What Makes Our Christmas Get-Together Special?

Is it in knowing that your parents are both healthy if you discard their hi-blood, diabetes, athritis and a slew of other OA symptoms?

Is it in sharing a low-fat, low-cholesterol meal with everybody from the moment the Noche Buena dishes are cooked until the wee hours in the morning?

Is it the exchange gifts that we have thought over and over a few weeks before hoping to make sure our monito-monita will like it?

Is it the growing-up and soon-to-be increasing count of the fun and hyper-energetic nephews and nieces?

Truth be told, we are a quite diverse family with all the occasional ups-and-downs, little misunderstandings here and then resulting to some tampuhan like any typical (imperfect) family. But deep in our hearts, we will surely choose our "crazy" family over other "ideal" family because these beautiful, wonderful persons are God's gifts to each one of us. We are God's family to each other.

So what makes our Christmas get-together special?

First and foremost - God.

A close second - Family.

Merry Christmas to All.

Christ is Christmas

Our family loves our gold fish.

We bought them last January for Zek’s 10^th birthday. Well, actually, both he and Aim really wanted a puppy, a cat and a pair of birds….and a horse..and a pig…and lots of chickens. In short, they dreamt of putting up a petting farm inside our 40 square meter flat. Heaven forbid that their dream come to fulfilment for I dread competing with a pig in my snoring-sleep and walking over those nose-wrenching organic wastes on our floor. Not to mention the angry petitioners from our neighbors who’d swear this weren’t their idea of city-living when they bought their flat-units.

Anyway, for almost a year now, we have the serene, quiet and well-behaved companionship of our fish in the safe confines of a fish-bowl. We clean it regularly. We placed white sand and a few rocks. We are adding some water plants now and then. Zek intently observes the fish behaviour and throws out random questions like – “Why do they keep opening their mouth as if they are talking me?” or “Don’t they get tired of swimming?” Aim, on the other hand, often fights his great urge to dip his small hand into the bowl and scare the wits out of them by creating a mini whirpool.

And as for me, I do marvel at how they waited like clockwork for their feeding time. They would make a surface-up group-swim everytime they see the green round container that holds their fish food. They would squish and squash around and get really excited.

Aren’t we also excited this time?

Well, we should be.

It’s barely a week to Christmas day.

The tell-tale signs have been showing the past weeks. Promo sales here and there. Heavy-traffic doubling in size and duration. Malls and houses decorated. Streetlights adorned with colourful flashing lights. People buying gifts. Parties and dinners being held left and right and “diet” is declared a fallacy. Airports at full-capacity due to arriving holiday-makers. Santa is a common sight around. People put up a better effort to be nice.

But here is a last-few-day reminder for us to be really excited for the right reason.

More than two-thousand years ago, our God of love has fulfilled His promise.

In a few days we will celebrate the incarnation of our only salvation.

So how should we show our genuine excitement?

On these days, we must share our joy and our blessings to our less-fortunate neighbors.

On these days, we must sing songs of joy to Him, receive Him through the sacraments and celebrate His Holy Eucharist.

On these days, we must find the elusive time to be quiet alone with Him and in the silence of our heart - talk to Him, thank Him, praise Him.

Jesus Christ, our God and Redeemer.

We love you.

Merry Christmas to all of us.

In All Things

“Daddy, ouch si Aim”, as our three-year old toddler pouting-face while pointing at his back head.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Nauntog sa table dito”, his squeaky high-pitch tone went, still rubbing his tiny hands on his head.

“Are you OK? What do you want Daddy to do?”

“Daddy, kiss the ouch,” now with his cute face beaming and brimming with confidence. 

“OK”, as I embraced him to give him my loudest kiss-smack on his head.

And in a huff, he went about playing his toys once again.

Nostalgia sets in to me.

A few more months from now and I can ascertain how our Aim will come to realize that Daddy’s all-cure-all-solution kiss can’t really heal any injuries or even the tiniest bug bites he gets. A few months for now, he will ask for a medicine or topical ointment to be relieved from pain or any physical discomfort. Finally, he will learn to breeze me by and try to solve his pains and personal predicaments by himself because he knows that his old folk can’t help anymore at all.

