Mother's Day

The women in Metro Life Church are going to celebrate each other as mothers, sisters, daughters and friends. We certainly like to for you to join us in this celebration. Tickets are at $12. You may order your tickets online here.

Also, in this event will be a "graduation ceremony" for all those Women who did the Beth Moore's study in Esther. I'll tell you more about the ceremony later, but suffice it to say that I'm pretty excited about it. That study was life-changing.

If you're a woman, know that you deserve to be celebrated!

Happy Mother's Day!

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Fireworks!

Our house almost got razed to the ground! Oh, okay, I may be exaggerating just a little bit but it could have happened, God only knows.

There was a power interruption last night in the area where we live, actually one of the very few times that I experienced black out since being here in the US. It lasted for a couple of seconds only and within a blink of an eye, the power came back on again…. so that was no biggie – until I heard something like a gurgling sound coming from the kitchen. It was very similar to that which a coffee machine makes towards the end of it’s brewing time, except much louder. So perplexed, I ran to the kitchen to check out what it was, in time to see our refrigerator burst aflame!

“Oh my God!” I thought, “ FIRE! Our house is going to burn!” My instinct was to grab a glass of water to quench the fire but instead I yelled frantically to my husband (who was upstairs at that time so he had no idea what was going on) -- “Fire! Fire! The refrigerator is on fire!!!” Joseph must have leapt down the stairs because he came in a jiffy, but still the flames had already gone out by the time he got to the kitchen. (Mind you, when all this took place, I was on the phone with my father in the Philippines, so he heard all the commotion. Talk about multi-tasking, huh?)

After turning it off, Joe inspected the fridge to see where the fire started. The source wasn’t the power outlet, which is a good thing I suppose, otherwise, it might have caused us a bigger worry. Thankfully, no damage was done to the wall behind or anything else. The flames must have emanated from the fridge itself - from the motor (or compressor, maybe). The power surge caused by the blackout must have been too much for our good old fridge.

This scared the heck out of us, of course, especially as a neighbor’s house caught fire not too long ago. (We don't know how the fire started but I bet something similar must have happened to one of their appliances).

Whew! We are so glad that there was nothing combustible around the fridge that could have caught those flames. We thank God that we were in the house when this happened. Above all, we are so grateful to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for protection! Halleluiah!

So, we are fridge-less for right now. The upside to all this is that -- I finally get to have a new fridge! Yay! Actually, we have been wanting to buy a new one but were holding off on the expense, for a lot of reasons. But…..this incident leaves us with no choice but to get a new one.

Our poor old fridge gave up on us, and she went out with fireworks. Literally.

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Call To Prayer

CALL TO PRAYER
Today, March 5th, one of the most significant court cases in America’s history will take place. The California Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the overturning of the vote of the people last year to pass Proposition 8, which defines marriage between a man and a woman. If this vote is overturned, not only will it set a major precedent of the court’s power over the will of the people, but it will likely be the flash point that will determine the future of America as liberal and homosexual agendas will disseminate throughout the educational systems and into the very fiber of American culture. The California State Senate just ruled against the peoples’ vote and asked the court to overthrow the defining of marriage as between a man and a woman. Senator Leno likened the people who voted for Prop 8 to the Germans who voted for the Nazi Regime.

During these past three months since President Obama’s election, the voices of rage against Judeo-Christian values and against the church have been emboldened to use inflammatory language and pass bills and laws that are anti-Christian in their very nature. When senators use such language, persecution is close at hand. We are in a desperate moment in American history. Everyone is pointing to the severe crisis of our economy, but I am convinced it is only an indicator of a massive moral decline America has slid into. It is time to pray, humble ourselves, and rid ourselves of moral compromise in the Church. If the salt loses its savor, it is only good for being thrown out and trampled under the foot of man.

Today we are calling the Church across the nation to pray.

