10/28/2024

No Writing to Encourage Writing

Ironic isn’t it? I skipped writing so I could encourage others to write. For one whole day, I abstained from writing, with no time to even go near my computer. 

Elena, a dear friend and the wife of one of our former beloved pastors, invited me to speak on writing and storytelling for children in a workshop for  Christian Education Directors*. The venue was at a church in the boondocks (the term used by our family driver), Quezon City. It’s a one-hour drive from our home. But with “the horrible traffic,” he said, our travel could take two to three hours. 

Properly warned, I woke up early and off we went! 

There were about 50 people, from all parts of the country, inside the church. 

They were an enthusiastic, vocal, and active participants. They shared their thoughts and listened intently to the writing tips. I didn’t have to encourage them to write and tell stories to children. That’s what they do, with passion! 

All they needed was a slight push from someone who nags to keep the writing fervor aflame (it was a good time to give away my book, The Teacher in Me, as prizes), so that, through them, the children in church will continually learn about the greatest Teacher's ways. 

The hours given the workshop was “bitin, (too short), according to some attendees. For me, that was an excellent evaluation of the event. It is how I define learning—unquenchable thirst. It reminds me of what I always stress in classrooms. “Never stop improving your written work. There is always that 5% missing to move it from good to great.” 

Working with fellow workers in the Lord’s service cannot be measured in terms of joy.  It is bottomless grace. 

Elena, her husband PastorPastor Joel, and moi 

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16 ESV

It was my day of non-writing but just as fulfilling, if not more! 

*A Christian education director (DCE) is a church leader who plans, oversees, and assesses educational activities for a church congregation. 

Credits: All photos sent by Pastora Hope Carino. one of the drving forces of the event and the group   

10/24/2024

What, Me worry?

This catchphrase was popular in my youth. It was first an advertisement for painless dentistry and later adapted as a motto said by a fictitious mascot named Alfred E. Newman of Mad, an American humor magazine. 

Newman’s gap-toothed smile, freckles, red hair, protruding ears, and scrawny body had been the cover art of the magazine for many issues. Created by American artist Norman Mingo, the character was first used in 1954.  

It resonated with the readers because worrying seemed to be a daily staple due to the many unsettling events like nuclear bomb, wars, and natural disasters. 

Five decades later . . . I read in Believe it or Not, which is beside the crossword puzzle that I solve (daily grace I receive early in the morning), “Cornell Unversty recently conducted a research on worrying and found that 85% of the things we worry about will never happen.”

Over an extended period of time, subjects of the study were observed, asked about the things they feared. Then the research delved into which imagined misfortune actually came true. Hah, a whopping 85% didn’t!  Worrying had been for naught. 

The Bible has assured us, thousands of years before this catchphrase came to be, that worrying can be replaced with peace. 

Worry not, indeed! 

10/20/2024

Worst Kind of Selfishness

There are many kinds of selfishness in this world, but the most selfish is hoarding time. Why? Because none of us know how much time we have, and it is an affront to God to assume there will be more. 

This nugget of wisdom I learned from Mitch Albom’s latest book, Finding Chika. 

He didn’t want to have a child early in his marriage. But when he and his spouse finally decided they wanted one, it was too late. All medical remedies failed. 

In our women’s Sunday school, we study about and pray for those who put off repenting for their sins and accepting Christ as their Savior. They argue that He is a God of love, and will always forgive them when they finally decide to leave their old life, which they enjoy, and embrace His. 

Then bang! 

An earthquake or a tragedy strikes, snuffing their last breath, and the time they hoarded is suddenly useless. 

We can't be selfish and hoard what we don't own. By God's clock, our tomorrow may not even be another day.  

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24 ESV) 

10/16/2024

What Has made Your Faith Stronger?

It may be a cop out to reply with a one-size-fits-all word, but that’s just the way it has always been.

What has made my faith stronger? Storms.

Before I go further, let me cite the Bible verse that reinforces my belief. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)

I “inherited” my faith from, first, my grandparents, and second, my parents. But it was not until I got married that I came into my own.

So this will sound like a litany of storms of severe intensities. 

The bliss I will leave out because, every storm that God calms, I deposit the joy of relief in my heart, earning interest every day—exponentially multiplying beyond counting.

When I was pregnant with son #1, I had just been accepted in a new writing job. It was a difficult pregnancy, but I managed not to be fired. Shortly after my delivery, I was so ill I thought I had heart problems. It turned out to be hyperthyroid that took ten years of expensive medical procedures for me to get back to my normal functions.

