Cobweb Cleaner

(This tribute to our church's senior pastor is a reprint from the OMF Lit website in celebration of Pastor’s Appreciation Month.)   

No pastor has yet been cloned. They may all have the same job description in Scripture, but they are individuals with unique gifts of their own.

In like manner, church members—each with different perspectives—view their pastor differently. 

Our senior pastor, Virgilio “Ariel” Cole, who has been with us for a dozen vibrant years, is no exception. Together with his wife, Doreen, and four growing sons, he was sent by God to give us at Pilar Village Gospel Church (CAMACOP, Las Pinas) a dynamic, organic face lift, progressively morphing to spread the Gospel faster. 

Some of our members see him as a builder, a non-architect who has actually erected sanctuaries in all the churches to which he has been assigned, ours included. They credit the unprecedented improvements on our place of worship to him. 

Others see him as an innovator, introducing creative ways to enliven worship. He replaced our Wednesday  prayer meeting with a cottage ministry setup, where neighbors meet separately in their homes for prayers and Bible study any one day of the week. The attendance in these new groupings, named after the 12 tribes of Israel, exponentially increased the number of our defunct prayer gathering.

While I agree with these sincere odes to our pastor, I am most grateful for how he cleans the cobwebs in the nooks and crannies of my mind.

As an author, I am a perpetual student of The Word, but along the way, the tangles of thread—some already gathering dust and some just newly spun—in my thoughts blur my vision.

Pastor Ariel, a passionate speaker and tireless researcher, somehow untangles and sweeps them away Sunday after Sunday, as though determined to totally wipe them clean one day. Often, I feel like he has a direct access to my brain as he seems to openly admonish me. 

 

Hardly do I find time to tell him how much I appreciate his unique way of making God’s word accessible, ushering in epiphanies and “aha” moments.      

Let me then take this rare opportunity to thank the Lord for our pastor, for gifting me—and my faith brothers and sisters at church—a God-anointed cobweb cleaner. Thus, with Pastor Ariel helping us to deepen our understanding of The Word, we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18 NLT).

Photo credit: Curl Vincent Montero 

New Dish of Old Hawaii

It was Adrian, our grandson, who introduced to Tony and me (Angkong and Amah) his favorite dish, poke salad. We have it in our country, too, but it is served by only one restaurant miles away from where we live, so we never got around to trying it.

Poke (meaning to cut crosswise into pieces) is a classic Hawaiian dish that dates—according to historians—as far back as the coming of the first Hawaiians in the island chain. In fact, many islanders claim that it existed before Captain Cook arrived. It is a raw-fish salad served as an appetizer or main course.

The dish is easy to love, since we have our own Filipino kinilaw or kilawen (recipes using either raw fish, meat, fruits, or vegetables marinated in vinegar and spices). Also available here are raw dishes of various origins—sushi and sashimi (Japan); ceviche (Peru/Spain); hwe (Korea); carpaccio (Italy); esqueixada (Catalan), koi pla (Thailand), etc.

Tony and I shared our first-ever poke salad (servings in the US are huge for small eaters like us).

Here’s what we mutually chose to go into our bowl: steamed white rice and everything raw: carrots, cucumber, minced shallots, yellow-fin tuna, squid, avocado, ginger paste, crab meat, roe, seaweeds, chopped green onions, sliced radish, and cilantro. For garnishing, we opted for: sesame seeds, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and crushed dried seaweeds.

Adrian had his wrapped in a cylindrical tortilla flour, like a burrito.    

    

It is a strange meal if you’re having it for the first time. But, at Adrian’s prodding, we went back days later for more.

The taste grows on you and after sometime, poke salad—in a bowl or wrapped in tortilla flour—turned our old tongues into new gourmets of Hawaiian food. Big burps capped our shared meals.

New dishes, which are otherwise overlooked in home court, are parts of the grace that follows one around when traveling. Each time we visit Adrian, he acquaints us with new things, one of which is the “new” poke salad of old Hawaii.

Hospitals

I am of two minds about this place where people either die or get healed.

It was in a hospital where many of my loved ones breathed their last: my son, Adrian; mother, grandmother; in-laws (Tony’s dad, mom, sister, and brother); and friends.

Yet, it was in a hospital where Tony underwent a rushed colon cancer (stage 3) surgery 25 years ago. It was in a hospital where he had a quadruple heart bypass nine years later. It was in a hospital where I gave birth to my three precious sons—the pride of my advancing years.   

It is in hospitals where son #2 spends most of his time, doing what other physicians had done and are doing for his dad.   

And today, here I am blogging about this place in an antiseptic room with gold curtains, watching Tony as he reads the newspaper, dozing off now and then—a luxury that eluded him in the last two weeks because of breathing difficulty, caused by his weak heart given a new lease on life in another hospital room all those years ago.   

