If you were a highly paid artist, worked for a popular music group and multimedia recording company, had just landed jobs in music video production and radio show hosting--if you were nineteen and already making a name for yourself--would the tough and sometimes sacrificial life of a full-time Christian volunteer appeal to you more?

When God called me to greater dedication and service for Him, it took me three years to say yes and actually do what He was asking of me. I had found a comfortable and respected place in life, and I had no desire to give that up.

But for three years, like a recurring dream, God kept speaking to my heart. My parents were full-time Christian volunteers, so I had been born into a life of service and had been happy there for sixteen years. Then the world pulled me away.

I had had so much of a good thing that I stopped valuing it. The good thing was my service for the Lord, which, little by little, I left on the shelf with other things I thought I'd outgrown. I suppose I had dreamed the typical teenage dream--to be successful, to be different yet admired, to be recognized, to be somebody. I also craved excitement and financial security. For some reason, all those things came easier to me than they do to most teenagers, and that's when I began to forget my true blessings--God's blessings of genuine happiness, satisfaction, and fulfillment that I had found in helping others.

"Today, I'm the happiest I've been in a long time because my life is in good hands--God's hands!"

Those years of indecision were full of ups and downs that further threatened my faith. Bigger and better job opportunities came my way, including an offer for me to help script, produce, and be in the cast of a feature-length film. Meanwhile, my personal life unraveled. In pursuit of self-satisfaction, I made decisions that hurt others. Good friends watched me change for the worse and turned away. As I gained more of the world, I lost more of what really mattered.

Empty, ashamed, and angry with myself, I finally had to choose between two lives. Part of me wanted to quit--to give up on myself and give up on God--but something else implored me to hold on. God never gave up on me.

In January 2002, I boarded a plane from my native Philippines to Thailand, where God had called me to serve. It took faith and courage to say, "Okay, today I'm going to stop living for the world." But the happy ending to my story is that God gave me the courage and faith I needed. Today, I'm the happiest I've been in a long time because my life is in good hands--God's hands! And, yes, His "paycheck" covers all my living expenses, with fringe benefits the world could never match.

So, am I successful? Excited? Secure? Making a difference? Yes! I am all those things and more. I am a full-time follower of Jesus, living the life--and proud of it!