my breath. 2017 was like running an invisible marathon—I mean, wasn’t that the fastest year ever? It sure felt that way to me.

Today, in tradition of processing the past year, here’s me wrapping up 2017 in a nice little bow. Also in tradition of cataloging each year by its corresponding One Word, here it is for 2017: SEEK.

Year 2017 in One Word: Seek

When 2017 started, I was obsessed (for lack of a better word) with seeking the answer to the question “what’s next, Lord?” Continue reading “A Year of Seeking and Finding” →

A Year of Remaining and Being Still

Rhiza4 Comments

Everything about 2016 for me felt like a couple of days lagged, just like this post. We’re now on the 7th day of 2017 but here I am, still trying to make sense out of the year that was.

The truth is, I slowed down a lot in 2016 and it wasn’t the good kind of slowing down. I slowed down mostly out of helplessness, because I couldn’t go faster even when I tried so hard. I reluctantly let go of commitments, unintentionally stopped publishing blog posts, regretfully turned down projects mid-way, and fought through quite possibly my worst creative drought ever.

When I chose the word remain as my one word for 2016, I had a feeling that God would really strip me down to the end of my strength and willpower. He knows well how hard it is for me to “remain” that he made it possible by not giving me a choice.

to remain means:
to be left when the other parts are gone or have been used;
to stay in the same place or with the same person;
to stay after others have gone;
to continue unchanged;
to stay behind;

In all honesty, 2016 did feel a bit.. lonely

First off, it literally made me feel left behind.

It started with our yaya (nanny) leaving us in May to go back to her family. We had her for 3 years and although we’ve somewhat adjusted to a new yaya-less routine, we’ve carried the weight of her absence for sure.

It completely changed our family dynamics, placing me in the kitchen and laundromat a lot more than usual, and taking away a lot of hours from the routine we thought we already had figured out.

And then it was my brother (and his wife)’s turn to relocate for some work assignment abroad, officially adding to the list of people in my life who have gone away.

My brother’s always been a constant character in my life, and even though he’s still very much present (thank you, Internet!), his sudden physical absence has been giving me all sorts of feels.

My husband and I feel a sense of homesickness everywhere we go, like we don’t belong anywhere. People are migrating, colleagues are pursuing dream jobs, friends are launching projects and working together and going places, and many times I find myself wondering, what, Lord, is next for us? 

I just want to keep moving. I want to take the next flight to somewhere. Launch a new project. Do the next big thing. Chase the next big dream.

Instead, God would gently tell me, no, not yet, stay put, stand still. 

Remain.

He stripped me down to the barest minimum—just Him, my husband, the twins, house chores, work, rinse, repeat—and taught me what it’s like to remain in Him.

And while that sounds all romantic and mushy typed out, the process was really mostly.. messy.

I had to learn to surrender most all of what’s written on my planner, the daily to-do lists, the things I should be doing “by this time”, the projects and trips I was going to fill up 2016 with—basically everything I’ve plotted on the imaginary gantt chart of my life.

In the process, I had to learn to confidently say no, to let go, and to stand my ground even to the point of disappointing people, being judged, getting blocked off people’s lives and feeling like an outcast.

It was painful but it was necessary. It involved a lot of crying and doubting and picking broken pieces of myself. It was frustrating, and messy, and beautiful and humbling, all at the same time.

In fact, I’m still sitting right in the middle of that mess right now, still learning to embrace the struggle, still learning to acknowledge that none of this is up to me.

I’ve never felt more restless and rested, to be honest.

There’s a lot of peace in knowing that there’s nothing I could have done to save that client, or to earn more money, or to speed up the process, or to make them understand and accept me.

My husband and I are reminded time and time again that as long as we live according to God’s Word and follow His lead, everything is under His prerogative. It doesn’t matter how we feel or how bad it looks sometimes, He is working things out. And that simple truth brings me the strength, contentment, and joy that I so badly need.

The joy is in the process

In my selfishness and desperation, I went into 2016 wanting that joy that was promised in John 15:11.

7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 

What God taught me loud and clear is that, I don’t need to reach the finish line to experience joy. The joy is right here, in the process, right in the mess of it all.

In hindsight, amidst the constant desire for bigger things, I’ve never enjoyed the little things more. To say that I have immensely loved and enjoyed this precious season with my family is an understatement. Watching the girls become their own unique selves, my husband and I enjoying jobs we get to do from the confines of home, growing together in love and in faith, seeking God’s purpose for our family together. You know, the good stuff.

We’ve grown deeper roots, learned new perspectives, and gained this new found joy—the kind that shines through the loneliest hours and unfair criticisms and unanswered questions.

That was a beautiful year of remaining, indeed.

Thank you, Father, for 2016.

November was Beautiful, As Always

Rhiza1 Comment

I don’t like not blogging in November. Which explains why I’m here now, thinking about November on the first day of December, waxing poetic about my most favorite month that has just gone by.

I don’t know when November started to become a favorite. It must have been in 2008 when I went to Sydney and fell in love at first sight. Or maybe it was New York in 2010. Pretty sure a lot of it has to do with taking home our daughters from the hospital on a November morning and being first time parents in 2012.

November for us came with beautiful milestones, but more than that, I love it for what it represents.

The month starts with All Souls’ Day and ends with Thanksgiving. It’s the month to look back and remember the lives of those who went ahead of us, and to be thankful for the life we now live. It’s the celebration of the past and the present. It begins with bittersweet memories and ends in joyful celebrations; with mourning and then dancing. 

It’s the season of gratitude and rejoicing. Of leaves turning, and winds shifting, and wardrobes changing.

November is like, the calm before the storm.

I think God made Novembers to allow us to breathe before the holiday rush takes over the malls, the roads, our homes. It’s a time of transitions and courageous pursuits, of leaps of faith and quiet reflections.

It’s the last chapter before the last chapter, where the story wraps up and culminates for the big finale. It’s quite an important month, really, but most of us won’t know it until it’s over.

So I’m taking a moment today to have one last deep breath before diving in to December. Oh how time flies.

Thank you, sweet November, for all the sweet moments amidst the tough ones, and for ushering us to December beautifully. We shall see you again next year.