 

Just last month we were in a similar room on the same floor with men and women clad in white, walking briskly inside and outside our door and the adjacent doors that share one long hallway. While I do not welcome the in-and-out movements of these humans who have dedicated their lives to care for ailing patients, I am grateful for what they do.

They are a collage of grace put together by the Creator to stand watch over those feeling faint and weary—some soon going home to continue enjoying their God-given lives and some going to funeral parlors, a stopover on their way to the life they chose at the end of this mortal coil.

Inside the elevator, which I frequent to go to the canteen or the cashier, I meet people, some sporting a smile of relief and some, a grimace of dread, accompanied with quiet sobs. One of them thought aloud, looking at me, “I have not slept for three days watching over my nephew. He had a stroke at age 3.”

Oh, I am so sorry, is all you could whisper.

In hospitals, these are what encounters are made of. You have to take it all, while hanging on to the promise you keep repeating to yourself, and praying that your fellow pilgrims will discover it, so that they, too, may have peace:

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (ESV)

A Teacher Proud and Loud

Students graduate and commence.

After completing a program, they begin learning new things and growing in their experience. And here I am, one of their teachers, left looking proud and being loud. 

Proud because those who struggled through their college years, in danger of not making it, finally march with their cap and gown. I like to think I had been an impetus to their turning points—that life changing moment when they realized college degrees  are important, too. Proud also because those who settled for nothing but excellence, march with honors, one of them delivering the valedictory address.

And loud? How can one not applaud lustily and scream "Bravo!" when each name is called? Maybe graduations are more of a teacher’s defining moment than the student’s. 

In this transnational university, where students come from many parts of the world, I sometimes get them in their freshman year, and also in their in-between years, and finally their senior year—depending on my availability. That's why when they finally leave the campus, I turn sappy.

Every graduation is a grand milestone, but this year, it is even a grander one. My student from Papua, New Guinea flew in a planeload of kin to watch him being conferred his degree. 

 

We are celebrating 20 years as an institution, 18 of which I have been a part of. This latest one would have been the 18th ceremony I'd have attended were it not for that one year when I had a book talk out of town.

(Photo shows our guest speaker and the university officers and deans ready to hand the diplomas)

Someone said that at the heart of our humanness is a calling to grow—we  are learners and growers. With each graduation, I know I have learned and grown many times over. Each is a milestone for a proud and loud teacher.

"Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning." Proverbs 9:9

Afraid of Numbers?

Many people are afraid of numbers, especially superstitious ones who believe numbers bring luck or bad luck. Some buildings have no 13th floor because 13 is considered unlucky.

On the other hand, some schedule special occasions on a day with the number 8, known to bring in fortune.

The biggest proofs of how many people put a premium on numbers are the long queues in lotto centers, which offer the biggest pot to date: one billion pesos.

Many Bible scholars have written about numerology, the belief in placing meaning on numbers in the Bible to better understand what God may be telling us.

The number one, for instance, is absolute singleness. Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “The Lord our God is One.”

As a Christian, I believe in this One God as the triune God. So here comes the number three. There are three Persons in the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each member is equally God and no less God than the others in the Trinity.

There are many more—the number seven, often mentioned in the book of Revelation: seven bowls of wrath, seven seals, seven churches, seven trumpets, and seven spirits.

One commentary I read says that the number six represents mankind since humans were created on the sixth day (Genesis 1:31), and was commanded to work for six days.

But, again, the number six is also seen as a number of imperfection. Revelation 13:18 (NLT) reads, “Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.” 

This verse spooks many Bible readers, who consider 666 as a number to be feared.

As I live by faith and not by knowledge, the numbers in Scripture are far too deep for me. Which is why I was never afraid nor influenced by numbers. No one-billion-peso lotto pot can lure me into pitting luck against the Lord’s grace. 

Six or one or seven are just numbers. They can be overcome by a sovereign God whose will prevails over numbers and everything on earth.

That’s where I was coming from when I glimpsed my blog numbers this morning—666,666.

 

What interesting numbers that tell of the 11 years and 10 months I’ve been blogging! But they were fleeting. Just a millisecond from my taking a screen shot, the numbers changed and increased quite rapidly.

These numbers, then, ought to be celebrated, not feared.

CSM’s Grand Book Launch 2018

Since I joined the roster of authors of Church Strengthening Ministry (CSM) six years ago, I have been privileged to take part in its annual Grand Book Launch at the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF).

This event happens on a Friday evening before all booths close shop for the weekend. All authors and their guests enjoy a two-hour program which includes short talks about each locally published book and video clips of books by foreign authors. 

