Where Truth Lies

Finally, the paperback version of Mitch Albom’s “The Little Liar,” published in 2023, reached our bookstores. I had waited for it for months. The hardbound was always there, but aside from its prohibitive cost  (think dollars to pesos!), I prefer paperbacks because I could hold them any which way, whether lying down or sitting up, and still be comfortable.  

As soon as I entered my favorite bookstore, the sales clerk’s face lit up and said, “It has arrived ma’am!” Because I am in that shop  too often, he thinks I am their in-house grandmother. 

The book, set during the Holocaust, interweaves truth and lies and more lies. It's another one of Albom's uplifting yet heartbreaking opuses. I couldn’t put it down, but halfway through the pages, work summons my attention and time. I have a seminar to facilitate, online classes  to handle, and Sunday school slides to do.  

And to complicate matters, the book of my dear friend, Yay, arrrives from the US, where it was published. This, too, can’t wait! 

Lookie! Even  our dog, Judge, is excited. 

Then my daily Bible reading can’t be ignored. 

These sum up to what I call overflowing grace. It's a perfect day! 

Am I a Teacher?

This time last year, I was assigned by the Discipleship Ministry Team of our home church to facilitate a seminar for Sunday school teachers. 

“Can you please do an encore?” the head asked. 

“You mean an echo,” I replied. I had to use the same materials, for the word of God does not change after a year—or for eternity. 

“Whatever,” he said. 

The participants this second time around are younger and new in teaching (only a handful are veterans). These youngsters are members of our vibrant youth group recruited to help with Sunday school and Vacation Bible School (VBS). Again, as I did last year, I asked “Am I a Teacher?” all through the reflective seminar.   

But surprise!  It was neither an encore nor an echo. 

The replies to my questions came from different perspectives and therefore, the flow was skewed in a different direction.  The examples and context of God’s Word evolved with cultural contexts and application. However, the core message on excellence remained constant—like the character of God Himself. 

As these young teachers grow in their faith, their understanding of the Word will mature along with them. 

Net-net, my ardent prayer is that they focus on Malachi 3:6, "I the Lord do not change," and Psalm 119:89, "Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens." 

And guess what. The following morning, Sunday, I was awarded by the president of our women’s group, Billie, a pot of beautiful orchids. They are a living proof of God’s generous grace for all, including old facilitators and young seminar attendees.  

State of Calamity

Heartbreaking. The town of Mateo (the hero in the Oh, Mateo! series of 16 books) is underwater again. This time, Umingan is suffering from a flood more horrifying than all the others in the past. Typhoon Crising wreaked havoc on the town that is now under state of calamity along with three other areas in the country. 

Nobody was in our ancestral home when this happened. My ading Aie is in the city for important errands. But many friends have been in touch, helping clean the house of filth. mud, and garbage. Hundreds of miles away, we are helpless. 

A Flood of Kindness (published by Hiyas and illustrated by Beth Parrocha), ends the Oh, Mateo series. But the story is told all over again.

 

Yes, again and again—during and after the flood has subsided—I wish that the Umingan townspeople (78,000 in population divided into 58 barangays  as of 2025) would come together to help each other and put back in order what the typhoon has messed up—this time, the worst ever. 

This book was meant to be a caricature of Umingan. But it appears to have foreshadowed what a community, any community, could do to stand up—much stronger—after a fall. Reading it again today, I feel it's a prayer for grace, for the Lord to enable people's hearts to be kind. .  

With the climate change and other problems (missing flood control budget; people’s mindless habit of throwing garbage into streams and rivers; cutting of trees for new buildings, etc.) floods will repeat and repeat till kingdom come. 

May these floods be redefined as an opportunity for kindness. 

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2:

An Astonishing Assignment

Moses was summoned from retirement at the age of 80. He had been living as a shepherd for half of those years when God appeared to him in a burning bush and called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. 

What an assignment! After he had already escaped from his life in Egypt and had nothing to do with the Israelites anymore (?).  

Of course, he balked at first. He had a series of excuses, including concerns about his lack of eloquence. He even asked God to choose someone else. But you cannot say “no” when called to do work for the Lord. 

The Lord has not given me any new assignment as astonishing as Moses'. But why do I feel like a Moses? Well, as a facilitator of our Women’s Sunday School, which I take to heart, my writing about His grace, and teaching values to my students, I am sort of enjoying my “retirement” too.

But our only similarity lies in our length of stay on mother earth.

Should there be a new, astonishing assignment, I could no longer (much as I want to) echo prophet Isaiah who said, "Here I am, send me." He was in his late 20s or early 30s when he responded to God’s call, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"

Isaiah's willingness to serve God by going where He was needed is an inspiring example of faith and obedience. 

Today, I look back and look up to these Bible heroes as I honor and thank the Lord who gifted me with life and opportunities to serve Him—not in the magnitude of Moses and Isaiah's, but in simple ways that I am able. These are the assignments I continue to focus on till I leave Mt. Nebo and meet my Maker in the Pomised Land.

