Note: I wrote the draft two years. Retrieved it from my hard drive, polished and posted the article, since the lessons are still very relevant.
I held my breath as the butterfly emerged
from its chrysalis. The tiny head came out first, followed by the legs, until
the whole creature popped out from its plastic-like case. It flapped its wings
to dry and flew to its freedom.
Okay, I just saw that miracle on Youtube, but
it’s still amazing nonetheless.
I shared that because the theme of this
year’s JEWELS Super Conference was based on butterflies, breakthroughs and
metamorphosis and I couldn’t think of another intro.
JEWELs is a ministry created by the women at
the Feast Ortigas (the spiritual community where I serve). It is a formation program that
addresses all areas of a woman's life: Spiritual Growth, Personal Growth, Community
Life, Ministry and Service.
The T.I.E Breaker: Transform, Inspire,
Empower – A Breakthrough Experience is the year-ender conference of JEWELS
(which is also known for the signature Zumba worship.) What follows are choice
quotes and anecdotes from the six women who graciously shared their experiences
and insights during the event.
Rissa
Singson Kawpeng – Keynote speaker
Rissa
has been proclaiming God’s Word through radio, TV and print media for over two
decades. She is the Editor in Chief of Kerygma, one of the top inspirational
magazines in the country. For single ladies out there, she is also known for
her book ‘Confessions of an Impatient Bride’ – where she shares her 38-year
long journey to the altar.
Rissa’s talk revolved around 4Rs: Rejoice,
Remove, Remember and Reflect. Below are some key notes:
“Don’t sell yourself cheap.”
“Enjoy as much as you want but do not get
into trouble and sin.”
“Remove grief...Mama Mary is the Lady of Sorrow...not
the Lady of Depression.”
“I don’t want to forget what God has done for
me so I write it down.”
Anna
Meloto Wilk – Break the Selfish Attitude: Breakthrough the Real Meaning of Living
in Abundance
Anna is a Filipino entrepreneur. She is the president
and co-founder of Human Heart Nature, an all organic cosmetics company. The
company is currently working to build a global
brand to put the Philippines on the map as a source of world-class all natural
products.
Anna said that we are currently living in a
Culture of Self, where we easily confuse pleasure with happiness. We are steeped in the Western Culture’s
mentality of “winner takes all.”
But, this runs counter to our Filipino
culture of Bayanihan.
There’s actually no reason for Filipinos to
be poor – the only thing preventing us is greed. For us to break this selfish
attitude, we need to have faith. “When we give up the most precious things to
us, God gives us something beyond our imagination.”
Anna drew from her experiences as the child
of Gawad Kalinga founder Tony Meloto. After graduating from Ateneo, she decided
to work for the corporate world first. After four years, she joined GK with her
experience in communications and brand-building.
She met her husband Dylan Wilk through GK.
Once tagged as one of the richest entrepreneurs in UK under 30, he came to the
Philippines to check out the program as part of his soul-searching. He fell in
love with the GK, the Philippines, Anna...and the rest is history.
Aside from four kids and a baby on the way
(Anna was sporting a baby bump while giving the talk), the husband and wife
team, with the help of Anna’s sister Camille, brought to life Human Nature.
In their initial brainstorming, Dylan, the
one with the most business experience, was adamant that the business must be Pro-Philippines,
Pro-Poor, and Pro-Environment. The capability to scale up was also imperative
to make lasting change.
In line with that vision, one of the laudable
decisions they made is to pay their workers more than the minimum wage. Even
their employees outside Metro Manila have the same salary range as their city
peers.
Their efforts have paid off because Human Nature is now a social
enterprise leader in the all organic cosmetics market in the Philippines.
Aside from their online shop and dealer networks, Human Nature products are
increasingly making their way to outlets in major malls and supermarkets all
over the country.
When asked how she balances being a wife,
mother and social entrepreneur, she replied: “God’s purpose for our life is a
living, dynamic calling which can change everyday. Kahit hindi natin alam ang
darating, lakad lang...on a need to know basis tayo...Even if we have
priorities, let’s ask God everyday where we are needed the most.”
Rica
Peralejo-Bonifacio –Break the Hopeless Standpoint: Breakthrough the Meaning of Being
Fully Alive
Rica is a Filipina actress, singer, and television host. She started out
as a child star but delved into more daring roles along the way to grow her
career. Fortunately, the wild days are over and Rica is now a happy Christian,
wife, and mother, on top of her showbiz and inspirational work.
Rica related the story of Jesus
healing the bleeding women in the Bible to her personal experience of
recovering from a wounded past. After gaining success as a child and teen
actress, she was pressured to “reinvent” herself and take on a more mature
image when she was younger. As the breadwinner of the family, she had no choice
and relented.
The sacrifice took its toll on her
emotional life however, and she was soon dangerously immersed in alcohol, drugs
and other vices. Fortunately, a Christian group did not give up on her, and she
was converted. Not many agreed with her choice to go back into a more wholesome
territory, but Rica herself said she would never exchange the peace she found
in knowing God.
The following are some quotes from
her talk which centered on Hope and Humility:
“It’s
not how big your faith is, it’s how big your God is.”
“True humility admits ‘I am nothing...apart
from God.’”