This year, at the MIBF 2018, CSM unveiled 40 new titles, mine (NO MEANS NO: How to Drug-proof Your Child) being one of them. 

Our prayer is that these new books, focusing on various aspects of this wilderness called mortality,  will make pathways for readers toward rivers of refreshment and rest. May they encourage and inspire us to serve the Lord and be grateful, even in dry wastelands, for His abundant grace.

These photos tell only half of the blessings that I personally received and experienced that grand night. 

"For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)   

WORD PEOPLE (Part 3)

(This is the 3rd and last part of the message: Word People, delivered at the OMF Lit's Book Dedication event one week prior to the MIBF.) 

  

“I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit . . .”  

Thirdly, let us be deliberately more cautious in living the life modeled by our Savior, Jesus—the Living WORD.  

It is so easy to say a hurtful word, to curse, and to belittle people.  That’s why a faith sister suggested one day to ask myself this question before I do anything or utter a word, “Would it honor God?” 

It was the same faith sister who admonished me, when I was a shop-a-holic in my foolish, younger years, “Ask yourself two questions as you caress a bag on sale. ‘Do I need this?’ If the answer is yes, ask yourself the second question, ‘Do I need this NOW?’” Nobody needs anything now unless he is at death’s door. 

“Would it honor God?” then has been simple enough to ask before opening my mouth, doing something, or writing. But often, I forget and backslide big time. Even if I have memorized this verse since I was five, 2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” 

As a WORD person today, it’s time I put it to practice: do my best to present myself to God as one approved. Meaning, I should deliberately be a role model for myself and my readers—especially for the little ones. 

The world is quickly morphing from white and black to all shades of gray—or even black is the new white, and white is the new black. It’s time we took sides: choose what The WORD says is right and pleasing to God. We need to find God-honoring ways in our wordsmithing to rebuke what is wrong and resist the temptation to stay mute, saying nothing while the world introduces new blacks in the guise of whites.  

Isaiah 5: 20-21 (TLB) “They say that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right; that black is white and white is black; bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. Woe to those who are wise and shrewd in their own eyes!”   

Now is the time for us WORD people in this room to be so prepared for the Manila International Book Fair. Jointly, we will minister to a huge crowd of various demographics and market our ONE commodity we labored over for many months:   The WORD and the Living WORD, through our titles.  

We will encourage everyone who visits Aisle I to read our books about The WORD, the One and only commodity that is our life—patterned after the life of Jesus, the Living WORD.  

Tough. But doable.  

WORD people, let’s turn to The WORD.  

Photos taken at the event:  

WORD PEOPLE (Part 2)

(Continued from the previous post . . . this is Part 2 of the message: Word People, delivered at the Book Dedication event of OMF Lit)

It is a must to also read what older and wiser authors of the past and present have written. Commentaries enrich our narrative. We consult several Bible translations to imbibe what we read. Many times, I get confused, but I must struggle or even hemorrhage to get it right. 

When reading The Word, flash bulbs appear and epiphany moments come like surprise guests.  

John 16:13 (ESV) bears me out, "… when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” 

Second, let’s deliberately pray MORE for the Holy Spirit to help us in understanding The WORD. 

I don’t know about the other writers in this room, but praying is not easy for me. I relish writing several books and blogs at the same time. My prayers are eclectic. They jump from thanksgiving to asking for forgiveness, to begging for blessings, etc. I need to hogtie myself to concentrate in prayer.   

But we do need to spend more time for prayer if we are to soak in The WORD. 1 John 5:14, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” May I add, no matter how eclectic the format of our prayer is.   

Writers must uncover unique but believable demonstrations of topics already probed by others, so that we could write about our own personal encounters in fresh new ways that may heal, encourage, and make readers feel as though our words are their own, and therefore feel God’s presence in their own heart and mind.  

We live in this day—many pastors call it the last days—when many groups are pushing for their rights: civil rights, racial rights, women’s rights, consumer rights, gay rights, children’s rights, etc. 

More than ever, we need to hear these reminders again and again: Only the Holy Spirit can gift us with discernment to write what we should and skip what we should not.  Only the Holy Spirit can provide us with discernment to hear what we should and play deaf to what we shouldn’t. Only the Holy Spirit can enable us to discern and rightfully internalize Romans 9:1-5, beginning with this verse: 

(To be continued next post: Part 3)

Photos taken at the Book Dedication event of OMF Lit: 

WORD PEOPLE (Part 1)

One week before the opening of the 2018 Manila International Book fair (MIBF), OMF Lit hosted a Book Dedication event that gathered all of its staff, writers, and illustrators, to offer to God all its published books. It was to be a time of oneness, of praying and encouraging one another in our chosen ministry: Christian literature. 

