Time heals all wounds?

I recently discovered that there is something wrong in the statement "Time heals all wounds".
It's not time that heals the wound. It's God that heals the wound.

Do you know of people who grew old already but are still carrying all the pain and hurts inside?
And do you know of people who have been deeply hurt but have healed in only a short period of time?

The difference lies in God.

Especially when you are in conflict with somebody, the more that you procrastinate or make excuses the worse it will get. In one of my highlights in the PDL book it says "Delay only deepens resentment and makes matters worse. In conflict, time heals nothing, it causes hurts to fester"

And then it even says "To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do" and "You are only hurting yourself with your anger"

All these words that I read hit me right through that it propelled me to say sorry to somebody. There's this one lady that I have hurt terribly for quite sometime now and because of that she in turn said terrible things about me also... then the cycle of more resentment just went on and on. So one day, I decided to end it all by writing her an honest to goodness apology letter. And as soon as I sent it, I immediately felt better.. hehe...

Truthfully, if it were just me and my pride, I don't think I'd be able to easily say a genuine sorry. But because He is working on my insides.. I was able to do it! :)

Its very hard to admit your part of the conflict, especially if you feel like you have every right to be mad or angry. It takes God to give you a humble heart and to own up to your share of mistakes.

So I thank God for healing my wounds.

So the next time somebody tells you time heals all wounds, tell them.. It's not time that heals the wounds.. it's God. :)

When God uses People

You know my friend, God is really determined to reach out to you.
He not only uses his Word or his Holy Spirit... he also uses people and situations so that he can reach out to you.

Sometimes, the people that God uses doesn't even know that they are instrumental to another person's life changing experience. A lot of times, the most painful and most hurtful situations in your life is the one that will draw you closer to God.

Of course I'm not suggesting that you should be in great pain or hurt just to know God.. But what I want to point out is that God wants to speak to you... All the time, He is there wanting to speak to you.

The year 2007 has been so far the toughest year I've ever faced in my life... But God used people in my life to make me realize that I can and I am a strong woman inside and out.
Some people may not have realized that they are instrumental in my life changing experiences this year, but they are.. and I am thankful to God for them.

And because I am where I am today, I hope and pray to God that He will use me too to reach out to you. :)

He is a wonderful wonderful God and Friend.. if only you will take the time to know Him.
He is the source of my strength for these past months... And He has never been so REAL in my life as He is now.

It is my hope and pray that He becomes more real in your life too.

Now is not the time to be sad...

I chanced upon one of my past entries in my journal and found this well written entry. (ahem..ahem.. at least in my perspective hehehe...) So thought I'd share it with the hope of enlightening others too..

August 14, 2007

10:49 PM

Now is not the time to be sad
It is not the time to be worried
Nor the time to feel bad

Now is the time to relish every moment
Moments of peace and joy
Moments of love from my dear Jesus.

He granted me this moment
To take the time to re align my strategies
To take the time to be quiet and just listen to His heart.

It is a wonderful time.

Amazing how God works in my life
Just when I ask him to be Lord of every area of my life.

Amazing cause His ways are higher than my ways.
And His thinking so far above than my thinking.

The moment I get startled and worried with the things I see
I have to remind myself that my God has a perfect plan for me.

He is precise, exact and does not falter.
He has a perfect plan and purpose for everything.
And every moment comes to me as a pleasant surprise.

Amazing…
He is…
Truly Amazing.

You are Amazing Lord.

I want to know you more and more.
I come to you in humility.
Please allow me to experience life again.
The life you really want for me.

I praise you Lord Jesus.

I am sorry for all the hurts I may have caused you.
Please walk with me all through out my life.

I love you Lord.

--Jenne

Where do I start?

This was one of the BIG questions I had.
After realizing I really needed to hear what God has to say,
I said to God, "Ok, I'm ready to listen.. where do i start? how do i start?"

Well, as I mentioned in my earlier entry, The PDL (Purpose Driven Life) Group I joined proved to be a very good jump start.

