Fathering Chika

One of my greatest finds at the 2024 Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) is Mitch Albom’s latest book, Finding Chika. 

Only on the first page and I am already crying buckets. Don’t get me wrong; it is not a tearjerker. But as a writer myself, who often writes about adoption, everything  about the book resonates with me. 

I’d retitle it Fathering Chika, if I could. 

Albom of Michigan is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. A non-father, he unconditionally loves, like his own, a kid of no blood relation, of a different race and country, and born under unknown circumstances. 

He writes, “Families are like pieces of art, they can be made from many materials. Sometimes they are from birth, sometimes they are melded, sometimes they are merely time and circumstances mixing together like scrambled eggs in a Michigan restaurant.” 

What grace it is to read a book such as this, specially these times when there are over 147 million orphans in the world, and love is being redefined or ignored.  

Shock and Awe

Before I could recover from the bliss of a magical surprise, I watched in shock and awe how people in my circuit moved somewhat eerily that morning. 

Tony wouldn’t join me for breakfast, our daily ritual. Son #3 woke up early and hurriedly walked to the gate a few times.  Mother Teresa was busy arranging everything neatly in the living room and flowers in vases at the terrace. 

Then as I sipped my coffee, I heard the doorbell ring and son #3’s voice, “What took you so long? She’s already having breakfast.” 

A throng of people carrying trays and trays of breakfast food came in noisily, and shouting, “Happy birthday!” 

I was in my house dress and slippers, with my hair uncombed. Here they all were and I had no chance to powder my nose. A most beautiful cake with my age on it was the centerpiece, a reminder of the years with which the Lord blessed me.

Grace, grace eveywhere! They sang a hymn after which they prayed for me.   

From the terrace to the garden for a photo op

Why would anyone fuss over an insignificant mortal like me on my birthday, when all through my long life I never did?  

Again, I am stunned. The fullness of joy cannot be defined. The photos speak, but they leave all those in my heart unheard.  

Who am I to deserve this? “...what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Psalm 8:4 (ESV) 

A Day Minus the Writing

This is one of those days when I am raring to write (as I always do) but can't because there is some speaking to do. Yes, every once in a while, I get invited to speak. And everything else gets fuzzy-wuzzy.  There is the audience to think about, the speech, the slides, plus other things that invite butterflies to invade the tummy. 

I am clinging on to this verse today: 2 Corinthians 9:8 (ESV) "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."

Tomorrow is another day . . .

A Magical Surprise

My birthday has come and gone. Two months have passed and I have not yet blogged about it. That is unusual for someone who blogs about anything and everything. 

What kept me? 

Words. 

I had no exact words to describe how I felt. Again, it is unusual for someone who has been working with words for over two decades. 

My Sunday school group, women of varying ages and persuasions in my home church, are my prayer warriors and spiritual family. I was tasked to prepare our lessons, put them in fancy slides, and we all discuss the facts behind them every Sunday after the Worship Serice.  The discussion is always alive  and we learn from each other. After an hour of exchanging thoughts and expertiences, we go home full, nourished with the Word. 

Then one Sunday, after our traditional wacky group shot to end the session, someone turned off the lights. Then one came in cradlling a birthday cake with my name on it. Two candles flickered in the dark. And everyone sang the Happy Birthday song.

It was magical—I was transported to a neverland where love swayed like birthday balloons above me, a place where 79 years worth of grace rained down at the same time.  

And now, two months later, no matter how hard I try, I can’t recall if I ever said “Thank you.”  

But then again, gratitude is not a sound, it is a silent song kept in the heart but heard like magic. These women and I share the same heartbeat: we begin and end our meetings with prayers of gratitude to the God we all serve.  

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17 ESV)     

No Writer’s Block, No Dead Air

“How do you deal with writer’s block?”  I was asked on air, during a live interview by the hosts of Straight from the Word on Light TV – God’s Channel of Blessings (Channel 33). 

It’s a question that pops up in all my book events.

Those who know me well (and kindred spirits whose passion is writing) know my predictable answer, “I don’t. I don’t believe in writer’s block.” 

“Huh?” is the usual response. 

Writing is not only when we have pen and paper on hand, or when we are poised to type on our keyboard. It is a constant mind-and-heart activity.  It happens in all our waking hours, often in our sleep, too. Ideas continuously buzz in our head and thump in our heart. So the paper does not stay blank or the keyboard does not stay idle once we decide to record those buzzes and thumps. 

