Keep, Drop, Change!

Gospel Reflection for 7 January 2018

The Epiphany of the Lord

Pls Read God’s Silent Message: Gospel of Matthew 2:1-12

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.“

It’s NEW YEAR once more!

“Picture-picture!” … selfie dito, groupie don! – natapos ang taon na maraming ganon – at nagsimula na ulit ang taon, GANON PA DIN! … at isa na ako don! “eto na naman si picture-picture!” – ganito lagi ang kantyaw sa akin kapag may “moments”!  Nagkamali nga daw ako ng course na kinuha – dapat daw ay Photography!

True enough! I have always loved “photography” because I have always loved “life & every bit of chance in it”!  Thanks to the leveled-up technology kasi digital na tayo ngayon … gone were the days na “kailangan ipa-develop mo muna ang film bago mo pa makita ang image”! – tapos saka mo pa lang makikita na ang epic-fail pala ang shots mo, gumastos ka pa sa developing charge!

Each picture tells “a thousand words” & God’s messages & signals are in-to-it! Images may be kept in the heart but God has given us another alternative to make us “see beyond” when we “take another glance” at those shots in our solitude.

God has always been great for creating great minds that brought us this “digital advantage” where we can easily keep good-to-see pics, drop unpleasant scenarios & elements and change some effects before we post pics that would gather many “likes” in social sites –- all because we’ve INSPIRED life!

What we do in photography, we do to “life”! – but let us be like those three WISE men who CONSIDERED God’s SIGNS which made them decide to take another route & save themselves from unseeming destruction.

So, my dear friends,  let’s reflect on this: what can we “keep, drop & change” in our life as we welcome 2018?

Happy & Blessed New Year po! #sunset

That “{Yes” Called Humility

No one would see the pain when things and people are not fair & when situations doesn’t favor us; but if we will say “YES” and be more “charitable along the timeline of relationships, and we will TRUST na “KAYA KO” ang “magpakumbaba”, we are being “meek” to our Father and that is ONE BIG CONFIDENCE that we’re not alone in fighting our battles, because God will fight our battles for us….

http://profgailinspires.com/2013/09/02/that-yes-called-humility/

When We Have Nothing to Give…

When We Have Nothing to Give…

Hi, do you sometimes feel that God seem not to listen when you are in need?

Do you sometimes feel hopeless when you have nothing to give? 

Let this link inspire us…and later on realize that…God would always give what we’re asking for if we have good relationship within the family whom we expect to also be with us while we’re hanging on what’s yet to come. 

Afterall, it is how parents submit to God’s will while mending their child’s future and how children LISTEN and allow their parents to guide them to the “grace” awaiting them … just because they were humble enough to submit to their parents’ wisdom 🙂

http://profgailinspires.com/2013/07/29/when-we-have-nothing-to-give/

God Guarantees Beyond Worries

http://profgailinspires.com/2013/07/03/god-guarantees-beyond-worries/

Whew….what a week it has been! …nakaka-preysure!

Sometimes you would come to the point na di mo na alam ang pwede mong gawing paraan kasi ang lakas ng dating ng pagkasabi sayo na “DI NA PWEDE” ang inakala mong pwede pa! Excited ka pa man din kasi isa sa mga pinangarap mo ang malapit nang matupad tapos biglang sasabihin sayong “wala na, sayang na ang pinaghirapan mo”! Kung mahihna-hina ang loob mo, mawawalan ka na ng pag-asa, di ka na gagawa ng paraan kasi yong ini-expect mong pwede mo pang magawa ay di daw talaga uubra! Wala nang areglo, as in! whew…nakakapanghina talaga! – as in deads ka na, double jeopardized ka pa kasi sa bandang huli, you were all the more blamed kasi di mo naisip ahead of time na di na pala pwede ang inakala mong pwede pa! isang hirit pa … nakakapanghina talaga!

Buti na lang, may isa ka pang natitirang choice … ang umiyak na lang!

And upppsss, dahil dyan, bigla kang nahimasmasan and all the while, SUPPLIED with a strength from somewhere, you suddenly moved on with the great EXPECTATION IN YOUR HEART that God’s ANGELS will come in rescue and ease your tears with the hope that  mightier things are coming!