Most of the group members recommended reading the Book of John as a starting point.
Why not Genesis some people asked.. Well yes its ok to start reading from Genesis too... But they recommended to start with John because it talks about the Life of Jesus and the very reason why we are here today.

So we all read John... we were supposed to read one entry a day (para daw mas ma-internalize mo yung mga words) but I'm a bit pasaway (hihi..) So I read to my heart's delight... We were supposed to be in chapter 15 today.. but yesterday while waiting for my client in a coffee shop I FINISHED the whole book of John all the way to Chapter 21! hehehe...

I remember one of the members of the PDL group saying, "Once you start reading the Bible.. You'll be really hooked with the stories... Like the tele-novelas that people watch on TV!" And so as I was reading the book of John.. I was like... this is better than the tele-novela! hehehee...

There was this one part that I read where I cried because I felt the Love of Mary Magdalene for Jesus so much. It was the part where the tomb of Jesus was empty. When she discovered that Jesus body was not there she was crying and crying and said "They have taken my Lord away, and I don't know where they put him" Then Jesus appeared to her but she did not realize that it was already Jesus. She thought that he was the gardener so she asked him, "Sir if you have carried him away tell me where you have put him and I will get him"

I cried because this woman was technically looking for Jesus' dead body.. I mean technically what else can you do with a dead body? right? And yet, she says...Tell me where you have put him and I WILL GET HIM. She was that determined to find her Lord Jesus!! She was really truly crying out for him. And that hit me right through.

Cause I think in my life, I really had to get to that point where I'm really truly crying out for him . More than just knowing that he is my Lord and Savior.. But really crying out from the deepest part of my heart that I need my Jesus. And when I did seek him.. He appeared.. Just like what happened to Mary Magdalene also...

And Jesus said to her, "Mary".

And at that she recognized him and said "Rabboni!!" (meaning Teacher)

Can you imagine the feeling of losing somebody you really really love and then all of a sudden he appears again?? If that's not dramatic and moving.. I don't know what is.. hehehe..

So to answer the question of where do I start?

I think my answer would be 2 things:
The practical way: read the book of John
OR
The personal way: read the book of John with a heart that is seeking Him.

Try the second one. You'll definitely feel the difference.
*Maybe you can try reading it one chapter at a time also.. hehe.. para mas lalo pang enriching ang pagbabasa.

Now I'm off to reading the book of Acts :D

How I began to see things differently

I've been a Christian all my life and have been very lucky to have parents and grand parents who are Christians. So I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at a very early age. I am a proud Sunday School Kid and I even won as a champion in the memory verse competition as well as the highest giver in our tabernacle jars. I was blessed with both academic and non-academic awards from elementary all the way to highschool and college. I was accepted as an exchange student in Canada, got a Gold Medal for my Marketing Thesis and I even got a job offer as Marketing Manager even before I officially graduated.

With that great foundation as a child and the great things that came thereafter, one would think that I was pretty much set to face the real world. One would probably think that everything else in my life would go pretty much as planned or maybe better.

Or so I thought...

At 23, I had a whirlwind romance and got pregnant in just a few months... which lead me to deciding that I should get married. And got married I did.

I could still remember the tears in my mother's eyes when we told her I am pregnant and planning to get married. Without her saying it, I knew her dreams for me came crumbling down.

So in less than 12 months, I met a guy, got pregnant, got married and gave birth. [If you were my mother, imagine how that would give you the shock of your life?!]

But the drama of my life didn't end there...

Within 12 months after giving birth, my husband and I separated for serious reasons that we were both responsible for.

Needless to say, I successfully added another chapter to my [and my family's] wall of shame...

Where was God in my life during all these trying times?
Well, He was there.. but I never truly allowed him to take over the driver seat.
And so I couldn't get a good grip of what he really wanted me to do in my life.
I just kept praying "Lord show me the way, give me answers, what will I do?"
But I never really listened... "Listen to what?" the voice in my head kept asking...

I didn't know what to listen to cause I didn't know the voice of God?!
Here is a girl who is a Christian all her life and did not know the VOICE OF GOD?!
Imagine the shock of my life when I realized that! It struck me hard... really hard.
All of a sudden I feel like a baby Christian all over again.

