Why...

...are you not taking a bath everyday?

... Or not brushing your teeth after lunch? 

Or not drinking water after your coffee? 

Or not washing your clothes when they begin to smell? 

Or do you even smell yourself? 

Or if you do take a bath, do you shampoo your hair? 

I know it is so cold but do you know we are suffering? :)

Safe

Thankful that I arrived safely.

Happy that it is not so cold.

Great that I found the place of my friend outside Paris.

And we will soon eat a French meal.

Thank you Lord!

Off to the cold weather

 Thank God it's only for a week! 

It...

seems

to 

just

Trust His Timing

Trust His Timing (Repost from www.evotional.com) 

Time is relative. 

What I mean by that is this: the way we experience it is subjective. It depends on what you're doing. Ever been on a date with someone you love? Time flies. Ever been on a date with someone you didn't like? Speed dating isn't fast enough. 

The way we experience time also depends on how old we are. If you're six years-old, summer break is 4% of you life. If you're twenty-five, it's 1%. If you're fifty, it's .5%. The older you get, the faster time seems to fly because relatively speaking it becomes a smaller and smaller fraction of your life! By the way, that is why when you were a kid, a two-hour trip in the car seemed like an eternity because relatively speaking, it was much longer for you than the adult who was driving! 

So what? 

Well, I think most of us have a hard time handling a bad day. We have a very low threshold for circumstantial uncertainty or spiritual discontinuity. We need answers. And we need them now. I would suggest that we need somebiblical perspective. When we look at our lives through the lens of Scripture, our perspective on time changes. 

We have a hard waiting for God to fulfill His promise. But what about Abraham and Sarah? They had to wait 15 yearsbefore Isaac was born. We have a hard time suffering for a season. But what about the invalid in John 5 who was in that condition for 38 years. And that's when the average lifespan was 20-30. We have a hard time waiting for God tomake sense of our circumstances. But what about Joseph? He was a slave and a prisoner for 17 years before becoming Prime Minister of Egypt. Or Moses? He was a fugitive for 40 years! And we have a hard time waiting to fulfill our calling. But even Jesus didn't transition from carpentry to ministry til he was 30. 

We need to zoom out and get some biblical perspective. We think in days. But we might need to think in years. Here's what I know for sure: those that God wants to use the most have to go through the longest season of preparation. You might have to struggle a little bit longer so you can learn some more lessons or develop some more character.You might need to suffer a little bit longer so God can reveal a little bit more of His glory in your life! 

What I'm getting at is this: trust His timing. He is never early. He is never late. As we grow spiritually, I think we take a different perspective on time. It's less about chronos--time. It's more about kairos--timing. And for the record, He is far more concerned about who you're becoming in the process than when you arrive at your destination. Maybe you need to quit praying for deliverance and start praying for revelation. 

One last thought from Acts 1: "You don't get to the know the time. Timing is the Father's business." 

Not much has changed has it?

*picture posted by moi 

A needed slap

Yeah, there are days we need that slap. A wake up call that tells you to stop and look at the positive side of life. 

Thank God for friends who could and would call you stupid to your face. Only because you are, in fact, being stupid. 

And also for friends who are just ready to listen to you gripe about life. For those who divert you from everything that can just drown you down. 

Those who put a smile on your face by their teasing and little jokes.

And those who lift you up with their words just when you feel you need it most. 

Today, I needed that slap and those encouraging words. 

Thanks friends!

The truth about life and dogs

I saw the trailer of Marley and Me. A cute Labrador puppy was being chased by Owen Wilson. And the predictable reaction of pet lovers is that they look so cute. And they are cute. There they are at the beach, enjoying the fresh air, sun and beautiful view, having the time of their life. 

After watching the movie tonight, I learned the background of that scene. John (played by Owen) was in fact running after Marley (the puppy) who suddenly got loose from the hands of admiring passerbys. It was not a carefree run. In fact, as a result, John was scolded by the person who caught Marley. He was warned to put the puppy on a leash until trained for it might do something that will ban dogs from that particular beach.

Life in a way is like having a pet. We sometimes make a decision to get one because it looked cute or felt good at that time. We do not always think about the consequences that they would bring. Yeah, I know, this was the subject of a previous blog. But watching the movie made it more real to me. I, too, have been guilty of making that decision. I adopted Pretzel, a cat, because I hated the idea that it would be put to sleep. I did not realize then that Pretzel would require a lot of food and unholy feeding time.

Jenny (or Jennifer Aniston) verbalized in the movie (sorry for spoilers!) that no one really prepares people for what having pets, getting into marriage or bearing kids would entail. Each decision required her to give up so much. It was the same for John. He felt that responsibilities made him give up a great dream.

In the same scene that Jenny said that she gave up so much, she also declared that she would not change the choices she made. The crazy things that Marley did are the same things that made them love him so much. It was the same thing for her marriage. The difficult things that life can bring are the same one we would treasure. It’s what makes life worth living.

Marley and Me is not only about dogs. It is a glimpse of how choices could totally change lives. True, John and Jenny seemed like they had it easy. Real life would be more complicated and challenging. There would be more fights, more misunderstandings, more tears. Especially if God is not the center on which the marriage is founded.

The movie dealt with too many themes that some would consider it as incoherent. But isn’t life a mélange of so many things happening all at the same time? And life can be incoherent when you don’t know the purpose of the things you are doing.