Beyond the worries, “if and only if” we will submit ourselves to God’s anointing — that determination to do our best and find every possible recourse even when others demean our optimism , God would soon descend His GUARANTEE!

As sure as John promised to the people that One mightier than him is coming after he baptized Jesus in our gospel for today, it’s also a sure thing that with God’s sent angels will RELEASE our worries and all the way stay with us, ‘till we take hold in our hands the PASSPORT to greater FAITH!

Huling hirit lang po … God guarantees there are angels! 🙂 sunset

Chase, when nearly @ the Brim

“konti na lang, kuha mo na!”  

“konting tiis na lang, “ikaw na”!”

“konting dagdag na sacrifice na lang, kakayanin mo na!”

 …sana, h’wag na kaunting-kaunti na lang, mag-give up ka pa!

…sana, wag na halos maa-achieve mo na, umayaw ka pa!

…sana, h’wag na 99.9% na ang na-exert mong effort,

nag-back-to-zero ka pa ulit!

John the Baptist in the Gospel Luke 3:10-18 has been asked three times, “what must we do?” by those whom he told to do penance for the forgiveness of their sins.  He simply provoked them to live out HONESTY and INTEGRITY by looking forward to what they can do to others: “share”!

In reflection, we might consider it a challenge because “what we actually strive to do to others, we firstly do it to ourselves” – so goes the saying, “we can never give what we don’t have”!

Oh, how I feel so blessed reflecting on this…and I have just thanked God so much seeing how good He planned things out! Ang galing! ‘yong tipong akala mo nire-require kang gumawa para sa iba, pero habang nag-eefort ka pala para sa kanila, una mong naaayos ang sarili mo;  ‘yong tipong habang tumutulong ka sa iba, tinutulungan mo rin actually ang sarili mo; and yong tipong habang nag-iisip ka ng kung ano ang pwede mong maibigay, si God nauna nang magbigay sa’yo ng kung ano ang pwede mong ibigay!

Isn’t this so GREAT?! …that we have already received the gift that we should also share with others, while we first enjoyed it ourselves?

Hopefully, this is what we should see and what we should prepare about all these days of our life. We are given all the chances to “give out our best”.  Never would it be possible for us to be good to others without foremost being good to ourselves.  Mahirap ituro sa iba ang mga bagay na di naman natin naituro sa sarili natin! … mas lalong mahirap kung nagkukunwari kang “ikaw” pero wala naman sa puso mo ang “ikaw” na gusto mong maging!  — and siguro, nakakahiyang aminin that we are “all-set” with all our gifts during Christmas samantalang hindi pa totoong ready ang sarili natin sa tunay na kahulugan na ipinapaalala ng bawat Pasko.

Human as we are, we may at times struggle against some worldly things; the more that the opponent would pull us away from our goal of making ourselves presentable to God; the more that we would be faced to instances of blemishing our honesty and integrity towards ourselves and to others — just when we are at the peak of our worth before God – yet, if we will only strive to be a miracle worker conceiving in our minds what we ought to give back to God, we would surely ACHIEVE that brim!  — sunset 

https://plus.google.com/b/109974795611543937023/photos/109974795611543937023/albums/5893971266665140977/5893971270285820370?authkey=CK6okcWe_bqiSg

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My Daughter’s First Few Steps

“God is your only strong back-up!” — this was where she started her first step up!

No matter how worried she was for not having someone “in there” to refer her, bravely she tried to do her own “follow ups” until she was accommodated for her Internship.  

Confidently she thrived through the various difficult tasks even of having only few hours sleep just to cope with her supervisor’s expectations which earned her an “inspiring evaluation” of her performance.

Those words which says “let us know when you graduate!” gave her the strong conviction that God has just been there for her next step up. 

And so she grabbed the chance — did not waver a bit. Researched her way to what would help her “make it” in the tedious exams and series of interviews. 

