HELLO THERE, SEPTEMBER!

It's officially the start of the Christmas season here in the Philippines! Yes, you're reading it right, we like to start our Christmas festivities as early as September. I remember growing up and seeing my grandmother list down her Christmas shopping list by August so that she can start buying things collectively, on a weekly basis until December arrives. I remember helping out my mom pick the color scheme and theme for Christmas decors and will start putting up our tiny tree and garlands at the end of September. This coming month does give a lot of good memories from my childhood and I'm sure that most Filipinos can resonate with this one way or another. I guess we're festive like that, we like to look forward to special occasions and prepare ahead of time ;)

I don't really know how the 'ber months' will shape up here in the Philippines this year, and even across the globe. I know that we're all in an awkward time to feel jovial and excited with all the things happening around us. Like what I've said a couple of times in my recent blog entries, this year is quite unique, and all of us are taught about what really matters in this lifetime - no amount of material possessions can satisfy or quench our pain, our grief, our curiosities and desires, our hopes and dreams. In a way, breezing through the past few months has indeed brought us back to living within our means, being satisfied with what we have for the day and being grateful enough to be alive and healthy. Don't you think we have so much to be grateful for this year despite what's happening across the globe? Because honestly, I do have a lot of things to be grateful for regardless of all the how's and the why's in life. I wish to start the month by sharing with you seven things that I'm grateful for and hopefully it will encourage you to list down your own.

I am grateful for:

1. God's continuous protection in our household;

2. God's gracious provision for our essential needs and even wants;

3. Continuous learning and awareness - Over the past few months, I have learned so much about racial injustice, Black Lives Matter movement, cultural appropriation, and political freedom. It's really not just about being visible in our social media platforms but more about how we practice what we learn in our lives and community. I have been openly discussing these things with my family and we do get a lot of insights and learnings from each other;

4. The love and care of my husband. I would say that our bond has been strong for the past couple of months, we have been learning about each other's quirks and imperfections, we learned the art of discussing and talking, and mostly for me, listening. I love listening to what he has to say and what he thinks of things no matter how simple or trivial they may be;

5. The Marriage Support Group that God has gifted us with. Since the lockdown took effect last March, we have not really been able to have our usual fellowships and gatherings in Church and I honestly do miss it a lot. But I'm really grateful for technology because we are still able to meet virtually, share our concerns and thanksgiving, and just be able to grow in Christ;

6. Being able to stand, walk, and even bend freely again. My back is so much better than last month, I am no longer taking my pain medication and have been starting to exercise again!

7. Being able to have this blog as an avenue to express myself and even get to know other people outside my usual circle. I've been coming across to a lot of blogs and reading through their entries help me learn and understand other things that are outside of my points of interest or expertise.

Bonus: I'm grateful for art. I've been consistently creating these past few weeks as a means to avoid my phone and lessen my screen time. It feels really great to be able to paint again and just freely express my ideas and even desires through art.

And since it's another beautiful month, I wish to gift you once again with your monthly dose of desktop and wallpapers! For September, I wish to give you a refreshing visual background that would help your eyes relax and refresh from a long day of tasks. Just like last month, I made two layouts for you to choose from.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD:

Desktop Wallpaper / Desktop Calendar / Mobile Home Screen / Mobile Lock Screen

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

Desktop Wallpaper / Desktop Calendar / Mobile Home Screen / Mobile Lock Screen

Whether you go for the lush nature or the minimal urban theme, I hope that these will inspire you and help you track your days creatively. I'm honestly looking forward to the days ahead, not just because it's the start of Christmas season, but more importantly another chance for us to see, learn, and grow from the things that will unfold before us.

Wishing you a fruitful month of September and as always, a Happy Heyday!

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