OMF Lit’s theme this year encapsulates the company’s essence:  “Turn to the Word.”

I was tasked to deliver the message. Let me share with you the excerpted version of what the Lord led me to talk about.

As a former creative writer in an advertising agency, I have always been an exacting word person, a wordsmith. I counted words that would sell a brand in 30 seconds. 

Words were all I knew. I ate them for breakfast, lunch, and supper. I breathed words every hour. 

But one day, by divine intervention, I suddenly had a paradigm shift. I swerved and faced words of a different kind—The WORD. I left writing words for a living; from that day forward, I started writing about how grace found me. My view of ordinary things, as though by magic, turned extraordinary. 

I am sure all of you in this room are just like me. We may have come from different wombs, different experiences, and different eras, but we are all WORD people—you and I. Everyone involved in Christian publishing produces and markets one product: The WORD. 

Like a manufacturing firm, we all painstakingly develop this product and market it to as many demographics as possible. To reach them, the staff, writers, and illustrators of OMF Lit have to work closely together. 

Our raw materials for the only product we produce and sell come from only one Supplier—the Supplier of the Truth, which is The WORD. And that ever loyal supplier is also the God we serve, and for whom we market the product through our OMF lit titles. 

This commodity, therefore, must be an authentic representation of The WORD. 

Our mandate in producing this authentic product of truth is manifold. But let me lump them all into three. In advertising, words are few and simple, they are distilled and cut into bite-sized pieces.  The key word is deliberate. We must . . .

1. Deliberately understand the Word more.    
2. Deliberately pray more for the Holy Spirit to guide us in this quest for understanding. 
3. Deliberately be more cautious in living a life modeled by the Living word,  JESUS.

First, in crafting words in our own distinct voices, we need to seek the depth of The WORD so we don't pervert the truth. This takes thorough and relentless study of Scripture—in all our waking and sleeping hours. 

(To be continued next post, part 2) 

MIBF 2018 Second Day

Second days of book fairs are for taking it easy—leafing through more books, buying more, and sashaying in and out of booths while waiting for my late-hour book signing for No Means No: How to Drug-proof Your Child with Church Strengthening Ministry (CSM). 

 

My book shopping was done on the first day to free me from the crowd, exponentially growing daily.  Because it is an annual affair, the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) is deluged with book monsters every September.

As in past book fairs, first days are slow—the best time to park yourself in whatever booth you fancy—then the crowd gradually swells to overflowing on the last day.

To beat the traffic I went to the venue early, and since I was blessed with a lot of time, I had spare hours to idle away. I met with old friends and signed more books sporadically. To lovers of the printed page, this is a place where grace is up for grabs.

I went home with bags of books and an empty pocket. Is there a better way to spend hard-earned money?       

Lemonade Anyone?

Peanuts, the now classic comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, introduced me to the lemonade stand.

As an inquisitive child, I often wondered why anyone would buy homemade lemonade from kids. For one, in the province where I grew up, lemon trees didn’t exist. For another, we drank calamansi juice, which every home could easily prepare—and free, definitely not sold for a steep price of 2 cents (or 4 centavos in the Philippines, when the exchange rate was 2 pesos to a dollar).

In my readings while growing up, I learned that the lemonade stand is used in America as a symbol of capitalism —youthful entrepreneurship in particular. Its origin goes back to 130 years, when a New York youngster sold it to thirsty street car riders.

This scene has been reenacted in kiddie comic strips and political cartoons. 

I saw it personally reenacted recently by my grandson, Adrian. The village where he lives had a two-day garage sale. The gate was opened to outsiders who might want to purchase used items at giveaway prices. Adrian had the idea that buyers would be thirsty and lemonade would solve the problem.

But because of inflation over the years, Adrian’s lemonade cost one dollar a glass! That would be 54.14 pesos in the Philippines—over 500% increase from Lucy’s lemonade price.

As an entrepreneur, he decided on advertising. He made directional signs with balloons on both sides of the block where his stand was. He also “hired” an assistant, Angkong Tony. As a come-on, he would wave at cars passing by.

His brand of marketing worked. Buyers stopped and bought glasses of Adrian’s lemonade.

Fascinated no end, I took shots of him and his hired hand, his first dollar, his posters and directional sign.

It was capitalism at its best; or in my book, grace@work.

A Different Devotional: Encouraging Workers for Children

This new, one-of-a-kind book is not only a devotional, it is a partnership—from every possible angle you may look at it.

It’s a partnership between Philippine Children’s Ministry Network (PCMN), who birthed the idea, and OMF Lit, publisher. This partnership extends to the 36 contributors of different persuasions and serving in varied ministries for children.  