All the more, she prayed, patiently waited, grasped for God’s silent messages along those pages in “didache” and other inspirational reads — until that day God said, “Go, on your wings to your future” — her next step up as one of the Network’s Talent: “Researcher” for News & Public Affairs: Brigada News TV. 

WOW to that God-willed date June 19, 2013 her FIRST DAY of WORK!

And yes, as faithful as has been, bringing her to another step up, she was right away the assigned Researcher for a current hot issue “Ang Pagsubok ni Marco”.

So there, her first late home arrival @12:38 am of the next day — yet ANOTHER STEP UP where she immediately had to gather resources, trace contacts, make connections and the most — that they got that interview with him because she was able to make him “promise”.

Consequently, God has just been backing her STEP UPS — that this is what she’s got on her first five days @ work: 

So there!

All that a mother and a father could be so proud of is IF A CHILD LISTENS!

I couldn’t thank God enough that He provides us with the wisdom that would help us in giving our child the guidance that she needs. We argued, I thrived to convince, experienced tough times over chaos….but it has been worthy after all!  

Above all, I thank God that He has given me this opportunity and I hope to still be there with our YG’s and RG’s FIRST FEW STEPS to success too 🙂

P.S. to YG & RG, I am praying you would allow Mom this same chance by being good girls in the weeks, moths and years to come.

Let this Prayer Hear the Desert …

“Change my heart, oh God!

There may have been times when I don’t seem to hear

Your silent voice speaking to me.

There may have been times when I don’t seem to listen

to Your silent messages.

Yes, there may have been times when in fact,

I don’t recognize the messenger whom You’ve sent,

to voice out to me Your messages which I don’t hear

because You never even say a word from a distance.

 

There were episodes in my life when I stumbled, committed mistakes,

allowed myself to give in to temptations…

There were interludes where I gave excuses & justifications

just to save me from my wrong-doings and from my short comings …

Yes, it were during those intervals

when I would point finger to others

and make them the culprits why I had to fall for something.

 

I could never imagine how permissible I’ve been

in embracing the pressures of self-centeredness…

please make me realize that I am being too proud

… to admit how “unfair” I’ve been to people who care for me

because instead of LISTENing with my hEARt,

I have even caused them pain

since the more I that I’ve been overconfident with my actuations

to indirectly tell them that “I was never wrong”

and that “I didn’t do anything at all!”

 

Please “change my heart oh God” …

Please make me see Your message in these persons

Whom you are using to CARE FOR ME! “

… this prayer, I have specially composed to be our offering to God as we are given once more the opportunity in this “advent of chance”!

Many times, we never get to hear that VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS like John’s in this Gospel of Luke 3:1-6, “A voice of one crying out in the desert.” (Luke 3:4).

When we take the risk being misinterpreted when we in fact care, we are like this “voice crying out in the desert” – and yes, it’s a real difficult experience when despite that you “love to save one person from messing up”,  the more that you would even get hurt while the more that you are treated as an opponent .

Today, may we take this chance to “allow God to change our hearts by listening to God’s messengers down here” – may we learn to humble ourselves to listen to that “voice in the desert” so that we could make ourselves worthy of the effort which God’s love has exerted! — sunset 

Our “Third Day” is yet to Come

It’s never easy when others don’t understand! – the more difficult when the person whom you expect to understand does not even empathize.

Some are not comfortable when somebody takes heart to put something forward. Some would tend to react and begin to entertain insinuations even if the purpose is nothing offensive. It’s just like “no one beats those who think of themselves big”.
All the more, isn’t it sad when all that you wanted, is to do what you feel God wants you to, yet, someone won’t entertain other choices than refuse?
Every so often, you would show great deal of caring, that much of loving, even serving to a great extent … yet, you’re treated as an enemy who’ve been trying to cross borders which you are never welcomed to be part of.

What hurts the more is that…none of your efforts are appreciated. None of what you offer are accepted. None of what you say are given due regard. As if, you never were there, and the worse, never should you exist at all.

Have you been to this experience? –- times when you’d almost think that God is not present? — episodes when rebuff brings you to sleepless nights and stressful mornings?

