Feast Bay Area Morning Bulletin for December 23, 2018

The second thing He does is repair us. This
will take decades! To strengthen our weaknesses.
To smoothen our rough edges. To root out the
evil tendencies in us. Our impatience. Our envy.
Our selfishness. Our narrow-mindedness. Our
insecurities. To do this, it costs Him. A lot. It will be
so much cheaper to throw us away. But He’ll never
do that.
That is the God that we worship.
This Christmas, we celebrate how God
went out of His way to restore and repair us. St.
Athanasius said, "For the Son of God became man
so that we might become God."
Merry Christmas!
May your dreams come true,
GOD DOESN’T THROW STUFF AWAY
Haven’t you noticed? God doesn’t throw away stuff.
Why? He’s in the business of restoration.
And this restoration is a two-step process…
The first thing He does is clean us up. He
forgives us, but the weaknesses remain. Yet despite
that, we’re already beautiful in His eyes. This is
what really restores us: His love.
While others want to throw us away, He
displays us before all and tells us we’re lovely.
Some may not understand. Some may criticize us.
He doesn’t care. To Him, we’re gorgeous.
BO SANCHEZ
PS. On December 30, we don’t have a Feast in
PICC. But in the Feast Mall of Asia will have a Feast
at SMX. Bring the family (and balikbayan friends
and relatives) there!
PS2. See You Next Year for our next Feast:
January 6 which we call Blessing Day. On that
day, bring your Novena to God’s Love (Get a new
one if you need it.) And your Bible or Companion or
Prayer Journal. Let’s consecrate 2019 to the Lord.
Bring your friends over!
THE JOY IS REAL
Do you know that famous online hashtag that goes:
#TheStruggleIsReal?
Are you familiar with this saying? Grabe ang
traffic sa EDSA. #TheStruggleIsReal.
Ubos na bonus ko. #TheStruggleIsReal.
Kinakantahan na naman ako ni Gary V. dahil
single ako. #TheStruggleIsReal.
If the story of your life is always
#TheStruggleIsReal, maybe you need to use a new
hashtag.
Can I suggest a new one for you? Instead of
saying #TheStruggleIsReal, let’s change that.
From now on, stop saying #TheStruggleIsReal.
Instead you say, #TheJOYisReal.
Because although the struggle was real this
year, you can’t deny the fact that the joy was
also real.
Today, I’ll talk about how you can have more
JOY in your life in the next season that God is going
to bring you into.
You will be blessed.
In Him,
AUDEE VILLARAZA

Thank You, Lord!
We asked what your greatest Christmas blessings are and here’s what you said:
“God gave me a second life after surviving an accident. Thank You very
much, Lord.” – Joanne Guitche, human relations manager
“After working abroad, I’m grateful to be home to spend Christmas with
my family and finally attend The Feast.” – Jessa Gonzales, nurse
“I met the love of my life. Thank God for your best Christmas gift.”
– Lawrence Balane, chemical engineer
“Lord, thank You for I’m home and will be with the children this Christmas.”
– Marilyn Caparino, OFW caregiver
“Thank God for I was able to work out my finances and grow a
passive income.” – Rachelle Campillanes, marketing officer
“My mom and I were able to safely travel to the US last November. Thank
You, Jesus.” – Melchizedek Abelardo, electronics engineer
“Our joy is complete. Thank God for the gift of family.”
– Sheila Bajado, quality assurance professional
“Jesus, thank You for blessing me with skills and capabilities, clients, thus
leading me to financial opportunities.”
– Raissa Ocampo, learning development professional
Have a Merry Christmas and a
Blessed New Year to all!

SCENES FROM LAST SUNDAY
“Make room for Jesus in your
heart.”
- Bro. Bo Sanchez
▲ #TheJoyIsReal. Our very own hashtag this Christmas.
Beats the popular #TheStruggleIsReal.
Bro. Audee Villaraza tells Feasters, “When we try to
impress people, we miss the opportunity to enjoy their
company. As with God, He knows about our mess but
loves us anyway.”
No Matter What. Whatever we are going through, regardless of how messy our
lives are, God will be with us if we let Him in.
The Other First Christmas Story. In Bro. Bo Sanchez’s alternate version of the
Nativity story, the innkeeper did not turn Joseph and Mary away. He said, most
likely, Joseph’s relatives despite their many guests welcomed Joseph and Mary to
stay in the guest room. But when it was time for Mary to give birth, she was offered
the barn – typically a part of Bethlehem household – for the blood discharge would
render the room ceremoniously unclean – a belief held by the Jews.
Not Alone. That does not mean that Mary and Joseph were by themselves. Joseph’s
relatives and the women in the neighborhood were probably there to help Mary – a
common practice in small towns. They offered what they had available, in this case,
a small messy space with a manger. And in this mess, the Savior was born.
Let Him In. Despite our inadequacy, imperfection and sinfulness, Jesus will still be
born in us as long as we welcome Him into our lives.
We may be going through brokenness and failures this season but God will still
be there for us in our messy place. We need not try to impress Him with our perfect
lives. We only need to offer Him true hospitality and open our hearts to Him so He
can reside in us and be truly present in our lives.