Take this moment and hear His call to humility, fasting and repentance. If we do this, God can deal with kings and judges like He haunted Nebuchadnezzar with dreams and removed Herod by the angel of the Lord. This hearing today will be followed by a 90-day period in which the court must make a decision. Pray for these judges that the hand of God will influence their minds and hearts, that the fear of the Lord would fall upon them, and that dreams would invade their world, their wives, their children, and their innermost thoughts. Pray that God would restrain principalities and powers that have mustered their forces of demons to seize this nation through this door in California. Pray for an unprecedented outpouring of the Spirit in California and America. Pray that God would raise up righteous leaders and bring down the unrighteous ones. Pray for the cleansing of sexual compromise and divorce in the church so that she can reclaim spiritual authority. Finally, pray that the love of God would be poured out on those struggling with homosexuality across this nation. Oh that the power of God, the power of the gospel, would be released again to free the captives!

This is a moment in time that calls for crisis intercession.

To resign to an inevitable collapse of society is sin, for throughout history God has moved with amazing power to change the courses of nations and overthrow the wrongdoers. Just look at Elijah’s confrontation with Ahab and Jezebel. This could be our Elijah moment.


Seize the day,
Lou Engle

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Biopsy

I had a core biopsy done yesterday on cystic growths in my breasts.

Many of you may not know, but I am "lumpy" :oD I have multiple cysts and nodules in both my breasts. I have known about this since 2003 and had been having my annual mammogram and sonogram since then.

I dreaded the thought of having a biopsy, but I guess, this procedure became inevitable the moment my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and died from it the following year. It was just a matter of time.

Last month on my breast sonogram routine exam, the doctors found multiple new growths (bilaterally), and some of those existing ones increased in size. But what really concerned them are two particular lumps, one from each breast, that look suspicious. These findings established the need for me to have biopsy done on those two lumps in question, especially given the history of my family, particularly that of my very own mother.

I first noticed the lumps during a self-examination. Looking back, I realized that it was God’s providence that led me to discover those lumps. I can never forget that day. I came from a friend's Mary Kay party, where one of the sales people, a former nurse, talked about Mary Kay's support on Breast Cancer Research and the importance of doing a self-breast examination.

Mind you, I had never done a self-exam before then - oh yes, I’ve heard of it, but I ignored them thinking that I was invincible; you know how it is when you’re younger. Plus of course, at that time, I had no idea that cancer was already lurking in my mother’s bosom – silently, slowly but surely eating her away, so to speak.

That Mary Kay sales lady would never know (God bless her!) but her talk resonated within me, so much so that the first thing I did when I came home was to do a self-exam. To my horror, I felt a knot, something akin to the size of a piece of marble. Then, I became hysterical when I realized what it is and could be. The fear of death rose up within me like a bile. I cried, I wept, I sobbed, and I called the doctor. And the rest is history.

One of the lumps in question is actually a cluster of cysts. The doctor dealt with this first but it was nothing but a normal cyst filled with liquid. The doctor aspirated the liquid with a needle. This one was definitely not a problem, thank God. On the other hand, the other one is a solid mass -- tender but solid. For this one, the doctor couldn't aspirate anything, so she had to take a core tissue sample (using an instrument fitted with a needle which they stabbed me with about 10 times!). The sample tissue was sent to the pathology for tests. The doctor confirmed that it was a good call to have this particular lump biopsied. Better be careful than sorry - and I agree wholeheartedly. I don’t have to be told about the devastation that cancer can bring about to someone's life. I have witnessed it first hand with my mother.

How am I doing, if you ask? I was a bit apprehensive going in for the procedure because of the physical pain than anything else. As it turned out, everything was much better than I expected. Thanks to Lidocaine. :o)

In all honesty though, the real battle took place in my mind. As I laid in bed while the procedure was being done, I couldn't help but think about my mother. Memories of her plight - the emotional and physical turmoil she had to go through with her fight against breast cancer - they're all still fresh in my head. Afterall, it’s only been a year since she passed away. What if the biopsy yields bad news? I wondered.