So I decided to seek Him.
I decided that the only way I can truly be able to communicate in a two-way street is to
1) Open up my life to him and 2) Know what he has to say, by reading his Word.

The opening up part was a little bit hard cause I'm used to having things all-together.
But when I started writing everything down in a personal journal, opening up became easier. And I didn't feel the need to explain myself or justify myself on what I was saying or writing, cause I knew God will take it lovingly. In fact, the more I opened up the more I realized that God really wanted me to willingly open up my heart to him and that he has been waiting all this time for me to do exactly that. To give my heart to HIM--bare, naked and whole.

The "knowing what he has to say" was even harder cause I didn't know where to start. Which part of the bible should I start reading? Do I read randomly? Do I just open up the Bible and whatever page it opens up to is what I should read for that day? Well.. at first I did exactly that... hehehe... (random reading) But the words didn't make much sense to me and I felt there was more.. So I tried reading by topics (you know the index in the back of the bible that has topics e.g. Grace, Happiness, Forgiveness) The Bible reading by topics worked.. but by the time I finished reading the topics that I was interested in.. I didn't know what to read next. So I tried asking one of my Christian friends on how she does her bible reading, and she said she has a devotional and she and her husband is in a prayer group as well. So this time I searched through the internet for daily devotions and I did find a nice site (www.adevotion.org)... But still I felt there was something lacking...

By this time, I'm sure God has already sensed that I was serious about seeking him... hehehe.. So He worked through other people to get to me... And this was thru an invitation that I read in one of the yahoo groups I am subscribed to. This one guy was forming a PDL (Purpose Driven Life) Group where they will be reading the book PDL through 40days and will be meeting once a week! I knew right away that I must sign up. And so I did.

Today, it has only been a little over 40 days and my communication with God has changed dramatically. The situations around me haven't changed much, but my understanding of the things happening around me has drastically shifted.

And as I write this blog about how I began to see things differently, I feel God's amazing presence working through my fingers cause I know there's so much more I can write about his grace, mercy, love and glory.

God's presence has never been so real in my life.

It is my earnest hope and pray that all the people I know and all the people I love will experience God's presence to become even more real in their lives too.

Here's to more blogging of how Great our God is. :)

Purpose Driven Life

Have you ever read this book?
Well if you haven't I highly encourage you to please do.
It is an enriching, life changing book especially if you just let the Holy Spirit work you out from the inside.

Thanks to Jong's invitation to join a PDL (Purpose Driven Life) Support Group, I have recently discovered the beautiful wonders of God working in my life. :)

I am already at Day 26 and so far it's been FABULOUS!
Knowing Jesus and growing day after day has never been so great as this.
All my ups and downs makes a whole lot more sense these days.

And I just remembered this one line from Nelson Mandela that made me realize that I should continue writing in this blog...

"Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightening about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you."

I'll post more of this speech in another entry :)

So I hope you get a copy of the book soon and get a reading partner so you can share all your thoughts and brilliant ideas :)

Getting to know your professional emcee

*Also posted in http://jennerabe.multiply.com

I originally thought of posting my CV or Resume to show my qualifications as an emcee. But my better judgment tells me, that being your emcee goes beyond the kind of school or quality education that I have received. So I’ve decided to just write about what I feel is needed to be an effective emcee and how I strive to do my best in these areas.

1. Good Image.

An emcee has to have a good image because he/she will be representing you on your event. And whatever image your emcee has, will of course have an effect on people’s impression of you on your particular event. An image of course is largely created through two distinct human senses… what they see… what they hear…

An emcee that is not dressed for the occasion is either going to feel out of place or the other way around--make the guests feel they are the ones out of place.

An emcee that has a very small voice will of course not be heard by your guests.

And an emcee that has a high pitched or too loud voice will make your guests cringe every time he/she speaks over the microphone.