In all honesty, I was a bit wary when Ms. Fe of PCMN broached the idea, but Ms. Yna of OMF Lit wore her it-can-be-done smile all through our first meeting. I thought of logistics: choosing the entries, classifying them into topics or verses, editing, coordinating, and meeting deadlines. A nightmare! Working with one author is complicated enough—but with multiple writers?!

I was happy to help, but I could only do so much. Yet, they rolled out the project with a writing workshop. Michelle of OMF Lit was to be the point person, with the help of the publication staff, who, I suspect, did not know what hit them. They had to work extra hard and extra long for the book to be launched even earlier than its original schedule.

PCMN likewise had to solicit the endorsement of partner organizations, whose officers wrote blurbs and reviews that became integral parts of the devotional. 

This project began as a dream, a wishful thought by Ms. Fe, a long-time advocate for abused children—many of whom have not met Jesus—in hard areas. She knows how demanding it is for workers to trudge through dirt roads and roadblocks. A devotional written by kindred spirits would help keep them going.   

As I wrote my entries and reviewed many others, I realized the heavy load each advocate for children must bear every day. We need nourishment, help that can only stem from the Word.

There were many entries, but we had to focus on the vision: a devotional for those who dedicate most of their precious hours to serving little ones not their own.

Less than a year later, on August 14 this year, Encouraging Workers for Children: A Devotional was launched amidst an SRO crowd and SRO grace. The hall was packed with fellow advocates for children, representing different organizations—all in partnership to build each other up. 

  

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)

Grace Found in Gone?

At the launching of Gone? on the first day of the Manila International Book Fair, I was gifted with so many surprises, I won’t be able to write about them all. 

There were kids, of course, but there were grannies, too. Each group had the same kind of excitement over the book. The kiddies loved it for themselves. The grannies loved it for their grandchildren.

It was in the conversations, which I prefer to call encounters, that Koi Carreon (illustrator) and I were swamped with hordes of guests in all sizes and piles of books to sign. Grace galore.

Koi is an award-winning illustrator for adult readers, and for the first time, I am delighted that he tried his hand at a children’s book. I can’t speak for him, but I believe he found as much grace as I have.

One kid could almost memorize the whole book (it was read to her the day before), including the turn of phrases.

Another kid wanted to know more about it but not too much, not the ending anyway. One more kid narrated how he lost things and never found them.

Yet another said, “I never lost anything!”

To which his mom replied, “Sure you have—so many things.”

“Oh yeah [giggles], my hat . . . and my . . .”

The title of the book is Gone? yet I found more than I thought I could in the short two hours spent with kiddies and grannies. And I hope nothing from those hours will ever be gone from my memory bank.

These photos will help me remember . . . how the Hiyas staff conceptualized and built the pretty, outstanding booth; how their smiles and words of welcome to every guest hid their tired eyes begging for sleep; how they explained to those who dropped by each book; and how they saw to my needs before I could even say them.

The Real Thief: Tackling CICL

The acronym CICL stands for Children in Conflict with the Law.

Lawmakers in the country have been considering lowering the age (18) that defines and classifies a child. This has to do with the alarming rise in CICL cases. From 2012-2105 alone, “children alleged as, accused of, and adjudged as, having committed an offense under Philippines laws” have reached a disturbing number of 40,000!

Organizations for children at risk are lobbying for the retention of age 18. They argue that children below 18 need guidance; they still lack decision-making skills. Minors who are caught committing crimes “have the right to treatment that promotes their sense of dignity and worth, aiming at rebuilding their lives and their reintegration into society.”

Although the government runs Bahay Pag-Asa (BPA), a center for CIBL, the funding is often short to maintain decent living conditions for these children. 

"The Real Thief" (#4 book in the Happy Home series) shows how a minor is pushed into committing a crime by an unscrupulous adult who brazenly abuses the law that spares children from prosecution.

Writing this book was an uphill climb. The workers for children I interviewed warned me not to have any scene spooking kids, nor any scene making the arresting officers look like devils, nor any scene showing the police station as a war zone.

Wearing kid gloves, I inched my way into CICL—internalizing Articles 37 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989): “Placing CICL in a closed facility should be a measure of last resort, to be avoided whenever possible . . . no imposition of the death penalty and sentences of life imprisonment for offences committed by persons under the age of 18.”

Finally, when the manuscript was given the go-signal by my interviewees, which included a lawyer-advocate for children’s rights, Leo Kempis Ang, talented illustrator of the Happy Home series, was busy finishing an equally noble pursuit. I used the waiting time to polish and re-polish the text. 