I believe our Heavenly Father is also gloomy whenever one of us, His children, does not look up to Him during our daily struggles unless it’s turning out to be a life-and-death situation. We have grown accustomed to “not disturb” our biological father with trivial stuffs especially when he is “busy”. We have burden upon ourselves all the daily chores and concerns on us and relegate God to a mere end-of-the-day director who needs our prayer-report.

But God is neither busy to over-look our simple needs nor distant to turn a deaf ear to our childlike petitions.

Are you annoyed at the long lines in the grocery counter? Ask God to give you patience.

Do you feel exasperated when your child-student isn’t focus on your lesson (me! me! me!). Ask God to temper your temper (please! please! please!)

Are you exhausted? Ask God for physical healing.

Not sure what to do today? Ask God for direction.

So whatever it is or whatever you are going through now, or to put it simply, in all things – Ask God for guidance and help.

Because not like an old folk in a rocking chair, He always can and always wants to make even small miracles in our lives.

We just have to call Him, trust Him and thank Him for His love that never fails.

Isaiah 49:15-16 says, "Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.See, upon the palms of my hands I have engraved you;*

your walls are ever before me."

God bless po.

SLAP each other

Here is an unsolicited advice to all newly-wed couples out there.

SLAP each other.

Whaaaat?                                        

Yes, you must slap each other.

Before you howl and reply with condemnation letters to me, allow me to explain myself.

Slapping has always been unduly vilified, portrayed in bad undertones and often associated with violence.

But the fact is slapping can be a good and positive act or be an opportunity to respond with love.

For example, if your loved one is having moaning nightmares you should use gentle slapping to wake him/her up, right? Or if someone fainted and laid unconscious, slapping is a practical way to try to wake that person up before proceeding to other life-saving measures. In both cases, the action of slapping is meant to save.

For Catholics who are receiving the sacrament of Confirmation, the officiating bishop proceeds with the symbolical slapping to welcome the Christian into the army of God. It is the culmination of the profession of faith done during Baptism. In this case, slapping is like a wake-up call that we are “as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.” (CCC 1285)

Biblically speaking, slapping was also used by our Lord Jesus to preach about humility. “If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn your other cheek as well.” (Matthew 5:39). So the act itself maybe be negative but with humility and meekness rooted in the Lord, the response to the slapping can be liberating.

But to be more particular, allow me to break down my thoughts behind my “slapping” advice.

S – Serve each other.

Equality is not in both spouse having the same thing but in both spouse sharing what they have to make the other better.

L – Laugh together.

Laughing is always preceded by open communication and friendly discussions of family matters. A good movie laugh which means its date night.

A – Accept each other.

After marriage, according to some pundits, the masks are totally off and the gloves are absolutely on. Annoyances, irritants and shortcomings will happen and occur. But marital strain can be avoided by learning to accept each other’s frailties. As someone has beautifully put it, marriage is not a union between two perfect persons but two imperfect persons who loves and accept each other.

P – Pray together.

Every day and whatever situations you are both into, pray together. Pray as often as you can. Pray for each other and for others who are also part of your marriage life. Pray for God’s grace and mercy to accompany you both always in your chosen vocation of Holy Matrimony.     

So once again, newly-weds must SLAP each other.

May you have a blissful, peaceful and memorable journey of togetherness.

God bless po.       

                                                                                                                                                                 

(This article was inspired by the lovely wedding on a lovely October day of the lovely couple Merv and Kat. Congratulations to both of you!)     

Beautiful NAIA

While queuing at the OFW counter of the airport immigration, one officer

broke the pervading silent and gloomy ambiance.

"Para po sa maayos na pag-check ng immigration, pumila lang po tayo ng

maayos at huwag magsabay-sabay sa paglapit sa Immigration officer." 

However, upon seeing a wife distancing herself from her husband, she quickly quipped, "Pwede po magsabay basta legal wife."

She then went on, "Paglapit naman po sa immigration officer, ibigay nyo po

ang inyong mga dokumento AA." Seeing the our bewildered looks, she

continued, "AA is Agad-Agad." Smiles and giggles started filling the hall.

The officer has another reminder under her sleeves. "Bago pa man po kayo

lumapit sa immigration office ay mag fill-up na po kayo ng inyong mga

departure card NN." Sensing that we are now all waiting for her punchline,

she smilingly said,"NN - Now Na."

