sheena loves sunsets

Raffles Design Institute

Got invited to attend a press event of Raffles Design Institute in Makati early this week. Raffles is an international school offering design courses and they just opened their Manila campus last 2010! I was able to sit-in on 4 of their classes; fashion draping, interior design, visual communications and fashion merchandising. And it was very interesting!

I love how they teach their students about design hands-on! This is the kind of set-up I would prefer if I had decided to attend a design school in college. I love also how they have different international teachers who have very impressive backgrounds teach their classes. This photo was taken at the fashion draping class.

Within two years, you can get your diploma and if you take just one more year (abroad!) you get to earn your bachelor’s degree already! How cool is that? They’re internationally accredited and they have campuses all over; from China to India to Australia.

Side trivia: they had a raffle (pun unintended) during the end of all the talks and I won the second prize which was 2000 pesos worth of GC from Forever 21! I’m so excited to spend them! Haha! See you at Forever 21 soon! :)

Honestly, I have no plans of going back to school in the near future (I’m still very much enjoying my no-school life, thank you very much!) but I was very impressed with Raffles. When I was in high school, I debated a lot if I should go take a design course or not. I have no regrets with what I chose (Business Management at Ateneo) but if Raffles was already there at that time, I might have seriously considered this school as an option too!

Learn more about Raffles here!

We’ve all said at one point or another how we “don’t have time” for certain things; “Sorry I don’t have time to go out with you guys because I need to do my homework.” “Sorry I don’t have time to attend Bible study today because I have to work on my project” But the truth is, we DO have time, it’s just that, we chose the other option.

You have time to go out with your family, it’s just that you chose to prioritize working on your homework during that time. You do have time to attend Bible study but it seems that working on your project seems to be more important at that time than studying the Bible.

Pastor Peter said “You have all the time. What do you do with your time?” and that’s the real question isn’t it? You have time to read your Bible, but do you choose to spend those 20 minutes surfing the internet instead? You have time to join your family for dinner, but do you choose to stay home so you can watch your favorite series instead? Pastor Peter also said “Whatever is important (to you), you will have time for it”

What is competing with your relationship with God? It’s not the bad things in life, for sure, but the good things that take up space in your heart. Time is one thing we all value, where do you spend yours? Is it on things that matter? Is it on things that last? Ten years from now, will these things still be as important to you as they are now? Are you spending your time wisely?

God says there is a time for everything; there is enough time to work on your homework, enough time to spend with your family, enough time to spend with your friends and enough time, more importantly, to spend with Him. Being “too busy” is never an excuse. You can never be too busy for anything that is important to you.

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I feel so passionately about this right now because I get really annoyed when people tell me they don’t have time. Tell me about being busy; I’m planning a wedding, designing things for the wedding, meeting with all kinds of wedding suppliers, working on a house, designing things for the house, meeting with all kinds of suppliers for the house, working on my business, designing new merchandise and I have a day-job too. And still I find time to attend Bible study, lead a Bible study, attend church every Sunday, join my family and my fiance’s family every week, meet with friends and the list goes on! Talk to me about being too busy and watch me roll my eyes… :|

Wedding Essentials (eep!)

So in the latest Wedding Essentials issue, I get a makeover! Haha! I am hardly model material but big thanks to Crae for this fun opportunity!

Because of my itty-bitty eyes, I usually put dark eyeliner on the top and bottom. The make-up artist in this shoot didn’t though which felt weird but I guess it turned out all good in the end so no worries! She’s the make-up artist after all!

Oh and, I never go out the house without make-up though so the “before” photo really makes me cringe (haha!) but since God made me this way, I shall be proud and happy! Haha! Rest assured, you will never see me in that state outside of the house EVER. :)

A lot of you guys have been asking for a while now for details on my husband-to-be and more about our love story. Sorry I haven’t been getting much on the details (my fiance’s a pretty private person haha!) but here’s a teaser!