But it is in moments of weakness that our Lord's strength is made perfect. I simply cannot- MUST not - allow fear to do it's number on my mind. So I took hold of my thoughts and laid them captive in Jesus Christ. His peace came over me and held me. I know that as a child of the living God, infirmity no longer has power over me. Any curse on me or my family in form of disease or sickness, has been broken by the blood of Jesus and the power of His resurrection. This I believe with all my heart.

In a couple of days, I will be receiving the results of my biopsy. But I believe that it will just be another confirmation of God's mighty work in my life. Whose report should I believe? Of course, the report of the Lord that says "CANCER has no place in my body, His temple!".

I will praise Him with all my heart; I will glorify His name forever. For great is His love toward me; He has delivered me from the depths of the grave….” (Psalm 86: 12-13, with my paraphrase)

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21-Day Daniel Fast

Last Friday, my husband and I concluded our 21-day Daniel Fast. (For those who don’t know what a Daniel fast is, pls. read Daniel 1:1-15 in the bible).

We were, essentially, on a vegan diet during the period – we ate no meat/fish, no dairy and it’s products, no white flour and it’s products, no caffeine, no sodas – no processed foods with artificial additives and preservatives. It was challenging but in the end, we liked it. It is a very healthy way to eat.

This has been the 3rd year that my husband and I have fasted at the start of each year. We didn’t plan or even talk about it, it just happened that way. I’d like to believe that we were just going with the leading of the Holy Spirit. :o)

Personally, I have done several ways of fasting at varying lengths of time. There is just simply humbling in denying our flesh from what it needs in order to draw closer to our God, enhance our spirit and go deeper in our prayer life. God is glorified every time we decide to take our eyes off of the things in this world and consecrate ourselves to focus on Him and seek His divine direction. Let me tell you, He always shows up! He never fails.

Each fasting experience is something special. But this year, it was even made more special because we did not do it by ourselves. We joined a church-wide fast. Our new home church, Metro Life Church, has been fasting at the beginning of each year and we were so privileged to be a part of it this time around.

Those who joined the fast were each given prayer journals to jot their encounters with God. Also each day had a prayer focus/theme so that as one body, we could intercede on things that concern not just the church but the whole world as well. It is a nice feeling to go beyond just fasting for myself, but rather, to be a part of a bigger picture and a higher purpose. Just knowing that you’re not in it alone is a huge encouragement in itself.

Can you imagine how powerful our worship services were, especially during the time of fast? When a congregation of spiritually hungry (pun not intended), a people desperate for God comes together to lift Him up – whew! You can be sure that God will move in a mighty way!

If you have not tried it, I encourage you to do it. Although biblical fasting almost always focuses on abstaining from food, but there are other ways to fast. Anything that you temporarily give up in order to better focus on God can be considered a fast. You don’t have to do a 21-day or a 40-day fast immediately. Take baby steps. I guarantee you, the results will be amazing because that’s our God – He is amazing!

If you’d like to share your fasting experience here, please do so… It’d be awesome… (and for information about fasting, pls. visit Jentzen Franklin. There’s a chockfull of information there that I’m sure will answer your questions regarding this topic)

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Kung Hei Fat Choi

- means "Happy New Year" in Chinese.

Today is the first day of the lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year.

New Year is the most important holiday for Chinese people. The celebrations usually lasts for 15-days complete with colorful traditions and lots of food symbolic of prosperity, abundance and good fortune for the year. Chinese culture is indeed one of the richest in the world – it is full of traditions and superstitions all rolled in one.

The Chinese lunar calendar is pretty unique in that each year is marked by one of the 12 zodiac animal. Legend has it that lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from earth, and that only 12 came. So they were rewarded by having to rule a year, in the order that they arrived.

It is believed that the animal ruling the year in which a person is born will have a profound influence on his/her personality because “it is the animal that hides in his/her heart.” In the same manner, the animal and its personality is supposedly a preindication of how that year is going to unfold.