By this time, she successfully has gotten our attention so she finally

narrated how she wished all of us well in our respective trips, that she

knew we are all sad because we are leaving our families behind and that we

should save with passion so we can go back to our families at the soonest

time possible. She even intimated that she went to stay in Canada before but

she chose to go back because she misses her family so much.

"There is no other place like home, so come home soon", she tenderly

reminded us.

Whereas our premier airport has been notoriously battered the past years

with bad ratings and impressions due to poor facilities and services, there

was an unappreciated beauty unfolding in front of us.

Salamat po, Ms. Abesamis of the NAIA 2 Immigration Department.

Hindi nyo lang po kami napasaya habang nakapila sa pag alis ng bansa,

pina-alalahanan nyo pa po kami na mahalin ang aming pamilya.

You make NAIA (and the Filipinos) proud and beautiful.

God bless po.

Family Healing

(While browsing over my unfinished articles, I came across this one which I completed on Sept.21, 2015 but I never got to post due to an equally sudden event. My wife, who was supposedly eight weeks pregnant, experienced painful cramps the following day Sept.22 which persisted and ended with the diagnosis that our angel in her womb is already gone. We took comfort in knowing that we now have two angels in Heaven. Kuya Zek named her Marian and we now seek her intercession during our night time prayers.

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal )

Si Lord Talaga

"The human heart plans the way, but the LORD directs the steps" - Proverbs 16:9

The suspense is over!

But before that allow me to give a one-liner description of my family life starting the year 2000 - it's "NPA" or No Permanent Address. I already lost count the times my wife and I changed residences mainly brought about by my OFW work destinations around China. We have moved and stayed in different districts in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and other Guangdong cities. We have transferred flats at least eight times during the span of 13 years. That means we were moving out at least every two years.

It was both a blessing and a challenge. A blessing because all those movements meant opportunities of meeting new friends and new locations to explore and tourist spots to visit. A challenge, well, because we have also to physically move all our stuffs with us each time. And believe me when I say our stuffs did not only multiply but increased exponentially once we started to have our children!

After a family tragedy some some six years ago and due to the poor health condition of our youngest (and an equally poor expat health-care system), we made the difficult decision to move back to Philippines and stay in our very own forty square meter flat unit within the metro city.

Our home was the fruit of five years of financial savvy and savings of my wife. It's small space is deceiving because it has a quadruple function feature - our classroom for Zek (who is a fifth-grade home-schooler), a play-area for our toddler Aim, a home-office for my part-time work and start-up business and of course, our cozy, though at times really chaotic, place of abode.

The past two years, we have put ourselves in a position to finally be accustomed and adjusted to our new home, our very own permanent address, so to speak. We have banded a 4-person think-thank how to scoop, organize, fix, organize, arrange, organize, decorate and, did I say organize our growing stuffs (Yes, sometimes I do feel that these non-living things have lives of their own and multiply at night). More so, we were really hoping that our small business will grow in time and that we can happily and permanently settle here.

Pero si Lord may iba pa pala na plano sa amin. Akala namin ay OK na kami sa aming sariling munting tahanan na kasya kaming apat. Akala naming pang matagalan na ito. Yun pala, isa na namang pang-samantala ito para sa amin.

This morning, our trepidations the past weeks has been put into rest.

My wife tested positive for our fourth baby!

We will have another angel !

Syempre, our main concern is the health of my wife (this will be her fourth caesarean delivery) and the health of new baby. Our Aim has G6PD thus he has lots of food and environmental limitations, which in turn, is causing him to catch serious ailments when exposed. Once again, we will solicit prayers from our prayer warriors that her pregnancy will get the pink-slip for both mother and baby.

Well, the second thing that comes to my mind, is how our maxed-out home space can still accommodate a new nursery for our coming baby. It's a challenge we will sort out in the coming weeks but the first thought is that we will need an increased space.

How?

We will leave that to our Lord because we always believe that God has been leading us everytime.

And where He will lead us, His grace will be enough.

He is always faithful (even if we are not).  

Si Lord talaga, na caught off-guard mo na naman kami.

Saan po tayo pupunta ngayon?

Excited na po kami.