The good image of the emcee will highly depend on the people’s first impression of me that is why I am very careful when it comes to what I wear and how I look every time I emcee for an event. Even though I am not much of a make-up person, I always see to it that I go to the parlor or (when in a budget) I ask my sister to do my make-up for me. I also make it a point to ask my clients if they have any preference on what I will wear, long-gown? short dress? Pants? Color? (*especially if they have an aversion to a certain color). Sometimes, it can also be a bit costly when I have to buy a new dress for the event (especially if it’s already the referral of another referred client… meaning friend or family nung mga pinag-emcee-an ko na… so I can’t repeat any of the dresses I’ve worn.. hehe) Syempre when there’s budget naman, it would be so nice to shop for new outfits J

Now when it comes to the voice, I’m glad to say that my voice is neither small nor high pitched… it’s properly modulated… (Thanks to Center for Pop Music Center when I was still in Elementary… hehehe)

2. Good Rapport.

An emcee has to have good rapport with you and your guests because he/she will have to be able to catch everyone’s attention and lead the program to its success. This is where the good command of voice combined with the emcee’s personality comes in as the basic foundation of good rapport.

An emcee that only reads from a book or paper in a verbatim manner will surely bore your guests and will not listen to anything he/she says.

On the other hand, an emcee who is spontaneous and easily adjusts to the program as the need arises, can surely keep your guests awake and participative in your program.

Now this is something that I always work hard at attaining and how I do this is by making an extra effort to get to know the client before their event to the point that they could already call me their friend. I believe that my rapport with the guests is highly dependent on my rapport with the client. So on the day of the event, I just bring out my natural happy self and allow myself to be comfortable with the people I’m around. Thanks to the many speaking engagements that I’ve had since college up to now, I’ve had the blessed opportunity to mingle with different kinds of people in all walks of life and to learn how to adjust my emceeing style as needed as well.

3. Good Timing.

An emcee has to have good timing because it is very crucial, most especially in weddings. A few minutes delay can spell the difference between doing your thank you speech in the end with only two or three tables left or still having most of your guests in their seats. It can also spell the difference between having a few hundreds pinned on you for the money dance or having thousands… (hehehe) *The Money or Prosperity Dance is an Authentic Filipino Tradition by the way..

An emcee who decides to eat for a full hour during a wedding reception while the guests are also eating will surely ruin the whole timing of your event. (Unless of course there is really an allotted full hour for the eating)

It is always a joy for me whenever I would see majority of the guests still there until the end of the program. This to me shows two things 1) the clients’ have good guests (hindi sila eat-and-run) and 2) I was able to manage the flow of the program successfully (effective ako.. yey!). How I do this is simply by maximizing all the time allotted from start to finish. No gaps. No dead air. Only a few momentary pauses that are elegantly and smoothly executed as well. So that by the time the program has ended, guests wouldn’t feel that too much time has passed.

As much as possible I also ask the client for all additional parts of the program to be discussed as early as possible… (like a surprise 20 minute avp presentation or a 15 minute band set). I do not recommend too much on-the-spot adjustments in the program especially if the program is already packed. Because these “surprise numbers” can make or break the whole timing of the program. Of course I have nothing against surprise numbers.. a surprise is always a precious moment.. but as the emcee, maybe I can be saved from the element of surprise and simply be informed ahead of time so I could manage the flow of the program better

It is always a challenge for me when my clients’ have guests who are really eat-and-run. So sometimes I have to ask my clients also on who their guests are and how they are related to them. And if indeed the nature of their guests is eat-and-run then I will have to adjust the program to make sure that during all the important parts, there are still a lot of guests.

Now I have to say that I’ve had my share of disappointments on timing when I was just starting way back in 1999 (I was still in college then). Because my mom is a caterer and have seen so many weddings and events, she would always tell me to always write my script, practice and start right away and not dilly-dally (especially during the in-betweens). And you know how we sometimes resent our mothers for nagging us… well, I’m no different.. hehehe… so her words just came in on one side and came right out on the other… Then eventually I saw her point and now I have learned and continually mastering the art of good timing.

Holding Back

It's been a long while since I've written here.
Other than the usual busy schedule, its partly because I've been holding back on my thoughts and feelings.