Year 2009, as you may know, is the Year of the Ox. Ox is symbolized as a hardworking, stubborn, strong, honest animal. While I don’t put my faith in the Chinese calendar and its predictions, I can only hope that it is right this time. With the challenges we all are facing, there is going to be hard work involved for sure, but I do pray that this year will turn out to be a year of stability and strength for all of us.

Incidentally, President Obama was born on the Year of the Ox. Pretty intersting, wouldn't you say?

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We Must! We Must!

Here's a cry that echoes the prayers of my heart.... Thanks, Happy, for the reminder.

Words fall short in depicting the urgency of the hour.

We must wake up,Church! We must wake up from our comfortable stupor, step up and set ourselves apart for God's SOLE USE.

We must shake off every hint of worldliness and carnality and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us so we can be RELEVANT in this hour.

We must wake up from our self-absorption and self-centeredness.

There must be a holy restlessness in us that will shout, ENOUGH! towards our addictions and sins that so easily cause us to grow cold in our passion for Jesus. The little compromises must begin to be magnified in our perception so we can feel the weight of God's conviction once again.

We MUST HEED the voice of the Holy Spirit! We MUST CONSECRATE ourselves once again! We MUST OBEY in this hour!

We MUST HUMBLE DOWN AND REPENT!

And Why MUST WE? Because it is our divine destiny to turn this nation to God!

We need to step up, speak up, and ACT UP.

LET GOD'S MIGHTY ARMY ARISE IN THE MIDST OF INCREASING LAWLESSNESS!
LET THE NAZIRITES COME FORTH!
LET THE PROPHETS SPEAK FORTH!
LET THE SUMMONS OF HEAVEN UPON THE PHILIPPINES -AND AMERICA- BE HEARD THROUGH THE CHURCH!

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Midnight "Crisis"

It was 1:30am. I was in that state between deep sleep and consciousness. I heard the phone ring, but faintly. It seemed like it came from a cave, the ring sounded hollow and far.

But the ringing got louder, until it got too loud that I jolted up from my bed. It wasn’t a dream. Our phone was indeed ringing, slicing through the stillness of the night.

I’ve had too many incidents like this in the past 2-3 years – from when my mother was fighting her life due to breast cancer, and later on, my father having his own medical crisis as well. So, hearing the phone ring in the middle of the night brought back the all too familiar feeling of doom. Fear flooded my soul in an instant. My heart began to pound so heavy in my chest, like someone beating my bosom with a 2x4 piece of wood. My thoughts are immediately with my father in the Philippines. Whatever it is, I prayed quickly “Lord, I hope it’s nothing serious.”

I jumped out of the bedroom, made my way to the next room, all while blindly groping both for the light switch and the phone at the same time. The room next to ours is a guest-room-turned-home-office. We don’t keep a phone extension inside our bedroom. Like I said, I’ve had too many emergency calls in the middle of the night before that I don’t want my husband to anymore be unnecessarily disturbed. One person in the family stressed out is enough.

Anyway, the phone was on its 4th ring, I believe. I hurried to pick it up, but alas, I was too late. The ringing stopped. I checked the caller I.D. immediately and found out that the call wasn’t from the Philippines. Whew. I heaved a sigh of big relief, but the adrenalin was still rushing within me, and I could still feel my heart like a horse racing in the Kentucky derby. But wait, I know the person. The caller ID says the call came from a Filipina friend, the pastor’s wife in a Miami Filipino church, as a matter of fact. Then I though, it must be an emergency, otherwise, she wouldn’t be calling me in this unholy hour. Maybe she needs prayer, so I have to call her back.

And call her back I did. The phone rang on the other line, and it was picked up by a gentleman.

“Hello.” Oh good, it’s the husband, Pastor C, I thought.

“Good evening, Pastor C…Pwede makausap si R? Tumawag kasi siya kanina, eh” (May I speak with R? She called me earlier.)

“Hah? Who are you calling?” Then I realized, the man had a heavy accent – a Latino, no doubt. From what Latin American country, I cannot tell.

“Is this 786-287- _ _ _ _? My brows are furrowed in confusion. The people I’m calling are supposedly Filipinos. So why is this Latino guy answering the call?