"LORD, your mercy reaches to heaven; your fidelity, to the clouds." - Psalms 36:5  

It's All In Your Hands

Many centuries ago, two teenage boys decided to play trick on one of the wise old philosopher who wandered about the Agora, or market place, of ancient Athens. They captured a tiny bird. Afterwards, they approached the wise old man as one of them held the bird in his hands behind his back where the old man can’t see it. Then approaching the old man he said,”Wise man of Athens, I have in my hands a bird. Tell me, is it dead or is it alive?”

If the old man said,”Dead,” the boy would open his hands and let the bird fly away, proving the old man wrong. If, on the other hand, he said,”Alive,” then crunch! The boy would squeeze the little bird to death and then hold it up. They were quite certain that they could make a fool of him either way.

“I have a bird in my hands. Tell us, wise man, is it dead or alive?” the two boys challenged the old man. By noww a crowd had gathered to watch this confrontation of wisdom and foolishness.

The old man thought pensively for a moment, then looking into the face of the lad holding the bird replied,”I know not whether the bord is dead or alive, but this I know: Its life is in your hands.”   (taken from Harold J. Sala’s “The Parent Map: Navigating the Way to Raising Great Kids”)

Dear co-parents, our responsibility to bring up our children is so tremendous it could mean their success or “demise” in this troubled world. It is even “non-transferrable” (hint: school, teacher, spiritual counselor) and “non-delayable” (hint: when he/she is seven or when he/she becomes a teen). It’s a daily nitty-gritty-grinding head-butting decision to be the “best” parents we can be to their impressionable minds.

Sounds scary? Not if we seek daily God’s grace and strength for our family journey. After all, it is God’s divine plan that our children become “our” children, so His grace is sufficient for each one of us. And whatever we lacked or over-looked, we still can pray that God blesses the seeds of love we have sown in their hearts to overcome those.

God bless us families.

A Question of Essential

In the 2011 comedy movie “The Big Year”, the three main protagonists Bostick, Brad and Stu have chosen the same year to go for their “big year” in which they will have to travel the whole of North America trying to find and name the most bird species in a given calendar year. They share the same passion and drive to meet their goal. But their commonality ends there. Bostick who was the previous year’s record holder of 732 birds, was also on his second marriage wherein they are trying to conceive their baby. His bird passion turned into his obsession that led to the demise of his relationship. Brad, a struggling “underachiever” in the eyes of his father, turned his passion to improving his father-son relationship as well as finally meeting the girl of his dream during his course of birding. Stu, already successful as a CEO of his own company, used his passion to fulfill his dream, to gain friendship and to appreciate more his existing and ultimate passion - his family.

Do not let love and fidelity forsake you;

bind them around your neck;

write them on the tablet of your heart. (Proverbs 3:3)

We all have personal ambitions, individual passion, private pursuits or our own special goal that we believe can bring fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment. However, the question that we need to answer as well is - at what price are we willing to achieve that goal? Is our personal dream indispensable with what is truly essential – to seek first the Kingdom of God?

It is lamentable to note that a lot of powerful, famous, successful and influential people in world are also at a loss in their personal and spiritual lives. Powerful people in the government succumb to greed and corruption. Famous people battle vices and failed marriages. Successful career and business people are highly-risked to be alienated from their own family members because of lots of unspent times with them. Influential people suffers from secret struggles when the camera if off and they are alone.

All because their pursuits of personal ambition is not linked to the pursuit of heavenly rendition.

Before they know it.

The powerful is disgraced.

The famous are unfulfilled.

The successful has failed.

The influential is shamed.

And at deathbed, the emotional regrets out-pour with the slimmest chance of even being heard.

Sad but true.

Seventy is the sum of our years,

or eighty, if we are strong;

Most of them are toil and sorrow;

they pass quickly, and we are gone. (Psalm 90:10)

(Remarks: The world's one of the well-admired funnyman, Robin Williams allegedly took his own life after years of battling clinical depression. It is a mental ailment that is not related to his personal beliefs and life-goals but still leaves a sad mark in his grief-stricken family members. He was also a meaningful and funny movie hero to me. Zek and I love his "RV" movie about family vacation. Rest in peace, Mr. Robin Williams.) 

