Of all days, my computer died on me on Christmas day. It's the worst thing that can happen to a writer whose lifework is in it—and who h...

Scenes of the Christmas season that make me uneasy are uniformed guards in private subdivisions brandishing or jiggling a Christmas gift box...

No celebration can be as astonishing as the birth itself. It was rightly foretold, and when it happened, the world was never the same again....

The nippy wind of past Christmases is missing. As I did my early morning walk, I felt warm air, making me sweat profusely. It's certainl...

My favorite stress buster, next to writing and reading, turns 100 years old today!   That's how long the crossword puzzle has been de...

Giving seems to have gone viral. After super typhoon Yolanda, every person I know—neighbor, friend, relative, acquaintance, and peer—has h...

Have you had a week like this? It felt like I was a helpless, useless piece of rag—pushed, pulled and spun in an endless maximum motion in...

Poof. That's how my dear cousin, Charity, left. Too sudden, too quick, too soon. When we heard the devastating news, we didn't kno...

Do you like winning arguments? I used to—a lot. I was self-programmed to win arguments or bust. Proving someone wrong meant victory. Eme...

To say I love tigers is pushing it. Well, I do love the stripes of them, and the grace of them, and the wonderful design of them as created ...

Whenever I go out of town with family, I keep wishing I had a better camera than my five-year-old-point-and-shoot Kodak. It has never captur...

I am still on an island faraway, and won't be back to earth till after Sunday, when the magic of our lives heads home to Pittsburgh.  ...

Anytime now we will have a tiny, six-year-old guest at home.  He is so important I am closing shop so I can savor and revel in grace, unlimi...

My friend, Letty, once said I am a slogger.  Not to my face, of course. She told another friend—behind my back. After all, slogging is not a...

Two years ago I was in Leyte province for a series of talks. One of the must-see places to where our host took us was the grand Olot mansion...

First, let's get this out of the way: Are you good or bad? Jesus answers this in Mark 10:18 (NLT) "Why do you call me good? . . ....

Typhoon Yolanda, which slammed the Philippines with ruthless fury, “was so powerful that instruments can't measure it's force.” That...

Undas , the local translation of "Day of the Dead" (Halloween, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day that run from the eve of...

At first blow, this is a noble statement among believers in Christ. It is also what we call, in these days of compromise, tolerance, indiv...

This acronym is the rhythm of people in advertising, where the sense of urgency was drilled into my system. Men and women move, get things ...

Not counting in the Tony I live with, I know over a dozen other Tonys. One of them is my neighbor. He sat across me at one of the dinner t...

If you're looking for an example of a young over-achiever, you should meet my student Ike*. Everything he does is an overkill. When I ...

The earthquake of 7.2 magnitude that shook, and is still shaking the Visayas this month, made me fully understand what verses 1-6 in Psalm 1...

Stretch limo . . . formal suit and gown . . . a long and winding road . . . perfume . . . posh resto . . . a table for two . . . violins . ....

Color has played a big part in our political scene. During campaign time, parties become brands; they choose a particular color to disting...

Photo credit: Pinterest 

Death of a loved one is not something you can put behind you—ever. The ache will dull in time, but it stays; it throbs intensely on some d...

Four out of the five independent films were great; however, they were 10 minutes too long, which kept them from moving up to excellent. Th...

This photo was unearthed from an auntie's (the lady with the "x") old album, and sent via email to our clan e-groups. My neph...

With a stubborn flu virus keeping me in bed for days, I couldn't shine nor zoom, even if I tried. So this post about the children's ...

Blue is the color of flu. The bug got to me—and it seems to be the stubborn, thorny variety.  The bed is not exactly the best place to be, b...