Son #2 was an even more difficult pregnancy. I had to be hospitalized, with no bathroom privileges, to save the baby. We lost him anyway. How does one grieve the passing of a baby?

Son #3 (whom Tony and I call son #2 today) came a year after. The pregnancy was even more difficult because I had constant panic attacks caused by the trauma of my second pregnancy.

In between those pregnancies, my dad was diagnosed with cancer and suffered for four years before he passed. I could not attend his funeral because by then, I was heavy with my youngest son. 

More storms: my only brother-in-law died of drug overdose, followed by my father-in-law. How does one comfort a grieving husband?

Meanwhile, I continued to be a busy working mom who had to leave her three sons to yayas. I had no time to tuck them in bed nor read them a story.

Tony, who headed his own successful advertising agency, was suddenly diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, with staggering hospital bills. That didn’t stop him from barking orders in his office. 

A few years later, he had a quadruple coronary bypass, an open heart surgery, but he and his business both survived. In succession, my mom, mom-in-law, and only sister-in-law passed one after the other. How does one grapple with untold grief?

Fast forward to 50 years later. Tony has retired as I have years before he did. We celebrated our golden wedding anniversary in quarantine due to the corona virus pandemic.

Despite my absence and lack of mothering all those early years, our sons turned out well. Son #1, an engineer and software designer, manages our business; son #2 is a physician in the US where he lives with his lovely wife and an adorable son; son #3 is a lawyer and is a Dean in a university.

How could I have survived all those storms?

Faith.

It got stronger with every severe onslaught on my sanity. Here I am today, writing books and books (almost 70 published to date) on God's grace that has sustained me through the 50 years barraged with foul weather—and boasting about it.

P.S.

I left out many more storms of the severe kind. Otherwise, this would be a novel and not a blog. 

10/13/2024

50 Years and Beyond

One of the events that kept me spinning in September was our home church’s 49th anniversary celebration. As one of the very few members who can still remember (we were there) our early beginnings, I was tasked to write the church’s history.  

History is not exactly my favorite subject (it is Tony’s), so it took time before I could reconstruct the events, cited from past historical narratives, which I had also struggled with. 

But our media team, composed of young, hard-working techies, made it all come alive—with verve! I am summarizing that history in two photos, like I used to do in advertising: before and after. 
THEN and NOW
On the last Sunday of September, son #3,  one of our elders, delivered the message to cap our celebration. Was I surprised when he showed exactly the same photos in one of his slides. 

I begged him for his text, which I could not have written myself. 

“God has been so good and faithful to PVGC for 49 years. How will our Lord and Savior be working through us 50 years and beyond as we await His return?”

How indeed! Fifty years and beyond, the Lord will be working through the next generation and the next (many are still toddlers today)—all by His grace.  


  (Our Barangay Officials came to celebrate with us.) 

10/10/2024

Same Difference

Tony and I describe our three sons as fiercely independent, with interests so different from each other. 

Son #1 is an engineer and a software designer—he heads our family business;  son #2 is a physician and lives abroad with his family; son #3 is a lawyer and a dean in a university. 

We had suggestions on what career path they should take when they entered college (five years apart), but they had their own minds and chose what they wanted anyway.  

Despite these apparent differences, however, they are essentially the same in things that matter: values. As the Bible defines them. 

This moral code we tried hard to model as they were growing up and that’s where all three, thank God, are the same. I am wont to discuss these values, but Tony always warns me against being preachy. 

Today is son #3’s birthday, and if he knew I am uploading his photos on the Net (all three plus Tony are camera averse and always prefer to be under the radar), he’ll throw a fit. But I am risking it.  

During the pandemic, he earned his SJD (Doctor of Juridical Science), magna cum laude. He attended the graduation ceremonies inside his bedroom. Wearing his cap and gown, he looked respectable from the waist up, but underneath, he was still our baby bunsoy (youngest child) in his shorts and slippers.  

What should we call you now, I asked proudly, “Doctor or Atty?” 

He deadpanned, “Call me as you’ve always called me.”   

Before then, he successfully defended his doctoral dissertation. This was the FB announcement of the head of the  School of Law. 

It is my prayer that on his and two older brothers’ career journey, all three will continue living the values taught by their Creator.    

“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6 ESV)

P.S.
Like Tony and me, they love books and food, the only two things—we told them early on—we would not scrimp on.   

10/07/2024

What’s So Special About the Elderly?