A Beautiful Love Story

We all heard the story about the wife catching his husband sniffing and sighing on their sofa before midnight. Realizing that it was their 20th wedding anniversary the next day and touched by his random show of afffection, she asked him why he was emotional. The husband’s dead-panned answer was that he remembered his wife’s father’s threat of 20-year jail time when they eloped and how a free man he would have been starting the next day.

Kidding aside.

I admit I was misty-eyed as I witnessed last month a wedding of two persons in love. The bride looked stunning in her gown and the groom was all smiles, happiness uncontained. All of us were giggling at how the groom can’t seemed to wait for the ceremonial wedding kiss as he kept on moving his assertive self towards his bride. Hindi makapaghintay, sabi nga nila. And when the officiating priest finally gave the clearance for the groom’s exploding desire to kiss his bride, we had to cover all the children’s eyes to help maintain their innocence.

I was misty eyed because the wedding is not for a newlywed but for the renewal of vows for my uncle and aunt’s 50th golden wedding anniversary. Yes, my aunt was stunning in her golden wedding gown and my uncle was all smiles in his toothless state, yet there I was witnessing how “love conquered all”.

I know since childhood that my aunt has always been a devout Catholic and was actively involved in Church activities but my uncle has been known in our circle to be “more holy” as he religiously served in another gathering where he is the “kristo”. My aunt is such a sweet lady but uncle was more sweet especially when asking some budget for his next kristo game. She was a very good cook and my uncle always brought home the “fresh” chicken after the games. Fond childhood memories kept filling my mind.

Tita Conching is like a second mother to me and Tito Lonie has nothing but fatherly affection for me when I was a child. They lived simply in their house beside the river come high tide or low-tide. They have six children and a handful of trying times. One of their children turned his back on his Catholic faith and joined another sect. One got pregnant out of wed-lock and their youngest, a namesake of mine, died very young a year before his own wedding plan is to take place. These are the only known and visible ones but it does not take rocket science to know for certain that they have more challenges, a lot difficulties and tons hardships during their 50 years of being together.

In an age where a mere wrongly positioned toilet paper or a forgotten month-sary is enough grounds for separation, my uncle and aunt stood humbly and totally in love in front of us, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, to love and to cherish until death bring them apart.

Now that’s what my feel-good tears are for.

Congratulations to Tita Conching and Tito Lonie!

Mabuhay po kayo.

Saludo po kami sa inyo!

Ephesians 5:22-33

Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body.As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. So [also] husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church,because we are members of his body.“For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

Pencil Parable

Pencil Parable: Your goodness or true-worth is within.

She was short, wrinkly-skin and old. She was a foreigner without material wealth and lived in one of desolately poor part of India. But despite falling way below the wordly standard of success, she is mostly revered and admired by a lot of people and genuinely loved by those whose lives she has touched. Her beauty transcended outward appearance because of her inner beauty that vowed wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor. 

Her name was Mother Teresa.

Pencil Parable: You will need to be sharpened as you go through life.

He supported and fought for the end of apartheid. He was jailed for 27 years where he experienced all sorts of racial abuse coming from his white jail wardens. He persevered and accomplished his dream of a free African people by winning and becoming the first black president of South Africa. After his victory, he once again fought for peace and racial reconcilliation with their oppressors.

His name was Nelson Mandela

Pencil Parable: You will be in someone else’s hand.

It was the time of the pre-Nazi occupation of Europe and this young man was required to undergo military training against his will. Instead, he performed with various theaters where he hone his multi-language skills. As soon as the Germans occupied his homeland, he worked as messenger, quarry laborer, chemical factory worker because of threats of Germany deportation. Three years after and while the war was still on-going, he decided to enter priesthood and offered his life to God’s call to serve. And by all means, he did serve long and served well as the 264th pope.

His name was Karol Josef Wojtyla or Pope John Paul II

Pencil Parable: You are expected to leave your mark.

He lived at the time of oppressive British-rule. His nationalism and drive for their country’s self-rule has spurred non-violent protests and actions throughout their land that reverberated around the world. His truth-based peaceful civil disobedience despite the constant threat of jail and violence has become hallmark battle-cries of colonized and oppressed people and nations. Our very own People Power that brought down a tyrant dictator is without an iota of doubt, a replication of his initiative.

His name is Mahatma Gandhi.

