oh those summer nights...

this weekend was utterly and completely ridiculous and i say so in poem form:

friday-->saturday

from early mornings with sadly late starts.
friday night confessions of broken hearts.

from stories of triumphs and changed lives
in makeshift tents and starless skies

from morning devotions and falling asleep
from pure exhaustion where compromise meets

to through-the-phone stage fright and puppet accents
then farmer's tan discoveries and utter embarrassment

from fancy course dinners and over-zealous hosts
to a bill that was more than what we supposed

to laughing on car rides and healing broken bonds
then being so satisfied it's hard to respond

the success of a night spent to bond us through fun
is a testament of God's glory in making us as one.

Thank you Relient K

"The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair."
- Relient K "Be My Escape"

I've heard it before and so have you.
It's a staple comment made when you think things don't go your way.
When you think life is kicking you down just because it can.
"Life is SO UNFAIR!"

You can bet your bottom dollar it isn't.
Because if it was...man. We'd all be screwed.

If life was fair things could get slightly better for us,

But If life was fair to us then it would have to be fair to Jesus too.
And If life was fair to Jesus He would have been recognized as the true Messiah
If life was fair Jesus would have been saved all that pain and suffering on the cross

And if life was fair he wouldn't have had to die for our sins.
So if life was fair and he didn't die for our sins
Then there would be no attonement for those sins
And...since the wages of sin is death
If life was fair, we'd get exactly what we deserve.

So this is what I say..."Life is so unfair? Thank God."

We Are A Fam'ly

I sometimes forget how amazing my family is.

The Ormeo-Figueroa side of my family is the biggest side in the entire flippin' world. Haha...but I also wouldn't trade it for the world.

You have to understand me perfectly when I say this:

my family is EVERYTHING to me.
I would be NOTHING without them.
And I don't think I'd be saved if it wasn't for them.

They are that big of a deal.

This weekend was the third annual Ormeo-Figueroa Family Reunion and it was a huge pile of craziness. People flocked from all over and my house was completely and it was hard to believe that there were still MANY people not able to come this year. =P that's a little ridiculous to me. But anyway....moving on:
FRIDAY:
It is an Ormeo Family tradition that the first night of the reunion is at my house. It was that way the last two times when I lived in Pomona and my family's move to Upland didn't change that. But first, before the festivities commenced my newest nephew Julian was in for a surprise. Because he wouldn't be here with all of his family on his first birthday, we decided to throw him a party in the time he was here. AH! He's so cute! And it was great seeing the Pattersons again. Then of course the rest of the evening ensued with lots and lots of barbeque and lots and lots of singing. It's what to be expected I guess. Swimming and rice and what not. At the end of the evening it was a good start, especially because our shirts were passed out and the teams announced. Saturday was sure to be a huge laugh riot.

SATURDAY:
Park day at Sonrise was promptly at 9am. We all gathered and grouped into our teams only to create cheers that started off regular and then suddenly turned into the "I love you Manang Nini and Manong Sok" kiss-butt fest. *sigh* haha they were judges and we never actually heard who won because honestly, at the end of the afternoon it hardly mattered. But anyway, moving on. There was a load of games with Chloe as the main MC and a lot of food (hamburgers and hotdogs) But overall it was just a nice day out in the sun.

Satuday Night:
This year's theme was a "Camp Out" Theme so after our dispersal at Sonrise we reconvened at Pastor Ed's house for dinner and had a small devotional before our talent portion. Now I'll update on the talent portion later, what I really want to blog about is the story my Daddy Nonoy told about our family and I hope it can explain my earlier statement that without my family I wouldn't be saved.


You see, May 20th, 2005 Tatay Ormeo went home to be with the Lord. Everyone knows this, but what they probably don't know is that his encounter with the Lord could have easily not happened. Tatay Ormeo grew up in a non-Christian home and he wasn't Christian for a large chunk of his life. But he strangely was sent to Bible school, which at the time offered free room and food and classes so it was there that he was saved. He went home and told his family, planting a seed that went on to influence many church risings. The first one in Binicuil. I often think of how amazing that is. To know that he could have been sent to a regular school and not been saved and that would have thusly affected the lives of the rest of us in the family. If he hadn't been saved he would never have gone to my Nanay's house to preach and he would have never met her so thusly my uncles and my aunts and my mom wouldn't have been born.

And even if they had met the fact is that my parents met in church. If Tatay wasn't saved and his family wasn't saved, then where would I be now? My parents never would have met and I probably wouldn't exist.

It's a strange feeling, thinking of what could have easily happened and the domino affect of what has happened. Looking on it all, how can you not praise God for what He set in motion and what He continues to push forward? He is truly an amazing and omnipotent God.

The story was one that I take pride in and I look back at where we were and see where we are just can't believe it.

2003

2005

2009

So I reiterate:

my family is EVERYTHING to me.
I would be NOTHING without them.
And I don't think I'd be saved if it wasn't for them.