It is so easy to praise God when everything’s going well, but what if they’re not? What happens when you fail an exam? When you break up with your boyfriend? Or when your family is having a hard time making ends meet? What happens when you find out you have friends who betrayed you or when you lose something you worked so hard for? Can you still praise Him? Can you still honestly say you love Him despite everything?

“Sing and make melody with your heart to the Lord” not only when times are good but also when things get rough. Our hearts can rest in God no matter how disappointed we become in life because He’s the only one who will never let you down. You can trust His promises and you can trust Him because He never fails and He never gives up on us, even when we’ve already given up on ourselves.

“Love never Fails.”

electricwatermelon:

I felt inspired last December that I got my family and friends gifts from the Sheena loves Sunsets Online Store. I got them bookmarks, a mug, and a notebook. They were the perfect gifts to give and in a way, I felt like I have made God proud for inspiring others and spreading His word in a simple but special way.

Don’t forget to visit Sheena Sy’s Sheena loves Sunsets Online Store. Great and inspiring products to own and to give. :)

I placed this Sheena loves Sunsets tag in my planner so that I will always remember what love truly is. :)

Super happy you like the products! Thank you so much for all the support. For all of you who would like to purchase your own items, please check out www.sheenalovessunsets.com/store!

We currently have a notebooks sale (40% off on all regular notebooks!) However, all mugs are currently out of stock though! Sorry!

WHAT IF JESUS DIDN’T COME?

Have you ever wondered; what would life be like if Jesus didn’t come? No Christmas, that’s for sure! But what would that mean to you? And what would that mean to me?

If Jesus didn’t come, there would be no “Sheena Loves Sunsets”; no products with Bible verses from me (because there would be no Bible!) and no Bible verse drawings posted on my Tumblr. In fact, If Jesus didn’t come, there would be no “Sheena Loves Sunsets” in Tumblr because the friend who convinced me to start a Tumblr was also, a friend from church (Hi, Isa, a.k.a. themorninglight!)

If Jesus didn’t come, I wouldn’t have met the most amazing people I’ve met in my life because I met a lot of them in CCF (the church I attend). I wouldn’t have met people who I could count on during tough times and I wouldn’t have known what it was like to have a group of people praying for you. If Jesus didn’t come, I wouldn’t have started a Bible study with 3 of my closest friends and we wouldn’t have experienced the joy and sense of fulfillment seeing people grow in their faith through the group. If Jesus didn’t come, I wouldn’t have joined a Holy Land Bible Study tour and would have missed out on such a life-changing trip.

If Jesus didn’t come, I would most certainly not be getting married next year. In fact, I would most definitely not have met my fiance because first of all, the friend who introduced us was a friend of mine from church. And even if by “chance” (because there is no Jesus) we would have met, I would probably be a crazy, immature, insecure, proud and selfish girlfriend and we would’ve broken up already just a few months after.

If Jesus didn’t come, I would be prouder than I am now, more selfish, more unkind. I would probably not be a very good daughter, not a good sister and not a good friend. I would probably lie a lot, cheat, steal, curse and be rude. I would find no meaning and purpose in my life which could lead me to become cynical and angry at the world. Maybe I would smile, but deep inside I would hurt. There would be no purpose to everything I would be doing and I would know it… and yet, I wouldn’t know how to fix it.

But Jesus did come! And in coming, He changed my life! I am still not perfect and my life is far from perfect, but I can only imagine how different things would be if Jesus didn’t choose to come in this world to save me.

So this Christmas, may we all remember the true reason for this season. May we be glad and joyful not only because we are with family and friends, not only because we can take a break and not only because we can enjoy the gifts and the good food. May we celebrate, and I mean really celebrate (!) because Jesus came and when He did, He changed everything. This Christmas, may we love because He first loved us.

Happy Birthday, Jesus! Thank you for coming. You didn’t have to, but you did. ♥

My attempt at making the most out of my now undo-able Facebook Timeline. I will make a better one when I am bored (which is not right now.)