“Oh, so no writer’s block! Exactly like no dead air,” Sis Sarah, the female host exclaimed. 

On point. I know how dead air can be deadly (long ago, I was a radio host, too). It could cause a listener to tune off and advertizers to tune out. 

I am grateful to Light TV for inviting me to talk about my thoughts on writing and for promoting my new book, Everyday Grace for Kids. Even if only one of the over 3k listeners had been encouraged to write for the Lord, it is grace beyond measure. I pray that many young people would join the ministry of writing for readers to meet our Savior.  

Everyday Grace for Kids

Meaningful days ahead for book lovers! The Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) will happen from Sept 11-15 at the SMX Convention Center. It is always a keenly awaited event for those who, like me, love to read. 

What makes it even more meaningful is that my book, Everyday Grace for Kids (365 Devotions on Drawing Closer to God) will be launched. I have braced myself for a long Saturday--from morn till night--for the “Meet and Greet” and book signing.  

As all authors know, book launching is a peak event we all look forward to, like a denouement in a stage play. All resolved! 

After many months of agonizing over words, punctuation marks, and other nitty-gritty of writing, then revising and revising (working in tandem with editors) and then final proofreading (again in close coordination with seasoned proofreaders), it’s here! 

A short backstory:

Kids today have more than they could handle, In my youth, there was no computer that brought about social media, vlogs, AI, and other apps. There was no mobile phone that spawned selfies, groufies, music apps, gambling apps, etc.  No online classes that cause boredom, disorientation, inattention, frustration over weak wi-fi connection, and disinterest.   

These children need grace every single day to cope with the complexities of modern life. They need to go back to their middle, the core values our Lord instituted since the beginning of time. 

Although I no longer have small children, I am concerned about the children of others. How can we help guide them to the right path?  Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.” 

But parents are as busy as ever with various intricate issues. Yet they need to pass on the Word to their children. Daily devotionals can help in the training. Christian writers provide tools: we simplify, serve the Word into bite-size pieces that kids can understand, see in concrete images, and take to heart. 

Hence, this book. 

They Laugh and I Cry

Laughing emojis are strewn all over social media. 

Many posts make fun of people’s mistakes. Some dig into the private lives of celebrities. Some  ridicule public officials’ faux pax. Some cast aspersions on someone's misery, disguised as a joke.  Some hurl savage insults. Some judge without knowing the facts. Some praise abusive memes. 

And today! In major newspapers' front-page photos, the fugitive Alice Guo is shown laughing triumphantly in wacky poses, like a celebrity, with our authorities and NBI agents. These have gone viral on social media.   

And we reward these with laughing emojies?!  

I cry over what we have become. 

What is so funny? Why do we laugh over sad, depressing comments of and issues on how we view people and life. Is laughing over our misery the special menu for today?  

“Lessen the grief! Ignore the news and social media,” I keep reminding myself. 

“But I need to read my friends’ encouraging posts,” I reply to me. 

 
So I scroll through those hundreds, sometmes thousands, of laughing emojis. 

And I cry, and click on this emoji--a sore thumb in a sea of laughter. 

By grace, the Lord makes me remember the beginning of time. This was once a perfect place. But our first parents upended it big time. And now we are all messed up: happy over what is sad. 

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20 ESV) 

Turning 50

Randy threw a big party for his wife, Salve, when she turned 50. “A golden Age has to be celebrated,” he told the guests.  

During the party, Salve candidly told some of her guests, “When Randy planned to celebrate my 50th birthday, it was like a wake-up call. I suddenly had a change of mindset; I used to think that people in their 50s were old. But here I am, feeling as young as ever!” 

“I am 60,” Ciony replied, “and I know that if the Lord would give me more years, I can still do something important.”  

That set everyone counting the number of productive years they might have left. Salve said, “I have 20 more years!” 

“Or even 30,” Ciony said. Then she quoted a Bible verse, “Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty.” (Psalm 90:10 NLT) 

“We are all still young, then,” Salve said.  

In the book of Philemon, Paul, who was already of advanced age, wrote a letter requesting Philemon to take back his runaway servant, Onesimus. “. . . I am boldly asking a favor of you. I could demand it in the name of Christ because it is the right thing for you to do. But because of our love, I prefer simply to ask you. Consider this as a request from me—Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus.” 

This was Paul’s attitude about serving the Lord even at an old age.  

Age 50 and beyond? 

Despite our limitations, grace is unlimited. It enables us to do what we can—no matter how small—for the Lord until He calls us Home.