Hurriedly dressing up for our monthly seniors’ fellowship in church, I heard my phone beep. Hiyas Publishing had uploaded two of my children’s books with the caption, “As we celebrate Filipino Elderly Week, Hiyas children's books can help kids understand and appreciate the elderly.” 

1) All Aboard with Five Lolas (illustrated by Beth Parrocha). It’s  about role reversal. A young boy takes care of his five lolas when they get sick on board a ship.

2) Dump Truck in My Heart (illustrated by Dumz Agsaway). With the help of her family, a little girl copes with grief over the loss of her beloved grandmother.

Elderly Filipino Week (EFW) is held this year from October 1-7 with the theme: "Senior Citizens—Building the Nation, Inspiring Generations," highlighting the vital role of the elderly in shaping our nation's past and future.

Big words, big job! 

At the risk of being late for our church’s event, I reviewed my book list and was I surprised to find more titles on the elderly. My thought balloon, They inspired my generation.  

3) The Growling Tummy (illustrated by Beth Parrocha). Honesty is defined when a famished boy disarms a grouchy hag by volunteering to clean her orchard--instead of joining his friends freely helping themselves to the fruits--in exchange for lunch.

4) The Magic of Apo Mayor (illustrated by Beth Parrocha). This is an allegory of God’s righteousness. An ancient, ubiquitous mayor appears and praises children when they do a good deed. 

5) Lumpia Lane (illustrated by C.R. Chua). Despite being sick, an old man joyfully passes on the family business to his granddaughter. 

6) Tree for All (illustrated by Beth Parrocha). A feisty, aged lady shows young children that she will do everything she could to stop people from cutting trees. 

7) The Boy Who Had five Lolas (illustrated by May Tobias-Papa). A farmer works for five, rich old ladies, whose land he tills. They dote on his young son and treat him like their own grandchild.   

What made me write them? Now an elderly myself . . .

8) They are Memories of Grace, the title of the book for adults that I worked on during the pandemic. 

9) My heart balked after I retired from the corporate world, What, Me Retire? This book re-tired me to continue working.   

What makes the elderly special? Isaiah 46:4 (ESV) reads . . .

“. . . even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”

10/04/2024

Teachers Are Learners

Yesterday was Teacher’s Day. I wasn’t aware of it till I dropped by the school where I teach part time. A student gave me a box and said, “Happy Teacher’s Day!” 

Teaching takes only a smidgen of my time (compared to the hours I spend on writing). But being called a teacher is precious grace, like winning a Lifetime Achievement Award.  

I have always believed that being a teacher is more like being a learner. I have saved a lifetime worth of knowledge from preparing the lessons to understanding how young people would react to and absorb them every single class hour. 

Opening the gift at home, I was delighted to see a cup and packs of tea and coffee, to either keep me awake or make me sleep.  


At the same time, my publisher, CSM Publishing, uploaded this greetings for all teachers, citing a line from my book, Teacher in Me.*

Happy Teacher’s Day to everyone who teaches (mentor, trainer, adviser, facilitator, etc.) May our Lord Jesus, the Teacher in us, continue to guide all teachers in guiding those whom we teach.  

*It's the devotional used by Pastor Popoy when he leads the Friday devotions among the teachers in our church's school, ACTS (Alliance Christian School and Training Center). 


10/03/2024

Wide Awake in September

About 20 years ago, the rock band Green Day released “Wake Me Up when September Ends,” a song that I used to hum when the calendar fell on this month. Written by the band's front man, Billie Joe Armstrong, the song is about the death of his father in September.  

I like the song not because September is likewise sad for me. On the contrary, it has always been a hectic and happy month! 

September 2024 was particularly super hectic and super happy that I never had the time to sit down and blog about all that happened almost simultaneously. 

Now that September has ended, I have time to snooze—meaning, I can write all I want about . . . 
  •    A radio interview on “Blessed are the Peacemakers” 
  •   The launching of my new book, Every Grace for Kids, at the International Book Fair (MIBF) 
  •    Combing the MIBF for new book finds 
  •    Our church’s 49th anniversary thanksgiving-celebration 
  •    An “evangelism” talk before senior citizens of our village 
  •    My sister Aie’s visit that allowed me the luxury of a massage, long chats, and feasts to celebrate  her birthday
  •    A lunch with former peers to fete friendship 
  •    Wrapping up my first-term teaching, saying goodbye to students and university staff   
Plus many more.  

September has ended but left more than enough grace to last me till the next September and the next.