Noah still had to build the ark. Peter still had to step out of the boat. The woman with the issue of blood still had to press through the crowd. And I think that’s why the book of James says “faith without works is dead.”
Because real faith has movement behind it. Many people pray for things they’re not preparing for wanting a better life but not changing their habits, praying for opportunities but moving in fear, asking God for overflow but refusing to take action. At some point you have to move like you believe what you prayed for is possible. Faith isn’t just saying “God got me.” Faith moves. Faith applies. Faith prepares. Faith gets up and tries again.
Honestly, many of us were taught to only wait on God, not partner with Him. That changed my perspective, because sometimes the very thing you’re praying for is waiting on your movement too. Not perfection. Just movement. So if God gave you the vision, apply for it. Start it. Post it. Create it. Go to the gym. Send the email. Take the step.
Faith works best when you do too.
May you never forget that when it was hard, and you were overwhelmed, and felt afraid, and walked alone, and felt invisible, and didn't have the answers, and couldn't see the way, and wanted to give up, you kept going.
To the mothers who are struggling ❤️🩹
To those fighting battles mentally, emotionally, financially, or physically… the ones trying your absolute best while barely holding the pieces together… you are not failing. Productivity and perfection are not the measures of a good mother, your persistence is. It is okay to be tired and it is okay to ask for help when the burden feels too heavy to carry. Your children see your heart, and to them, you are more than enough exactly as you are.
A mother is the constant in a world of variables, always adding love without ever needing a reason.
She is the common denominator who keeps the family whole, no matter how many fractions life tries to create.
She adds joy and subtracts fears, multiplying the strength of every heart she touches.
She is the integral part of our lives, summing up the tiny moments to create a beautiful whole.
Happy Mothers Day to every mother💐.
Happy Mother’s Day to the women carrying motherhood in ways the world does not always recognize. Today is for the quiet strength, the invisible tears, and the love that exists outside of a traditional frame. Whether your journey has been a straight path or a winding road, your heart deserves to be honored. 🫂
The most underrated act of kindness is simply letting people be. Let them mispronounce a word, talk too much about a show they love, or get excited about something you don't quite understand. Everyone has something that lights them up, let them shine, even if it's not your thing.
Some nights, I don’t even sleep. I just lie there, staring at the ceiling, wondering how I ended up this low. My mind replays every mistake, every löss, every wröng turn I took. I think about how I used to dream big and how life slowly püshed me to this point. But deep down, I still believe this is not my final chapter. This pain is just part of the journey to becoming stronger.
The hardest pill I swallowed this year was realizing that you can feel completely alone in your lowest, and time won’t slow down for you, days still pass, people still laugh, life still demands things from you. No one stops to ask if you’re okay enough to keep going. So you learn to stand for yourself, even when your legs are shaking. You learn to be your own voice, your own support, your own reason to keep breathing. It’s a hard truth, but it stays with you: at the end of the day, when the noise fades, and everyone else is gone, the only person left to root for you is you
Holy Saturday is a day of waiting. It is the stillness of the grave, the sorrow of the faithful, and the hidden victory of Christ.
There is no Mass. The tabernacle remains empty. The altar is stripped. The Church holds her breath.
But this silence is not despair.
It is the silence of hope, planted in the soil of grief.
actor yoo yeonseok appointed as special professor at his alma mater sejong university for the spring 2026 semester… “will pass on his on-set experience to juniors.”
https://t.co/Iz33ivzEUI
There is a pain which nobody understands...
Not too long after our first daughter died in the womb, one day before her due date, I got together with a good friend. The entire family was still very much grieving. Her death had been a shock. There had been no warning signs. When she was delivered, she was not malformed in any way, shape, or form, just covered in a lot of blood. It was one of the defining moments in our family’s history. We were still in the early days, so it was good to get together with a friend.
My friend was a good man who also had pain related to his oldest daughter. She was beautiful like her mother, but a fairly low-functioning autistic girl. He opened up to me about how difficult life was. She didn’t sleep at normal times and would be up through the middle of the night. She was capable enough to unlock doors and get into just about everything. This was very hard for them as a married couple and for her younger siblings. I think there were multiple siblings, but there was at least one little sister.
He was frustrated with his church not understanding. They had rightly asked whether he was disciplining her, because there is a temptation for parents with disabled children to go softer on them than they should. He assured me that he had, and I believed him. He went on to explain his frustration with how the church just didn’t understand what they were going through.
In my head, I thought to myself, neither did I.
So I asked him, well, you don’t know what it’s like to have a daughter die, do you? And he agreed that he didn’t. And I said I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a beautiful girl who is low-functioning but capable enough to disturb all of life and put herself in constant danger. How could I? I can only kind of get at it by thinking through it. Then I urged him to consider that it was at least partially his responsibility to help them understand as best he could. He took my exhortation in stride, and it was a refreshing shared cup of coffee in an otherwise gloomy season of my life.