Two years later, by sheer grace, here it is: "The Real Thief," specially created for our young reader’s understanding. We invite adults, who may chance upon the book, to advocate for children in whatever way possible, so that minors may not transfigure into CICL. 

(Leo and I will be at the Manila International Book Fair, SMX MOA, OMF Lit Aisle I, 1:30 to 3:00 PM today, to meet and have fun with our readers. Please join us.)   

No Means No: The Backstory

My only brother-in-law (Tony's younger brother), who was my dear friend and whom I admired for his intelligence and creativity, overdosed on drugs. He died at the age of 30. 

I briefly wrote about this tragic event in my book "Grace under Pressure." It caught the attention of the VP of Publications, and the next thing I knew, she was asking me to write a book on drug abuse. It is urgent, she explained, because it is the president's pet project. We need a book that can help people resist or crush the scourge of illegal substances.

Understanding the drug menace is borderline impossible; I didn't know where to begin. I started by interviewing people at random: psychologists, medical doctors, parents of drug users, drug users, rehab volunteers, youth pastors, pastors involved in rehab, lapsed and recovering users, and finally, the officers tasked by the president to take charge of the war against drug: the Philippine National Police.

Now bursting with scribbles of both my thoughts and my interviewees', my notebook bled from heartaches, guilt, and what-should-have-been.

In the end, I realized that, unless grace suddenly releases a user from the grip of drugs, addiction cannot be solved. Not even with the relentless brutal killing of carriers and users in our country today.

One of the PNP officers I talked to was emphatic, "The one and only way you can stop drugs from victimizing people is to stop the threat from closing in.” It's akin to erecting an impenetrable steel barrier as protection, because once these substances flow into the victim’s veins, he could be hooked for good, and the success of rehab centers is dismal.

"Have you given up, Sir?" I asked.

"Never," he said. "But those are the facts."

A drug barrier is built in the home, not in jails or rehab centers, by parents—not by the police or the government. And the construction should begin early: when the kids are old enough to understand gestures and listen to words.

Illegal drugs alter the brain, the psychologists and medical doctors I talked to stressed. A drug addict is no longer the person he was.

Ergo, before he malforms, he has to be kept as he was created, as he was meant to be by the Creator—right in the home. Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV), “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

This nugget of wisdom is just one of many that parents can use to build a fortress for their children. The best parenting book ever written, the Bible, has all the principles we need to drug-proof our children.

In No Means No, after a barrage of research, I went back to Scripture. I mined these principles, and demonstrated them through experiences shared by various people who so generously opened their hearts—for readers to be encouraged and blessed.    

(No Means No will be launched at the Manila International Book Fair on 13 September 2018, 4 PM, MOA SMX.)

I Am Going to Hollywood!

During the American Idol auditions, finalists jump and whoop, “I am going to Hollywood!” Glamorous Hollywood is where their dreams are made.

I facetiously hooted the same words when a nephew and a niece said they would take Tony and me to Hollywood. Bong was our patient driver and OD was our tour guide-cum-photographer. We’ve been to LA a few times, but never downtown.

Hollywood did not disappoint.

Like true-blue tourists, we set foot on the Walk of Fame and gawked at enterprising people costumed as super-heroes posing for a few bucks with adventurous tourists. Fortunately, we are classified under non-adventurous. 

The first thing I did was take a shot of my foot on Ryan Seacrest’s star—the guy whose ears hear “I am going to Hollywood” first-hand, and took shots of landmark theaters like Grauman’s Chinese Theater, El Capitan, Dolby—the works. And to cap the tour, we were taken to the West Griffith Observatory where we had our must-have shot with the Hollywood sign as background (above).

Both Bong and OD urged us to walk here and there, see this and that, but Tony’s knees and fractured wrist, plus my grasping toes and spine, aggravated by the freezing temperature, demurred. Let’s just say, it was a geriatric tour, albeit a magnificent one.    

     

  Then, like additional manna from heaven, a few more cousins, nieces, and nephews happened to be in downtown LA, too. They invited us to dinner at—one guess—Chinatown. 

In all, grace, marvelous grace, took us to Hollywood. But beyond that, it enabled us to bond with dearest kin we rarely see. I sang all the way home.

“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.” Psalm 69:30

Are You a Person of Priority?

An odd question, I thought.

I never heard of the phrase “person of priority” before. But as the pastor of son #2’s church in the US continued to speak, it sank in. In fact, it is something every Christian should aspire to be.

He was referring to Mary and Martha when Jesus visited their home. While Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet to listen, Martha was too eager to serve and therefore distracted by details—like forgetting to gas up when running on empty. 