Reluctant to let the world know of what I'm really going through.
Unsure of the reaction (positive or negative) I could possibly get.

Then I went to church... hehe... (having a good dose of Jesus really changes things..) And Sis. Shoddie Chase said, "You think people can't see through you? They do!"

Then I realized how God created other people, so that He can work through them and give comfort, inspiration or encouragement.

I know I intended to initially write about business and about my work.
But I must accept that my life isn't only about business and work.. It shouldn't be that way. It should be about everything.

And most importantly, it should be about bringing back all the glory to HIM.

The Chronicles of Jenne should be able to talk precisely about God's greatness and God's love in my life.

And so I will.
From this moment on I will.

Write about the goodness and maybe sometimes even the opposite of goodness, with the hope that I get the lesson and maybe other people might be able to relate.

Tips for a Pre-Nup Photo Shoot

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to pretend like a "photographer" side by side with the famous photo journalist, Sir Mel Cortez of Decisive Moments!

It's my first time to take photos of a Pre-Nup Photo Shoot and here are the few tips I picked up along the way.

If you are the subject of the photo shoot,
1) Make sure you bring comfortable clothes that represent your personality and bring extra clothes for a change in theme.
2) Having your trial make-up in the morning is highly recommended so that you can see how your make-up looks like in the pictures and also to have an actual experience of how the make-up stays on your face and if you feel comfortable with it even hours after the make-up has been done.
3) Be sure to eat something before the photo shoot so you look happy and beautiful and not like you've been starved.. ehehehe... But don't eat too much naman that you'll feel sluggish. :)
4) Be ready with some poses that you've seen in magazines or pictures that you liked. or poses that you've always wanted to be captured in picture. And last but not the least...
5) Relax. Be yourself and ENJOY the photo shoot.. you don't become the star of the camera everyday!

If you are the photographer,
1) Schedule the photo shoot around 3 or 4pm. I discovered that this is a good time to get that natural light and you'll also have enough time to take different poses in different areas and/or angles.
2) Make sure you know how to get to the photo shoot venue... *hehhehe... I got a bit lost kse..
3) When taking the shots, let the subjects be themselves and take pictures in an unobtrusive way. Take both "photo-journalistic" shots and "posed" shots. Posed shots are the pictures where you ask them to face the camera, move closer, smile, etc.. The photo-journalistic shots are the pictures where you just capture them as they are, i.e. laughing, smiling, kissing, joking around, dancing, etc.
4) Be ready with umbrella, just in case it rains.
5) Show the pictures to the subject or if possible provide them with a cd copy right away, so they can appreciate their shots and come home with big smiles and beaming faces.

Now check out the picture I posted... that's my shot! hehehe... papasa na ba?? hehe...
Taking a Pre-Nup Shoot is really FUN.

Jenne (read as /jeney/)

I just added a blog header and I have to say, my short piece up there is fantastic! hehehe.. I have those moments when my thoughts go really deep and I guess that's just one of those.

Yes, my name is jenne and its read as /jeney/. I love my name, its a name coined by my college blockmates back in DLSU-M and since then I've imagined my name to become a brand name or a trademark of something... maybe a magazine, maybe a line of shoes or maybe a line of sexy loungerie... hehehe.. (My two college bestfriends would get tired of hearing that line by now.. cause they've heard me say that for almost 9 years now.. hahahaa)

Well, we all have that freedom to daydream right?! I guess that one is my take on daydreaming.

When I was in college, I always saw myself as a passionate woman with the burning desire to affect change in other people's lives. I guess when we're young and excited we all want to be that.

After experiencing a little bit of life's ups and downs, I still see myself as a passionate woman but this time I see an even bigger picture with a bigger role that needs to be filled. And that my friends is called, being responsible.

It is a hard one. But hey, its so d--- important!

The daydreaming is still there, the hopes and dreams are still there... but now more importantly, the "being responsible" is what's making things happen.

And that's me... I make it happen.

The Ingenious Solution--Rain or Shine.