In our own small everyday ways, we too can be a "pencil" if we believe in our inner goodness and persevere regardless of the trials and difficulties.

And if we do allow God to use our small-ness for His will, then the mark we will leave will surely lead others to our Creator.

God bless. 

References:

1. Parable of the Pencil – from James Feehan as shared in We Celebrate God’s Love

2. Biography.com for excerpts on the lives of Mahatma Gandi, Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa. 

For Aim

A few days ago, we bought our youngest son Aim his first bicycle with balancing wheels. Our young tot wasted no time to ride it around my father’s small garage. To give him more maneuvering space, I opened the gates and positioned myself halfway across the street for safety. Aim was having such fun that he started making shifty sharp turns that I felt the need to intervene. Slowly, I tried to position myself at his back to secretly hold the bicycle chair from the under. But as soon as Aim noticed my not-so-covert action, he gave me the cute wry smile.

“No, Daddy! ”, went his high-pitched soft voice with matching pouting face to boot. “For Aim only”, he continued.

Rewind from the not-so-distant past.

When Aim was learning to speak, he has accustomed himself to using the expression “for Aim only” if he wants to do things by himself. It’s “for Aim only” if he wants to color the book without our intervention. It’s “for Aim only”, when he is playing and his kuya Zek suddenly has the urge to let his giant hand spider crawl and disassemble Aim’s wooden train tracks. It’s “for Aim only” when he wants to eat alone using his spoon and fork.

Back to the present. 

So as soon as Aim blurted out his often-used expression, I have no choice but to back-off as well. But do you think I would have backed-off totally. No way, Jose!

I just kept a safe distance for me to easily jump to the rescue just in case Aim totally losses his balance. Well, he never did fall but when he reached a corner of the garage and realized he is stuck, he turned around and smiled, ”For Daddy only.” I was more than glad to lend a hand.

A lot of us can relate to this situation when it comes to our spiritual life.

When everything is good and all things are going our way, we often ignore and dismiss God into the farthest corner of our life. We bask in our happiness and dwell at our false sense of “for myself only” achievements. Then, we howl in disapproval whenever the spiritual prodding from God comes. Safe to say, everybody loves their own comfort zones.

But if we only keep an open and welcoming heart, we would come to realize that God’s close presence is not about imposing His will nor push-buttoning an abrupt power off to our happiness. The plain truth is that the cycle of life is always about ups and downs, success and failures, happiness and sadness. And it is precisely when we are about to go to another low point in our life that God’s has lovingly intended to keep us company, to catch our fall, to lend and support, to comfort and hold. But He cannot do this when we have already ask Him to stay clear of our lives during the “up-times”. Just as a mother proudly and lovingly follows her toddler who is learning to walk, trying to prevent any dangerous fall at each precarious step, so does God shares in every bit of our happiness even as He patiently wait to comfort us especially when the rough times comes in a swift sudden twist.

Our Prayer:

Dear Lord, please stay with me all the time whatever and wherever I am.

Share in my happiness and comfort me in my sadness. Amen.

The Return

Just like most Pinoys, I am a self-confessed basketball fanatic with immovable loyalty to my favorite teams since the first time I learned to handle the orange rubber ball.

For the local team it has always been San Miguel Beer and for the international team, I will forever be a Laker fan.

For San Miguel, it all started when the team was composed of the efficiently coached, solid core of Samboy Lim, Hector Calma, Allan Caidic while for the Lakers, it was always the fascination with the triumvirate of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and James Worthy. Both were elite teams at that time.

As time went by, San Miguel declined with the coming of the dynastic Alaska Milk team, but I still kept rooting for the beermen. At the other side of the globe, the out-of-this-world insanely ridiculous exploits of the Chicago Bulls and his Airness has left everyone jaw-dropped and in awed but I stuck it out with the then struggling Lakers. Talagang matalo-manalo San Miguel at Lakers lang :D.

Before officially turning pro at 18 years old, I have already read some intriguing write-ups about Lebron James about his amazing hoop skills and how the basketball world have come in anticipation for him to enter the NBA. And so he did.