“. . .‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ 

“‘Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” Luke 10:40-42 (NIV)

In like manner, busyness over so many things distracts us from looking up to His throne of grace, which should be our top priority. Busyness (don’t I know it!) brings out the worst in us. Resembling Martha, we become self-absorbed, stressed, resentful, anxious, and troubled.

Mary, a person of priority, embodied David’s words in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” 

Are you a person of priority? Am I?

It’s a question I often ask myself, and which I am trying, with great effort, to answer positively now and all the days of my life.

Reflecting Love

Sparkling on every table—one for each guest at the Mother’s Day celebration of son #2’s church in California—were these prism-like gems reflecting a spectrum of colors. It was tied to a rolled piece of paper with the words, “Reflecting Love.”

It was an apt symbol for the speaker’s love theme, based on 1 Corinthians 13, the Bible’s love chapter. 

She spoke of how motherhood is a reflection of God’s love in every home. From giving birth to a child, then nurturing, guiding, and instructing him till he is all grown up, a mother will always consider her child her baby—and will forever love him unconditionally with all her heart. Truly a reflection of our Father’s love.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love,” the Lord said to the people Israel. (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT)

As I listened, my mind wandered to Moses, whose shining face literally reflected God’s love. “When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord.” Exodus 34:29 (NLT)

Is it possible for us to also have the radiant face of Moses?

According to Scripture, yes. Over time, as our personal relationship with God gets deeper and closer, we will be transformed and this will show on our face—how we deal with problems and people. Well, our face may not literally glow as did Moses’ shining face, but our transformation can reflect His love.

And as we reflect that love, we can draw others to Him, because the grace of His presence can be seen in and through us—like it did with Moses.

The Road to Grace

That’s the title of one of two books by Richard Paul Evans that I borrowed from the city library while vacationing in California. I usually choose to read his books during my free time (away from home and routine) because of their spiritual undertones that make a reader like me reflect on life. 

 

Evans, a multi-awarded author, is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels. The Road to Grace is the 3rd in his The Walk series. 

This book was a quick and riveting read that took me, while sitting on a comfortable sofa, to historical places vividly described with local color.

The protagonist, Alan, who lost his wife, business, friends, and everything he ever loved, decides to walk to the farthest place he could find on the map. It is during his tiring travels that, according to Evans himself, Alan “evolves as a person, spiritually maturing as he learns more about forgiveness and grace.”

How far do you take bitterness? This, for me, is the crux of the story. At what point in life do you unburden yourself of anger?

People are constantly looking for grace, but Alan says, “If we open our eyes, we can see the abundance of it.”

Sometimes with tears in my eyes, I read Lost December. It is Evans’ Christmas-themed retelling of the parable of the prodigal son—perhaps the most poignant story of forgiveness and second chances.

It brought me back to the very first book I ever read by Evans, The Miracle of the Christmas Box, which was sent to me by my friend, Lucy, from Palm Springs. But, uh, it was not really his first book, but simply the intriguing backstory of  The Christmas Box. Now, I wasn't going to pass up reading that first book, was I?  How I did was a story in itself.

In addition to time spent writing heaps of blog posts (my latest three books No Means No; The Real Thief; and Gone? were already finished, ready to go to press before our spring vacation in sunny California), I was blessed with ample time for reading.

Those were certainly some of my own countless roads to grace! 

Remembering Ninoy

Today, August 31, 2018, we commemorate the 35th anniversary of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, he who said, "The Filipino is worth dying for."  We thank God for sharing this hero's life with us. 

Such grace it was to be a part of his stunning funeral three decades and 5 years ago! 

Photo credit (bottom): Inquirer News

Bicycle Head

Still reeling from the 16-hour travel from the Philippines to Northern California, I couldn’t keep my eyes open as daughter in-law G drove us to our temporary nest for a month. But my eyeballs popped out when I saw this:

Right smack in a busy intersection was a mendicant with a difference. For a moment I thought I was in the circus. He was balancing his bicycle on his head and around his neck was a sign: “Just Hungry, Need Help.”  

Some vehicles stopped and the passengers handed him some money. Is this America?! I asked myself,  The land of milk and honey?! 

I was wide awake after that.

In the next few days, during our drive around the city, we’d see the same guy again and again. Able-bodied and relatively young, he could easily look for a job, which are aplenty in the US of A.

Ay, there’s the rub. He is not lazy, he does his difficult stance in the midst of traffic, through the freezing winter air, or under the heat of the summer sun, day in and day out. But he would not be able to hold a job; he’s mentally ill.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), approximately one in five adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year. Approximately one in 25 adults—9.8 million, or 4.0%—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.

Why do people have mental illness?

It’s like asking, why do I get backaches and heartburn? Why does Tony have heart and blood pressure problems?