Every time I have a garden wedding event, especially in Paco Park, clients always ask me the question, "What do we do if it in case it rains?" Then I answer we can order tents at the latest, one day before the event. Then the next question is "How much for one tent? and how many tents are needed?" Then I answer, P2,500 per tent and you'll probably need 6 to 10 tents depending on your number of guests... That's a whopping P25,000 on top of their already booked garden venue rental!

Being the caterer, we are the one that is the most affected when the rain comes or even when its just a drizzle and there is no tent. During situations like these, my mother would always say let's just make the most out of it and do the best that we can.

Last March 10 at Paco Park, we had a wedding event and I was the emcee. The day before and during the setup there was no sign of any rain or drizzle at all. Then came the reception and it started to drizzle. People had to go back inside the chapel for cover while others took cover under the trees. The drizzle was going in and out and my staff were running around taking away the table napkins, turning the water goblets upside down and tilting the chairs so that the seatcovers won't be entirely wet. The bride and groom were starting to feel worried about the situation and I was feeling the same. When the drizzle stopped for a little while, I decided to start with the program already before the guests start to go home.

I started the program, introduced the sponsors and welcomed the bride and groom. After people had their pictures taken, it started to drizzle again. People didn't leave their seats but they had umbrellas over their heads while eating their dinner. And I have to say, it was a quite a challenge to be happy and perky as I emceed while embracing the rain.

At that moment, an ingenious solution came to my mind. Why not have umbrellas with our company name and company tag line on it?! It's perfect! Now I have an alternative solution to my clients who are caught unaware with the sudden rain! And an alternative solution to some clients who really do not want to spend on the tents. Having our company umbrellas with our tag line, "Caring is the True Product of Our Business" is just absolutely perfect!

One week after that, March 17, we had a wedding event at Paco Park again. And guess what, during set-up it started to drizzle again! This time instead of taking out the table napkins right away, we huddled up together and started to pray. Yes, we all prayed, "Please Lord, No Rain." Later I found out that even the bride and groom and a whole lot of people were praying for no rain. The rain stopped and somewhere in the middle of the wedding program the sun started to shine so bright and was now the opposite of rain.. cause its now scorching hot... haha.. God surely heard the prayer of no rain... That's the power of prayer eh?!

So now my ingenious solution still worked! Cause when we started bringing out the beach umbrellas (*which by the way incidentally had the same color motif as their wedding) we saw the faces of the guests lit up. They were laughing and happy of such an ingenious idea.. ahem ahem... And later I found out also, that the bride and groom during their picture taking per table were wondering where the umbrellas came from... hehehe... they were of course pleasantly surprised that their guests were taken cared of by us..

Although the umbrellas were originally intended for the rain, it turned out even better as a shield from the scorching sun.

After the wedding, my clients' Bernard and Amiegen do a silhouette kiss pose with the ingenious beach umbrella.

It was a job well done.
I have turned my emceeing-in-the-rain-experience into a positive ingenious solution! Yey!

Smiles all the way up to my ears.

Welcome to Chronicles of Jenne

Hello and welcome to Chronicles of Jenne.

I've heard lots of good stuff about having your own blogspot so I decided that maybe I should get one myself. So here it is now, my first entry to this blog.

I guess you could say that I am like most people who have so many accounts in different sites that I am starting to get confused which one to check first. hehehe. I have a yahoo account, gmail account, hotmail account, multiply account, myspace account, friendster account plus i have my own website (www.jackandjenn.com) So I'm hoping to narrow down my accounts according to its purpose.

1) Gmail for email only
2) Yahoo for YM only
3) Multiply for photo uploads and posting of packages and promos only
4) jackandjenn.com as main website
and finally
5) blogspot to keep my mind sane.. hahaha..

I love writing.
I write all the time.
It is my solace in this roller coaster ride.
It really is relaxing. I guess that is the main reason why there are so many people who blog right? I used to write in notebooks, journals and any kind of paper.
But thanks to the pc and laptop, these days we can all just type away.

So anyway, I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I would enjoy writing.

This entry is really just to welcome whoever is reading and give myself a dry run of how this works.

I am a loving, responsible, committed and worthy woman
-Jenne