Alas, his colourful years have been a roller coaster of highs and lows (with mostly lows) as critics and fan alike magnified everything he did on and off the court. At times, he did seem to have committed blunders, most notably, when he decided to leave his hometown crowd after seven years of frustrations to seek his first championship elsewhere. Then, he started winning and kept on playing on the finals game in the next four years. With all the recent success and amidst the back-dropped of winning more championships in his present team, he seemed overwhelmed and content from the outside. But the “kid from Akron, Ohio” feeling the deep tug in his heart all those years being away decided, in his own words “ to return home and help his hometown win their very-first ever sports championship”. 

His demeanor and big-heart decision deserves admiration.

So whether his return will finally be fruitful or just another short-term crack at redemption before moving elsewhere again, he would be closely watched.

As I said, I will be a San Miguel-Laker fan for life but I will also count myself now as a Lebron-Cleveland fan for some feel-good years to come.

It’s a prodigal son-like storyline worth rooting for.

PS.

It’s crazy out there in Germany with all the World Cup frenzy and euphoria for winning the world’s most prestigious cup. Congrats to my German friends! 

Old Vs. New

“..that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.” - Ephesians 4:22-24

Consequently, brothers and sisters, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." - Romans 8:12-13

One time I bought a handful of bolts and nuts and kept them inside my toolbox, mixed with the old rusty screws in one compartment. A few days later when I needed to use them again, I found out, to my dismay, that they have already become rusty as well. Being a technical person, I should have foreseen that mixing ordinary metals with rusty metals will undoubtedly lead to contamination.

Lesson learned.

After I got married, I have made a personal vow to live a pure and chaste intimate with my wife and my wife alone. Slowly, I veered away from all my previous college activities of “fun” activities of beer-drinking-to-get-drunk, men’s bar hopping, print-porn viewing and vulgar huddles. I believe with all my heart that for me to succeed, I must “put away the old self of my former way of life”. There were ups and downs. I would say that for ninety-five percent of the time, it is working for me. I also observed that the five percent instances when I was failing always happened during those prolonged times that I was away I from my family, a sad reality of being an OFW, and coupled with the easy accessibility of red-district websites. And so, to finally cut off even the slightest chance of any slip back, I made the irrevocable personal decision that wherever my wife and kids are, there I must be as well. No ifs and no buts. All for one and one for all. Not a slightest distance in between. So far and by God’s grace, I have more success with this basic life decision. Am I fully clean? Not by long shot. But the odds are much more favourable than ever.     

All of us have our own spiritual struggles and challenges because we are humans with natural tendencies towards the desires of the body and flesh. Men, in particular, are visually enticeable. The good news is that God’s grace and mercy are enough to help us turn back from our sinful tendencies, to put off our “old” ways and be “new” in everything that we think, say and do. Whether we are presently in a sinful situation or we are struggling to keep straight in our chosen path to holiness, God will be there to guide and to strengthen our resolve to persevere in doing good.

They key for us is to “put away” the occasion of sins. We all know that the well-known seven capital sins are more of seven occasional magnets to commit sins – pride, anger, lust, sloth, jealousy, envy and greed. We must avoid them altogether. It will even serve us better to search deeper on what really exposes us to these seven occasions so we can cut off the root even before the temptation sprouts. Remember that a sober and fully-recovered former drunkard will never dare to take that first liquor-sip again lest he put himself into high-risk of drinking again. No sip, no slip. We, too, must be fully aware of and admit our weakness in order for us to circumvent the teeny-weeny tiniest chance for us to desire to re-test the murky waters.

Sounds like a tall order, right?

Yes, but there is a way.

“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will act.” - Psalm 37:4

“But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one” - 2 Thessalonians 3:3 

By our own strength, we will always give-in in the face of irresistible invitations of the flesh and body.

But with God’s strength and our faith, the impossible will be doable.

God bless.

Lift

Matthew 11:28  - Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads and I will give you rest

In most fitness gym anywhere, a type of multi-purpose body building equipment that has the one-weight multi function work-out can be found. Curiously, with any single choice of weight load, say 50lbs (roughly 23 kgs), one can notice different levels of resistances for each work-out. In a particular equipment, the least resistance is when using the shoulder-pull lever and the greatest resistance is during leg-pull up. For a newbie user, this may lead to a false idea that his shoulder is really stronger than his leg muscles. Until a closer scrutiny leads to the revealing fact.