We experience these things because we dwell in bodies which have been marred by sin. Our body parts waste away, some become hubs of dread diseases. In this fallen world, our organs could fall apart and fail us anytime. And the man with his bike on his head happens to have a warped brain.

What can we do?

Paul addresses this in 2 Corinthians 4:16 (ESV), “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”

That, if we put our trust in the Savior, whose merciful grace renews our inner selves every single day.

Stranger in Heaven

We were in the US when the shooting in a Texas high school happened (two months ago). Nine students and one teacher were murdered by a 17-year-old boy.

It was chilling, but no longer surprising. The newspapers reported, “It is the 22nd US school shooting since the beginning of the year, and the third instance in eight days in which a gunman was on a school campus.” This made me ponder how easily life is lost.

I am afraid for my grandson, Adrian, who goes to school in America. If only I could do something to protect him. 

His mom narrated a similar incident in Adrian's school that left everyone frozen in fear: Two teenagers were seen walking on campus. The guard tired to shoo them away but they wouldn’t budge. So the school authorities decided to padlock all the students inside the school for their safety, while investigation was conducted.

Inside the classrooms, the kids were terrified. They were in various stages of panic. Many were crying, one of whom was Adrian. He would explain to a friend later why he cried.

“I knew we were going to die, and I was worried that I didn’t know anyone in heaven!” he said, realizing that his parents would be left behind on earth and he’d be a stranger there. He didn't assume his classmates would be there, too. 

 

This anecdote made me heave a sigh of relief, laugh, and grateful. Young as he is at age 11, he knows, without any doubt, where he’s going when he leaves Earth. As a believer in the saving grace of Jesus, he is positive he will be in heaven. 

What an assurance to an anxious grandparent!

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God . . .” John 1:12 (ESV)

Between Black and White

From the Orange County Airport (a.k.a. John Wayne Airport), Tony and I took an Uber to his cousin’s place, where we’d be visiting for four days.

Along the way, the driver—a big, white man with a basso voice—sang President Trump praises. In the same breath, he said, “Obama will go to jail, just you wait and see.” Then he went on and on about how bad the black president was, and how the white president is doing everything he can for America.

When you come across people who are obsessively passionate about their beliefs and which side they are on, it'd be better to keep your mouth shut or you'd be flogged, or killed. 

All we could mutter were, “Really?” “Is that right?” “What do you know?” “Oh, dear.” And all the safe, non-committal phrases the lexicon ever invented.

In a two-party system like America's, people are either black or white (especially after the tenure of its first and only black president).

What baffles me now is, in our country—with a multi-party system—people are divided right down the middle, too. You are either pro-Duterte (our current president) or against. No matter what happens or what issues prop up, people stick to their guns, resolute in their opinion that he is the best-ever, or worst-ever president. 

My prayer is that believers would be able to discern the differences between black and white, and not to blindly take sides. I pray for grace to enlighten us in evaluating the issues, for or against, and their consequences to the country and our people.

The good Book is clear on which way we should go.

While believers are enjoined to pray for and follow authority, we must not condone what is wrong. We should speak up and do something, where he can, when something goes against God's Word, because that is our mandate.

They say that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right; that black is white and white is black; bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. Woe to those who are wise and shrewd in their own eyes!  Isaiah 5:20-21 (TLB)

Mother's Day 2018

By this time, almost a week in California, I still had not conquered jet lag. Age?

At 3 AM (6 PM in the Philippines, a day after Mother’s Day), I was staring at the ceiling, my eyes unwilling to close. So I visited the Net to check my messages. Most of the posts were how the day was celebrated, complete with photos of ecstatic mommies being treated out and cuddling their presents.

My FB timeline yielded this photo (left) from son #1, which caused me to laugh so loud Tony woke up alarmed. I hardly recognized me. When I did, it brought back beautiful memories of times past when I was a young mom enjoying my first son (shortly after this photo was taken, we were blessed with son #2).

The photo on the right was son #3’s version of the traditional roses. Mother’s Day celebration had begun.

Before breakfast, son #2 presented me with boxes of blank gift cards, which are my favorite gifts of all—next to books, of course. Why? Any writing surface is heaven-sent. 

  

Grandson #1, and only one, presented his mom with roses.

Then off to church, where mothers were rhapsodized and prayed over. 

 

At the church's foyer were photo booths set up specially for moms. Beloved grandson, Adrian, suggested that son #2 and I would have our photos taken together, while he did the same with his mom.

Here you go:

Lunch, fun, and bonding—with the part of our family we see only once a year—followed in an Italian restaurant. 

In all, it was indeed mom’s day, but it was also dad's, children’s, and grand children’s day.

Like all the days of our lives, it was a special grace day.