My best friend and I went to Singapore over the weekend for some BFF bonding time and to watch Wicked!!!

I’ve been wanting to watch Wicked since I was in high school but I’ve never had the chance to visit New York yet so you can just imagine my excitement when I learned that Wicked would be showing in Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands!

The show was awesome and I enjoyed so much!! The story, songs and acting were super, but I wasn’t surprised about that because I’ve been listening to the songs since forever and the reviews for this play have been great! I was a bit disappointed about the set and props though. I actually feel bad because I think I over-expected!

I wanna know if the New York set is exactly the same as the one they had in Singapore, or if the one in NY is more elaborate. Anyone know? And I wish I could have watched Kristin Chenoweth play Galinda when she was still part of the show!

Another highlight of our trip (warning, useless trivia time haha!) was me riding a plane by myself for the first time! We took separate flights because I wanted to take a budget plane (hehe, cheapo!) Believe it or not, it’s the first time I’ve done this and I was so scared at first but now I am so happy that I did it because it was a different experience.

I’d tell you more about the trip in detail if I still had my travel blog (haha!) but I don’t! I super miss writing there, but for now, this will do. You can check out my best friend’s food/travel blog though because she will most probably post some stuff about our Singapore food escapades!

Life is all about relationships; get your relationship right with the One who matters most first (God!) and everything else will follow.

littlepinkbell:

Ordered these wonderful and inspirational mugs from www.sheenalovessunsets.com :”>

I will give these to my cousin and his girlfriend :)) Order na din kayo and be inspired by her creation :D

Thank you so much for ordering Ruby! I’m fixing your orders as we speak! Hehe. Hope you enjoy your new Sheena Loves Sunsets mug!

“ Everybody wants to be on the mountaintop, but if you’ll remember, mountaintops are rocky and cold. There is no growth on the top of a mountain. Sure, the view is great, but what’s a view for? A view just gives us a glimpse of our next destination, our next target. But to hit that target, we must come off the mountain, go through the valley, and begin to climb the next slope. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak.

— Andy Andrews

(Source: atomos)

“Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matt 6:34)

For all your worry-warts out there! Stop worrying! You’re not in control of everything, God is! But I guess the questions is, do you know God enough for you to really truly trust Him? If the answer is no, don’t worry! I’ve got good news!

God wants to have a relationship with you! Wanna know how? Check this out!

gabsydoodle:

Never too old for a cup of milk and chocolate chip cookies

Hey! I really love this shot! Thanks Gabby!! Can I have a cookie?

Candy-Colored Shoes from Tribute!

I bought a new pair Tribute Shoes and I love them so much! I fell in love with the colors immediately! Aren’t they the cutest? “CANDY!” was my mom’s first reaction! Haha! Anyway, I was planning to do an outfit post for this but I couldn’t find anything in my closet to match the shoes. Shucks! Any suggestions? Maybe I’ll have a sea-green/robin-blue skirt made! Heehee.

I’m not a great shopper and I’m not really into fashion (except for fall/winter clothes, which is weird because we don’t even have fall/winter in Manila!) but sometimes I find really cute pieces that I wanna share with you guys. My favorite detail is this green stripe at the back of each shoe! So adorable!

Check out their other shoes and like their FB page! They come up with new styles regularly! What do you guys think? ♥

Things that I am thankful for

I am thankful for quiet early mornings and breakfasts with friends. For dark nights and bright stars, long drives and long walks. For maple tea, good books and fantastical dreams. For honest hugs, honest stories and honest promises.

I am thankful for all the times I dreamed and tried yet failed because those times made me realize that I am not in control and that sometimes, it’s okay not to be. I am thankful because in life I have learned that there is always a chance to start over, if you choose to. I am thankful because happy endings are real and goodbyes are never permanent. I am thankful because there is always hope for those who are brave enough to still believe.

But most of all, I am thankful because Someone loved me enough to save me and because that love is more than enough for everything… each and every time.