It is neither the person's ability nor the weight that is mostly affecting the "heaviness" of the work-out but the designed system of pulleys (i.e. strings through round metal wheel) that results in effective disparity of weights according to the applied work-out. In principle, the more pulleys, the lesser the weight becomes. Conversely, the lesser the quantity of pulleys, the more heavy the same load would appear.

In our life, we do carry different weights from our daily trials and travails. Every so often, they appear simple, even amusing. Sometimes, they pinch a spot in our heart but immediately go away. At times, the pain lingers. On rare occasion, the test is overwhelming such as the untimely loss of a love one.   

A family friend lost their father a couple of days ago. Before the scheduled internment, their father's sister, arriving from abroad, also died on the way to the wake. Both have been suffering from stage 4 cancer and it was a double blow of pain for the people who loved them. Also, a young man at 17 from our homeschooling community also met a fatal accident when he tried to rescue a friend washed away by an out-of-nowhere big wave in a southern beach resort. After an overnight search, his lifeless body was found and was laid to rest. We never personally know them but his parent's deep loss is shared by us as we pray for God's comfort in both families. Presently, someone close is also struggling to keep his business above-waters for his family and his employees' sake.

When tough times like these come to us, there is really no quick-solution guaranteed deliverance from the harsh situation we are into. It does not make sense also to shut ourselves away from world in the hope that the pain will be isolated. As the book of Ecclesiastes have said that there is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens (ch3 v1). Inevitably, part of being a human is to undergoing suffering and the only way is to go through these trying times, not under them, not over them and definitely not around them. We either stand our ground or face it forward.   

But we do have a better choice. Even in the absence of understanding why such things are happening to us, we can and we should take upon the invitation of Jesus to come to Him, offer unto Him whatever is hurting us and accept His rest for us as we trust in His mysterious yet encompassing plans for our lives. Like a system of pulleys at work, God's inspiring word and divine works  will lift up anyone who seeks His comfort and rest. The weight of the trial did not really change, but the burden will much be lighter and more bearable once we let Him take over and take charge of our situation.

Believe in His love for all of us no matter what.

Lift up your hands to God.

God bless.

Joshua 1:5  I will not leave you nor forsake you.  

Look Up

One time in a supermarket, my two sons decided to have fun (oh no, not again!) by running around through the mazes of display cabinets, freezers and fruit stands. Aim would playfully prod his kuya to play “catch me” as he giggled and scurried away. I was a bit worried for Aim to get lost as he is simply too young to know his surroundings so I followed and kept watch at a distance. To my amazement, however, he did not wander far and stay within my sight.

With curiosity getting the better of me, I observed his actions closer.

It was then that I noticed that every time Aim would reached and realized he is in an unfamiliar spot, he would look up and gaze his eyes around until he finds something. He would then start to rush towards that high object and stop just below it. It was a giant colorful replica of a fruit basket (or fruit-pail if there is one). My genius son (ehem) was actually using that hanging figure as his guide and starting point before resuming his next run. That was how he did not get lost.

He just needed to look up.

In this time of great scientific advancements, humans can now look at things that our forefathers would never have dreamt of. Nowadays, we can see the deep recesses of the universe using powerful telescopes like the ALMA or Atacama Large Millimeter Array telescope in Chile. We can also undergo minimally invasive medical procedures called laparoscopic surgery with tiny telescopes to allow the surgeon to view the procedure. Even the gadget world has welcomed the introduction of an internet-ready eye wear to recognize faces and provide their information through on-line social networks.

Now that holy week is here, may we set aside all visual attractions and distractions to look up and seek God. Sad to say, even though God’s presence can be visualized in everything, everyone and in every situation, more and more people are becoming less aware of His all-embracing love. Worse, His misinterpreted “absence” becomes our alibi for straying farther, our excuse for staying far and our justification for being lost.

The simple, yet unwavering and eternal truth is that God exists and that He cares. He does not want us to stay away or stray farther but to find our way back to Him. He does not want us to be lost but to be found. He cared and loved us so much that He shared in our humanity to be physically seen and verbally heard by the people of His time and later, to suffer intensely and be put to death on the cross for you and me.

If you still have doubts, then look up at our suffering Jesus on the cross.

If you want re assurance, then look up to our resurrected Savior this Easter.

God bless.