Again, there is a pain which nobody understands.
I knew a young man who had been pursuing a girl all his life, and she finally said yes, only for her to get cancer and die a couple months later.
I know a man who in his younger years was an abusive father and husband, only to get saved in his 60s, have a major heart change, and now find that his grown children and grandchildren want nothing to do with him. He had a big family, but he was all alone.
I know barren couples who would make lovely parents. They love babies. They love that their friends have babies, but they struggle seeing what they love because it hurts.
There are loveless marriages. There are decades of migraines that wear you down. There is the big investment opportunity that was a lie and wrecked your finances forever.
There are near-infinite sources of pain, many of which you won’t experience, but someone you know will.
Can you truly understand a pain you’ve never experienced?
It depends what we mean by understand. For most of us, we can imagine it theoretically by relating it to some other pain we’ve experienced that, though different, serves as a kind of benchmark.
After our daughter died, a girl I worked with, kind of a sorority-girl type, tried to relate to my pain by talking about how her dog had died. At first, I found this annoying. There is no equivalence between a child and a pet. But at that point in her life, that was the deepest pain she had known. As clumsy as it was, it was a genuine effort to relate. So I chose not to be offended. She just couldn’t understand.
Another phrase I heard a lot in the year after the baby died was that people couldn’t imagine what it was like. More than a few times I quipped back, “Give it time.”
I didn’t mean that they would experience the exact same pain. What I meant was that they would experience a pain that nobody understands, their pain. Something that reminds you every morning that this world is not how it ought to be. Something that reminds you of your deep need for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Something that makes you yearn for the resurrection.
Our pain can bitter us. It can make us self-focused. It can make us angry that others just don’t get it. It can frustrate us when they try to relate in ways we think cheapen what we’re going through. We can allow that to happen. Or we can accept that unique suffering is part of human existence until the day all things are made right.
Related to this is the way pain can become a little too precious to us.
How many people end up defining themselves by a food allergy, a chronic condition, or a very real trauma that happened years ago? How often does that become the place all their conversations eventually lead? We live in an age where you are your trauma. To tell someone they need to mature to the point where they are not finally defined by it is treated as an attack on their identity.
But you do have to learn to deal with pain in a faithful way.
If you lost your sight, or were never able to have children, or your spouse has gone ahead of you to be with the Lord, that is part of your enduring reality. It doesn’t go away. It shapes your life. Pretending otherwise is dishonest.
At the same time, there’s a real difference between “getting over” something, as if you could just ignore it, and learning to deal with it in a godly way. Faithfulness doesn’t mean denial. It means refusing to let suffering become the organizing center of who you are.
Sometimes that pain that nobody else seems to understand becomes the very means by which you’re able to minister to others who are convinced their suffering is unique. You can speak to them with credibility, not theory. You’ve been there in a way.
And in doing so, you’re able to lead them out of the darkness of self-preoccupation and back into the good gifts the Lord still has for them in this life, and into hope fixed on the far greater things He has prepared for them in the world to come.
God didn't wait for the world to be worthy; He came when the world was broken. Divine love always takes the first step. In this life, many love in reaction, but not out of conviction. So, consider Christmas as the eternal proof of a love that goes ahead, seeks, restores, and rescues.
Furthermore, love that goes ahead isn't limited to feeling; it acts. Therefore, think of someone who needs a gesture of grace. For example, a message, an apology, a simple gift, or a prayer. Loving like Christ is not optional; it is the mark of a disciple. Likewise, every act of love opens a window for others to see the Savior. So, do today what love would do first. In this way, you align yourself with the heart of the One who came before we even sought Him. The Bible says in 1 John 4:19: “We love him, because he first loved us.” (NKJV).
The first Christmas didn't take place in a bright, idyllic setting, but in a land under oppression. True light doesn't need ideal conditions to shine; it shines precisely where there is darkness. Nevertheless, many believe their lives must "improve" before they can experience God's presence. Remember that the light of the Lord Jesus doesn't depend on your circumstances, but on His character.
Furthermore, this light not only illuminates, but also guides. So, allow God's Word to guide your decisions at the end of this year. A lit lamp doesn't eliminate the night, but it does illuminate a safe path. That's what Christ is for you: the way, the truth, and the life, even in confusing times.
Therefore, walk with confidence today. If you have His light, you will never walk in darkness. The Bible says in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness…” (NIV).
Sexbomb's opening Prod in MOA Arena.
Such a long intro, the anticipation of the crowd was crazy! It was the loudest scream I heard from a concert ever!
PUTANG INA NAPAKA HUSAY!!!
A sold-out RaWNd 2 show of the Sexbomb Concert at our world-class SM MOA Arena. 💙✨
We are proud to host not only the phenomenal girls but also the solid fans who filled the arena and made it jam-packed with love 🫶🏼.
#SexbombAtMOAArena#ChangingTheGameElevatingEntertainment