God's Grace Brought Me to the Hillsong Conference in Sydney

Above is a photo of me and my workmate at the Hillsong Conference held in Sydney three weeks ago. I sincerely believe that it was God's grace that brought me to this beautiful place, and had the opportunity to experience Him in a different level.

In my previous blog post, How My Investments Helped Me Attend the Hillsong Conference in Sydney, I wrote about how my investment was used as an instrument by God in the fulfillment of this BIG DREAM. 

In this post, I am writing how the grace of God made it all possible.

Humility is Acknowledging that You are Where You are NOW because of God's Grace

Grace is defined as the unmerited favor of God. There were countless of times when I have experienced this -- that inspite of my sins, God still takes my life to new heights that even I could not comprehend. 

When I became a writer for the Feast Bulletin although I never thought I had that talent to write, when I receive messages from readers of how my blog has inspired them, when people thank me for new learnings about investments after our meeting, when the testimony I sent to the Truly Rich Club was featured in one of the Wealth Strategies issue, when I was chosen to share how tithing has blessed me in front of tens of thousands of attendees at the Feast PICC, and recently, finding myself at the Hillsong Conference in Sydney -- I knew that in those instances, that was God's grace in action!!!

For those times, and many others, THANK YOU, JESUS!

My Novena to God's Love

We have this Novena at the Feast, a small booklet where we write our seven dreams. In January 2016, this is what I wrote in one of its pages:

"Lord, I pray that our Australian Visa application this year 

with Ma'am Grace be approved so that we can grow more spiritually 

through attending the Hillsong Conference 2016."

Our flight to Sydney then was on July 4. My visa was released on June 30. As I ticked off that dream above on my booklet, I could confidently say, "God, I am very sure that was You who did this! Thank You."

If you don't think that was grace, then I do not know what else could that possibly be.

And I Was All Set -- Well, ALMOST!

Remember in my previous post that I made tiny withdrawals from my investment for the conference registration, airfare tickets, visa application and hotel reservation?

Everything else has been arranged and paid for, except for one thing. 

I have no pocket money.

And because I do not have a credit card and I choose not to own one (My friend has this joke of "Travel Now, Pulubi Later"), I felt uncomfortable leaving without enough money on hand. I have cash receivables, but the date of actually receiving them was indefinite. So, I was thinking then, if worse comes to worst, I am borrowing money from my husband for travel. 

Some of you might ask, "Why borrow when what is his is yours, and what is yours is his?" 

The answer is simple. My husband worked hard for that money. And I do not want to spend his hard-earned money for my personal "splurge."

But deep in my heart, I trusted God's timing which has always been perfect. I knew that He will provide.

Come Saturday, two days before the trip, after checking my bank account online, I told my husband that I am not borrowing money anymore because our incentives were remitted just in the nick of time!!!

We Are Exactly Where God Wants Us To Be

My visa application could have been disapproved, or it could have been released late.

But it wasn't.

Having no cash on hand could have made me think twice about leaving.

But God provided. 

Maybe God brought me to Sydney so I could grow more spiritually, as I have prayed.

But more importantly, maybe God also brought me to Sydney, so that I can share to the world that through this experience, I can say again and again, that God is real.

Dream BIG Dreams

Yesterday, after writing a blog post, I received a message from my high school batchmate. The message says, "Hi Joan! Idol kita. Hope to be like you the soonest possible time."

Honestly, I was blown away by the message. Totally overwhelming. Knowing that I make an impact, no matter how small, inspires me to continue doing what I do. I think this is what God has purposed me to do -- to bless others through writing. Thank you very much.

But this is what I told her, and what I am telling you now, "I want you to be better than me. Keep praying and continue working on your big dreams. Claim that one day, it will happen. Start preparing NOW for that day."

If prayer is like asking for rain, then faith is carrying an umbrella.

Remember the story where there was famine in the land, and desperate for help, the people of the village held a meeting. "Let us pray," said an elderly woman. "Only God can help us now."

Among the people gathering for prayer, only a little girl had an open umbrella. 

I encourage you to be like that of the little girl.

Today, God is telling you, and I learned this from the Hillsong Conference, 

"Ask me something bigger than you, 

So that I can show up and be God in your life."

God will not give less than what we deserve, but He doesn't give us more than what we ask. 

God is waiting. 

Stop protecting God with asking for small lives. We are here to prove that God is not powerless, on our behalf. 

I hope this post proved just that.

God be praised! Be very blessed!

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P.S. 2. I will be sharing more of my learnings during the Hillsong Conference in my next post.

How My Investment Helped Me Attend the Hillsong Conference in Sydney

Three weeks ago, I was in Sydney, Australia for five days to attend the Hillsong Conference 2016 held at the Qudos Bank Arena. It was definitely one of my WOW Moments in this lifetime!

Why?

Because if you have been following my blog, you would know that once upon a time I was flat broke, living paycheck after paycheck and had zero "real" assets. I made an emphasis on "real" because I used to think then that accumulating assets meant owning the latest gadgets that did mostly the same thing. 

Fast forward to today, finding myself travelling to a different continent, to attend a conference for almost a week, is just unbelievable! Even until now, I am still overwhelmed by that experience. It was definitely one for the books!

Shift Happens

So, from that kind of reckless spender that I was, I developed the discipline to be a saver and an investor. The key to be able to do this is FINANCIAL EDUCATION.

I choose when to be frugal and when to splurge.

When it comes to material stuff, I am frugal. I do not own the latest gadget anymore or have bought an expensive bag. There were even times when I was treated indifferently as I walked into an expensive shop simply because I look broke. (Please, I urge you to stop judging others simply by how they look.) Plain and simple, just like that. And personally, I do not mind. That's the norm. I'm just not buying it.

BUT when it comes to self-growth, I splurge. As one of my mentors would say, "Increase yourself, and you increase your wealth." Again and again, I have proven this to be true. When you know more, you are able to serve others better.

I splurge on books, membership sites, online courses and seminars. Why? Because our mind is our greatest asset. And an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.

Splurge When It Comes to Self-Growth

This trip to Sydney was a splurge. No thinking twice. Why? Not only because I get to travel to a new place, but more importantly, it is because this Hillsong Conference will help me grow spiritually.

It was late last year when my workmate and I dreamt of attending the Hillsong Conference. In December, we registered. Come February, when we spotted a seat sale, we booked our flights. By the end of April, we submitted our documents for visa application. Then we finally made our hotel reservation a week before the conference.

You see, it was not a "one time, big time" kind of splurge. I made "tiny" withdrawals for this trip every after a few months.

I made a withdrawal from where, you might ask?

Where else but from my giant piggy bank called the stock market.

Fulfill a Dream Through Investing

As Robert Kiyosaki would say, "A plan is a bridge to your dreams. Your job is to make the plan or bridge real, so that your dreams will become real. If all you do is stand on the side of the bank and dream of the other side, your dreams will forever be just dreams."

Because I have been investing in the stock market for more than three years now, what I spent preparing for that trip were merely part of the interest I earned over time. Investment in the stock market made my dream REAL.

Today, as you read this post, I encourage you to start your investment journey and be one day closer to your dreams. Procrastinating won't get you anywhere.

One Final Note

Yes, investment played a huge role in the fulfillment of this dream. But it was not solely about it. I strongly believe that it was through God's grace that made all of this possible. (I will write a different post for this.)

Everything was a process, from how I used to be to how I am today, and with God guiding me every step of that journey. Investment was only God's instrument. 

Be very blessed!



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