“Eh… (thinking)… yes.” The man on the other line said, but he sounded unsure.

“Oh, I apologize. I must have dialed the wrong number. I’m sorry. Good night”. Then I hung up. Dang! Let me check the number again. In the meantime, my heart is still pounding, but not as bad anymore.

I just woke up, and it’s a big possibility that I may have messed up the numbers when I dialed. (To be honest, I think I’m also a bit dyslexic sometimes.). Besides, if someone needs me, I want to be able to help. What if someday the situation is reversed and it’s me who needs help? (God forbid) I want somebody to be there for me too!

I checked the caller ID for the 2nd time. I had the right number!!! That’s weird. Anyhow, I decided to call again. So I dialed, making sure this time that I hit the right button.

“… ello” Now that accent is familiar. It’s the same guy. Oh no!

My impulse was to hang up immediately without saying a word, but that would be rude. I hate that. So, I said with hesitation, “Hello, good evening. Is R there?”

“Oh, it’s you again. Hehehe. What’s wrong with you?!” The man said in a heavy accent, with a slight hint of irritation.

“I’m truly sorry. It’s just that I got a call from this number earlier. The caller ID is from a person I know. I thought there might be an emergency. That’s why I called back”. The man’s English was not that good. So, I spoke real slow, enunciating every word to make sure he understands me.

“Ahhh… what this number again? He asked. I gave him our phone number.

“Ahhhh… I call earlier. But I call wrong number.” Dang!

“Oh, so you were the one who woke me up. And here I am thinking it was an emergency call from a friend”. Without warning, the words flowed out of my mouth sarcastically.

Then the man said “I’m sorry. I call wrong number.”

“Ok. Thank you.” Then I hung up.

I got back to bed. My husband was sleeping like a log, completely oblivious to the world. While I was now totally awake.

I so wanted to kill that man. :oP

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A Basketful Of Blessings

Here's one of the many traditions that we have at home growing up in the Philippines.

For as long as I can remember, my mother had always made it a point to have a fruit basket/tray for the New Year. This basket would contain the very select of fruits that she's able to find in the market. Soon after Christmas, she would start preparing this basket with a lot of TLC (tender loving care). Her goal is to have 12 different kinds of fruits which are to be ripe when the New Year comes along.



These 12 fruits were to represent each month of the incoming year, reason why it is important for each fruit to be perfect and sweet. It is a wish for our family to have each month of the year be blessed -- and sweet. I call this my Mom's basketful of blessings.

I made one this year, in memory of my mother.

So with this basketful of blessings, Joe and I would like to wish you a very Happy , Jesus-blessed New Year. May 2009 indeed be a year of expansion, new levels/heights and divine favors for you and your family!!

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Good job, Joe!

Let me take this time to praise my husband.

It has been almost 10 years since Joseph started working as a DSL service tech with the former Bellsouth, now AT&T. For the most part, this job has indeed been a blessing to us, to our family.

But there are times that he gets frustrated over his work. The repetition, the routine, the sometimes unreasonably demanding supervisors and managers and above all, the rude attitude of customers - all these factors combined have turned his job from an initially interesting endeavor into a dreadfully wearisome task, making his job an unpleasant experience – AT TIMES.

That’s why it was a joy to receive a letter from AT&T citing Joseph as among the top 10 of their crew who gave the BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE this past month. (This isn’t the first time, by the way. I just never blogged about it before). It's been a while since AT&T has done this for their crew. I am so glad that the management has decided to revive this practice.

A little remuneration was given for the effort, but it’s not so much about the reward itself, but it is in knowing that the company recognizes the hard work and dedication he pours into his job that is valuable to him, and I dare say, to the rest of the crew as well.

With all the pressures he gets in his kind of work – I would say this one is definitely hard-earned.

Keep up the good work, Babe! You know that the Lord will reward all that you do, when you do it as unto Him. Promotion comes from Him.

Luv Yah! ... and I'm looking forward to more gift cards in the coming months… :oD

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