“True hope means to be transformed by Jesus,
because we can be certain of our hope in Him.”
Ditas
Espanol – Break the Discouraging Spirit: Breakthrough in Living Values that Inspire
and Influence Others
Aside
from being the muse of Ortigas Feast Builder Vic Espanol, Ditas serves as the
Directress of the Light of Jesus Counseling Center. This ministry, which he runs with her husband, reaches out to thousands
of people through telephone, online, and face-to-face counseling.
Ditas revealed one inevitable truth: “We are
designed for discouragement.”
But this is not because we have a sadistic
God. This is because, as Ditas lovingly explained:
“Discouragement is part of
God’s plan. In God’s kingdom, there is no failure, only forced growth...Discouragement
is a call to rise up...to recovery, to the challenges, and to the future.”
With that, we are also designed to become a
G.I. JOY, which she spells out as:
Godly
Influencer
Joyfully
Embrace God’s Purpose
Overflow
with Perseverance
Yearn
for God
Here are her three tips for us to become G.I.
JOYSs:
1. Joyfully embrace God’s
purpose for your life
2. Overflow with perseverance
“Many times, we don’t
want to drink from the bitter cup and we question God. But God pours in our cup
in order that we might trust Him alone.”
“When you persevere,
you are able to inspire others.”
3. Yearn for God
“For a woman to make
impact on her world, she must make time in her busy routine to know God.”
Michelle
Alignay: Break the Clutters in your Life: Breakthrough to an Emotionally
Healthy Life
Michelle
is a registered counselor and resource person for family, relationships and
parenting topics. She is co-author of the book Growing Up Wired: Raising Kids
in the Digital Age.
Brimming with energy, Michelle shared
insights on how we can better deal with our emotions.
She simply put it this
way: “Maraming nagkakasakit dahil
kinikimkim ang nararamdaman. As Christians, we should be allowed to grieve.”
She said one reason why we invalidate our
emotions is because they force us to look at our real selves. We are asked to
see our humanness, our weakness, vulnerabilities, and insecurities. God speaks
to us through our emotions but we do not always like the message.
True – we cannot change what happens to us.
But, we can change how we choose to respond to them.
Emotions that are unexpressed and unacknowledged
become energetically stuck, affecting our health and well-being. On the other
hand, emotions that are felt and named simply flow through our energy system,
leaving no residue (“unfinished business”).
She gave us three steps on how to de-clutter:
1. Balance ourselves
emotionally between anger, love, joy and serenity
2. Respect and let go
3. Feel
As Michelle reminded us – “My emotional life
is my responsibility.”
Selene
L. Yu – Break the Poor Self Worth: Breakthrough the positive mindset and excel
in all areas of your life
Selene is the Executive Director
at Chevrolet Philippines-The CovenantCar Company Inc. As her ministry, she
teaches S-Leadership, a framework for God-centered leadership via The Potter's Leadership
Academy.
If you’ll ask the world, Selene had it all.
After graduating Summa Cum Laude from St. Scholastica’s College, Manila
in 1982 with degrees in Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in Finance and
Bachelor of Arts major in Psychology, she breezed through her Masters Degree in
Business Administration major in Finance at The Wharton School of the
University of Pennsylvania in 1986.
Her
career received the same Midas Touch – everything she handled turned out well and
she was soon on top of the business world. That is, until the Asian Financial
Crisis hit on 1997 and heavily affected the company she was leading. As the
Chief Operating Officer, she took command responsibility and resigned from her
position.
In
1998 of August, she left out full-time the corporate world and entered, what
she said felt like the desert of her life.
In
that trying time of her life, she realized that God was telling her something
– that she had become self-centered. She
was seeking money, relationships, and other things with all her heart, but not
God. She was praying, attending mass, and reading her Bible – but not in a very
personal way. At that point, she decided to read God’s word, this time with
eyes ready to understand.
From
her readings, she became intrigued by the comparison of God as the potter and
His people as the clay. Her next move then was to enrol in a potter’s class to
fully unravel the message. From her pottery experiences, she shared two heart
prerequisites for true leadership:
1. Wedging of Pride
Pride is the enemy of
servant leadership. Humility is the key to servant leadership.
2. Centering and Intimacy with
God anchored in faith
Centering and intimacy with
God makes us sensitive to the one voice that counts – God
Selene said “Leadership is more than just a
position. Leadership is firstly about character, and character comes from the
heart.”
Integrity of heart and excellent skills are
vital to a leader. With that, God prepares His leaders through:
1. God’s way
Diamonds in the
rough must be cut and polished to reveal their true brilliance. A grain of sand
acts as an irritant in the shell of mollusk, which causes it to produce a
pearl. Pupas are shapeless before their metamorphosis into beautiful
butterflies. Similarly, God allows us to undergo trials and challenges so we
can grow and transform into our best selves.
2. God’s time
We will not
serve where we want to be if we are not serving where we are right now.
3. God’s Purpose
All
Christians have a general purpose – to find God and bring others to Him. At the
same time, each of us has our own specific purpose.
Selene wrapped her
talk it with this challenge: “Godly excellence is to bring your utmost best to
accomplish God’s purpose for God’s highest glory.”
Labels: Of Spirituality and Beliefs, Stories of Real People, Travels and Events