It is a good reminder again that each one of us really need to think and pray a lot about our choices. From getting dogs, looking for new jobs, tying the knot and having babies.

Before I end, I have to mention that John said he often surprises himself. I have to state though that it is God who often surprises us. Because it is Him who knows us best and what is best for us. 

Sometimes You Just Know

I quote the title of the song of Jaya, a local singer. It was Beng who mentioned those words because they are the same ones that the guys gave when asked about how did they know that they found the women they would marry.

Some may ask why men were being asked these questions. But for a few hours last night, a few single men and women received the best gift they could receive at this sensitive time of the year. A dinner gathering. The best part? They were from unlikely sources : the couples. 

Yup, a few couples decided to affirm and support a few singles by inviting them to an open discussion about love, courtship, and marriage. Divided into two (males and females), questions abounded on both sides. The joint discussion was interesting. The testimonies of the husbands and wives were eye-openers. There real life experiences about trusting and letting God work in and through their lives were an encouragement to us. 

Just like the title, some of the men gave a few more quotes that seemed mushy yet when analyzed, they were true. I just remember two (ah, my poor memory!) : (1)  fall in love like it won't hurt and (2) don't choose the person you can live with, choose the person you can't live without.

It is not common for the couples to remember the singles. At least in my limited experience. But that gesture of the Couples group of Makati Influencers International was indeed grand. Yes, the dinner was delicious but we left not just with filled stomachs. We got more. Snippets of wisdoms about relationships, commitment, and  the important role of God. 

God is love.

I am learning : Choose the Uncommon Union

Ah, February! You can feel the air pulsating with all the romance, passion, sweetness and giddiness (kilig!) of this month of love. Soon we shall see bouquets of red roses, chocolates in heart-shape boxes, and streets filled with couples holding hands.

But for some of us who are single, the tendency is to detest this particular time of the year. We ask ourselves how come we can’t seem to find our “other half” in a world of 6.6 billion people, with a ratio of almost 1 to 1? Where, as Jerry Maguire said, is that one who would “complete me”? We want to find the love of our life.

Sometimes I wonder though if it is worth finding the “one?” I recall the stories of pain and suffering that this search, this journey has been known to bring. We hear of or know people who were supposed to be in love. Yet they ended up separated, living with someone they did not marry, or are part of a second or third family. Even worse is if we, ourselves, are a part of that family.

But on the other side of the coin, I know of couples who remained true to their vows up to the end of their lives. I remember the couple seated beside me on the plane, married for 56 years, and still referring to each other with terms of endearment like “babe” and “honey.” We do not even need to go far to find examples, there are many in our own backyards.

There is the reality though that many girls wish to fall in love with a good-looking guy who can provide for them comfortably, take them on luxurious travels, and then live happily ever after. Guys, on the other had, tend to fall in love with women with lovely figures and beautiful faces, who will serve as their trophy to show off to their buddies.

But is falling in love with the “right” person enough?

Jan Struther said, “It’s as important to marry the right life as it is the right person.”

To check if a person is the “right life” you’re looking for, consider these areas of compatibility which author Steve Farrar mentioned in his book “How to ruin your life by 40.”

He suggested that a couple’s compatibility needs to be on six levels: intellectually, emotionally, socially, volitionally (decision-making), spiritually and physically. The first five are learned through convering with one another, implying that there should be more of these in a relationship before marriage. His words make sense to me. (For more of his works, check out www.stevefarrar.com)

I have never been in a romantic relationship. I don’t know what it feels like to be in love. One thing for sure, I would like to be able to say what Jonathan Edwards, considered as America’s most important and original philosophical theologian, said. At his deathbed, he was said to have uttered these words: “Give my kindest love to my dear wife, and tell her that the uncommon union which has so long subsisted between us has been of such a nature as I trust is spiritual and therefore will continue forever.”

I have come to the conclusion that love is a decision tied closely with commitment. True, it can start with attraction, feel a “tingly spark”, followed by the welling-up of emotion that begins from your heart that goes to your gut. But it should not stop there. Love is irrational yet rational. It should consider the union of two different lives. For love to be real, it has to survive the storms this world would bring. And it is only possible if it is centered on God and decided by both the heart and the mind.

May we all desire to have that. Let us choose the uncommon union that would last.

Close Pandora's box

Little monsters have come out.

No, they were not little.

The veil has fallen,

Revealed the reality within the matrix.

But I am choosing to close the box.

There is Someone greater 

Bigger than what is inside and outside

The very box itself.

Christ in my heart

He can make miracles out of anything.

He can destroy the box,

and make new all things.

Necessary

Thank you. 

Laugh at life!

Life.

Unfair. Challenging. 

It has its twists and turns.

It is full of surprises and numerous nightmares.

Buckets of tears yet tons of smiles.

For all the pain, there are memorable joys.

And the funniest thing? 

It always brings the unexpected.

All I can say is... LAUGH AT LIFE!

Otherwise you will cry.

Swirling

Like a tornado.

My mind.

Trying to put into words

Thoughts churning within.

Often in chaos.

Sometimes standing still.

Denying the reality.

Put into writing

Surge of ideas

Millions of questions

Emotions twirling.

Hope for the fullness of light

But the darkness sneaks in.

Appeal in prayer.

Put wisdom from heaven.

Faith on the High One.

Unfold the way.