Sometimes the only choice we could try is to get in touch with God and feel deep within that no matter how much others intend to bring us down, God always has a promise to fulfil — not as of yet – but just as He said:
“The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously,
to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and
to be put to death, but to be raised up on the third day.”

At certain occasions, God would allow us to suffer just as His Son did. Jesus carried His cross for the sake of the task that He was committed to fulfil. Along the line, no matter how pained we are, God continues to commission us:
“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself
and take up his cross every day and follow me.
For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it;
but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it! ”

For certain unexplained reason, some will hurt us the more by striving to exterminate us at any cause – but as much as we strive for moments of silence with God, we would all the more hear His message that would BOOST US UP to OUR THIRD DAY 🙂 sunset

The Depth of our Response would do Much

Your Needs will Tell the Kind of Person that You Are.

Been so out of the mood because your parents can’t give you money for your hair rebond?  Been so worried because you won’t look so good in front of others with your un-rebonded hair?  Been so bad trip ‘coz times didn’t favor you with your needs?

Then someone out there has just been so happy because someone has given him used school shoes, used school bag, used school uniform, … someone out there has just been so excited because some people has donated him set of school supplies and other school needs.

Then somewhere out there, someone is praying for somebody’s help. Somewhere, in such place called hopelessness, someone is in need – far more, than the things that we don’t need because we already have the basics – yet, we’re not so happy because we wanted more!  We’re disappointed because we can’t get those things which will make us feel good — but which makes others feel “pained” — because we don’t see what we already have and what others need!  And more hurting than it does, we tend not to feel what others feel.  — because we don’t look around, where we are supposed to realize that what we’ve been complaining about is what others has been hoping to have!

When Jesus multiplied the five loaves and the two fishes in our gospel for today, He responded to the need of the hungry crowd and by such means He did not only satisfy their destitution but all the more, their spiritual hunger. He didn’t have much too, but it was His willingness to give which made things possible.

What makes us so worried about our outside satisfaction could be a sign of not so healthy mindset.  If there is something to be anxious about, it should be that fact that we need to heal such frame of mind. There could be no prescribed medicine to a sick mind than our own decision to heal our own outlook – so that we could divert our attention to more essential things specially that of emulating the Body & Blood of Jesus Christ: striving to be Like Him.

There are more somewhere who are in need of a “healed mindset”. Our humility to listen to God’s silent message deep within instead of focusing to our noisy complaints will soon make us God’s channel of blessings.

It wouldn’t be easy, but let’s endeavour to make our needs tell that we are striving to LIVE like Jesus.  🙂 sunset

“It’s all Up to Us! ”

No one is there beside you!

You are all alone!

It makes you sad – really sad!

You cried all by yourself and you’ve gone so tired!

It’s always same old story …

Over and over, you’d somehow find relief with “some relievers”

— ears who listened, hearts who felt!

Yet, it’s always same old story …

That sensation still lingers and the pain intensifies …

— because “relievers” do not promise to be there until you’re HEALED!

In today’s Gospel Luke 24:46-53, Jesus has to finally depart from His disciples. His 40 days of coaching them after His Resurrection has finally concluded; and this time, where He has MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, He is Ascending – He has to finally LEAVE!

If I were one of His disciples, I would naturally feel sad!

Just to imagine that I am given that great responsibility of mending everything without Him?

— times when things would surely become difficult and I would feel all alone because He left?

— times when I wouldn’t know where to find comfort because He’s no longer with me?

Oh, just the thought makes me sick! … and it sucks! – that fear aches! – makes me wanna give up!

But then NO! Here’s the RELIEF:

 49 And (behold) I am sending the promise of my Father upon you;

but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Where one’s absence is felt, it really pays to discover that you, yourself  should be the one to fill out that space! That “no choice” feeling where — when you don’t get what you expect, you should be the one to give!

Yes, it’s painful, it’s sad … and might make you feel so sick and tired!

Yet, same old story, it’s always YOUR CHOICE to HEAL your own pain

Just start mending those fearful thoughts,

give yourself that REST that you need and God will surely heal other parts that are painful! 🙂 sunset

seats are just waiting to be taken…