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men . . .” Colossians  3:23  

Yummy dishes for an army were sent from Stockton by son#2 and family  

Moth Sightings Everywhere

Since this huge butterfly (which is actually a moth) parked itself on our terrace post, it never left. Or it seems that way. The next day it was flying around our house again. Then several days later, it came with look-alikes, members of the same family.  

As of today, one month later, they are still fluttering about. 

There goes the “theory” that moths or butterflies are our loved one’s way of coming back to visit. Suddenly, the internet is abuzz about the same giant moth species found in many urban areas and unlikely indoor spaces in Metro Manila: coffee shops, stores, malls, libraries, classrooms, corridors, etc.

This gigantic moth is called Lyssa zampa, the tropical swallowtail moth or Laos brown butterfly, of the family Uraniidae. “The species was first described by British entomologist Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1869. The species is native to a wide range of tropical South-East Asia: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.”

Why are these moths swarming all over Metro Manila and even neighboring provinces? These moths should be in forested and mountainous areas, their natural habitat. Let me summarize an article from RepublicAsia, June 2025: 

“Edriel Lee, a UP Biology graduate, cited a 2023 study by Jain, Ng, and Civasothi about the same occurrence in Singapore. According to the study, a dry spell—due to global warming—can lead to a boom in the population of insects. Their caterpillars therefore consume their host plants.  So the moths are forced to migrate and find another place that has their food source. 

“Unfortunately, their host plants from the genus Endospermum are not found in cities. Ergo,  these moths are not able to reproduce. Result: population decline. The animals that feed on them are in danger, too.' 

While we enjoy their presence everywhere, may we remember that the beauty, order, and provision  found in the natural world are God’s grace. And we, in whatever way, should help preserve and take care of them.  

What is Your Daily Read?

If you love to read, you won't let a day pass by without reading something (several sittings within 24 hours, in fact).

We’re on the same page. My daily reading fare: the newspaper (the printed one, not online), a new book, a book I had not finished reading or want to read again.  

While writing my blog and books, I refer to the Bible (various translations, but my favorite for now is ESV). Then while preparing the lesson for our women’s Sunday school, which I facilitate, I have to pore over the good Book.

I have varied translations before me in my work room, but I go online when time is no longer a luxury. 

Among all these reading noshes, my daily staple is what I receive every Christmas from son #1 since 2009 (16 years!). That year, he gave me a Chronological Bible (NLT), which I fell in love with because it made me understand both theological and historical facts. The chronological Bible came in six  successive years (different translations). 

When my ading Earl saw them, he gasped in awe. Immediately, I passed on one to him. Then ading Aie liked one so much I also gave her one. There is one missing; I must have given it to ading Dave or someone else.  

It is July, halfway through the pages, and I still have not blogged about this reading staple. The months before now have been a most diiffciult time. Even today, I can almost picture Tony reading in the terrace or going to the bank holding a book, like they were BFFs. 

After the chronological series, son #1 shifted to giving me a Bible arranged as we know it, but divided into 365 daily readings. 

I’ve always considered Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries as one of my mentors on God’s Word. I will never have the opportunity to meet him in this life, but through his books and now with my Bible for 2025, I am rewarded with the richness of grace through his “life Lessons” daily. 

”For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 ESV 

Apron

Wearing an apron is below my conscious mind. My close friends and family know this: I don’t (or can’t) cook. 

Once I dabbled in painting that required an apron. I didn’t wear one because I had none.

One day long ago, I was asked to have promotional photos for my book Secret Ingredient, which is about cooking. I had to borrow the apron from a friend.  

Many years later, just last week, I was awarded one in pink! 

If the organizers weren’t sincere and serious, I’d consider this a prank. They gifted me with an apron as my prize for being the oldest attendee at an event that gathered women from various churches in our area. The thing is, while this gesture is much appreciated, I no longer have the energy to develop interest in cooking. 

But I wore it just the same for a photo to record how a non-cook looks like with an apron on. If Tony were still around, I knew he’d immediately say, “Give it to Teresa.” 

  

And so I handed it over to Mother Teresa who jumped with joy when she touched it. She reminded me of myself when I am given a new book assignment by my publisher. 

Both instances demonstrate the fullness of grace.  

A Different July 4 at 55

While the US is grandly celebrating its Independence Day, I am quietly remembering, honoring, and thanking God for the life I shared with Tony on what would have been our 55th anniversary. 

We had always celebrated this day simply, without fanfare. Sometimes it was celebrated quietly, too quietly, because he or I forgot all about it.  

Our our 50th, which the world dubs as golden, passed by without drum rolls. 

Today's July 4 is the quietest of all. 

And this blog on any of our anniversaries is the shortest, but with the most hyperlinks. I had not realized I was actually writing about this date, reflecting on the grace God never scrimped on, but lavishly poured on us for all of our 54 years. 

For how could a partnership, blasted sporadically with storms and sunshine, last that long? 

“For as long as we both live,” we vowed before God on the 4th of July 55 years ago. By grace, this vow (more popularly used as "Till death do us part") had been like a steel, strong and unbreakable, till the Lord called Tony home on the 20th of January this year. 

”What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Mark 10:9 ESV