Kairos

I love Christmas. And everything that it represents... Holiday, joy, gift giving, gift receiving, love, peace, winter, shopping, sales, Christmas carols, Christmas trees, trimmings and decorations, family, parties and get-togethers, food, chocolates.…. and more chocolates…..and more food. But all these things are but superficial. Christmas is truly the commemoration of Jesus’ birth on earth. Christmas is when the WORD was made flesh and dwelt amongst us; When God the Father decided to send His own Son Jesus to die on the cross for you. And me. Yes! Jesus came to the world to die for me, a sinful one, totally undeserving of His love. Isn’t that an awesome thought? Why would the God who made heavens and earth hand-pick a nobody like me? Mind-blowing. What a great love. Deeper than the ocean that no one can fathom. Thank you Jesus for loving me before I loved you. Thank you for choosing me before I chose You. So what are you going to do this holiday season? Regardless of what you have pl...

Just want to give a shout out to the Kellers (Holly's parents), the Logans and the rest of the family... Yeeehaaaa! Since we've been married, Joe and I have been going to Holly's family gatherings during Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as some other special occassions, so much so that Holly's Grandma has already declared us "their adopted family members"..... Yeah, that's how much of a regular we are.... LOL! To Holly and family, thank you very much your hospitality and warmth. It's so wonderful to spend the holidays with such a close-knit family (reminds me of my very own). Our holidays would not have been the same if not for you and your family. Joe and I are very blessed. Thank you again and may the Lord continue to prosper and draw your family even closer together. A note to all those who don't know: Holly's dad is a phenomenal cook and he always prepares a great feast during the Holidays, just like tonight...... yum'oh.

Without a doubt, I would say this has been the most challenging year of my life ever. But rather than focusing on the challenges, today, I choose to give testimony to the Lord's goodness in my life. Things do happen for a reason. So I want to thank the Lord Jesus for all those trials and tribulations, because the testing of my faith has developed in me perserverance and maturity in a way that I would never have, had I not gone through those difficulties. Here are a few of the valuable lessons I have learned in the midst of my parents' health crisis and my mother's passing away this year: Health is indeed wealth. You can never take your life for granted. That my husband really loves me. And I absolutely love him. I am not the same without him. That I love my parents and would do anything for them to get better. That every time spent with loved ones / family is precious. Savor every minute of it cause you will never know if that is your last time with them. It is okay to be...

I just want to share some photos taken during my mother's wake and funeral which I didn't get the chance to post earlier. To all friends and family, thank you once again for all your support, love and prayers during this difficult time of our life. May God bless you all as you continue to allow the Lord to use you to bless others.

I spent the day today with two of my closest long-time friends, Ruby and Elaine. We've known each other for almost 20 years. Ruby used to be my boss in the previous company I worked for before coming to the U.S., and I knew Elaine from my cell-group in the church. It was such a joy to have been able to bond with both of them again after such a long time. We were sharing both serious and silly stuff. All 3 of us agree that we have come a long way indeed. We just marvelled at how the Lord have brought us through different life experiences that have made us who we are now. We had fun, and so much laughter especially recalling our "bloopers" in those good ol' times. The day started with Ruby and I visiting the company where I used to work for 11 yrs before I got married-- CFIF (Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation). CFIF has grown a lot since I left almost 6-yrs ago. The company just moved into their new building. Looking at the building and its new offices, I can't h...

I love the story of David and Jonathan. I think there is no greater agape love exemplified in the bible (apart from Jesus' love for us) than the story of their relationship - that of a covenant friendship.. Yes, what is covenant friendship? Here are some food for thoughts on this topic as shared by my friend, Happy. What defines a covenant friendship? *A real covenant friendship is beyond mutual agreement on everything. It is a relationship solely based on Agape --- laying down one's life for the other. *A real covenant friendship lives by the rules of honesty, transparency and truth. They are not afraid to speak the truth and neither does the recipient of a truthful advice get offended. Both submit to and honor one another. *A covenant friend loves and therefore gives caution when seen as needed. *A covenant friend does not fear disagreement from the other side, but is open to correction, rebuke and even an honest evaluation. *Real covenant friendships are not defined by the n...

" I felt the earth move under my feet ..." or so an 80's song by Carole King says. Th ere are only a few things more disquieting than having your walls and floor rock back-and- forth in a swaying motion. It felt for a moment that I was in a hammock. Except that the motion was not soothing at all. Earlier today our island of Cebu experienced a minor earth tremor. It was minor, thank God. Nothing came loose, got broken or fell down. At least not in our house. To be honest, it was that minor that even our household help, who was so involved in drying her hair, didn't even feel it. But I did. And so did my father. I was peacefully seated in the living room going through some documents when I felt my chair started boogieing. I thought at first that my dog was under my chair scratching himself. But then my father, who fell asleep in a chair opposite me, suddenly woke up. The funny thing is, he thought the same - that maybe our dog was under his chair. Yeah, poor doggy Prinz...

Tonight I caught my dad in his room crying. Since the hospital, he has not been eating so well, only about 2 spoonfuls at a time. He said that he does not have the appetite due to the many different kinds of medications he is taking (he has over a dozen to take per day). But I really do think that he is depressed. This depression is mainly brought about by his situation now - what happened with his heels. And on top of that, he is still mourning the loss of my Mom. A fact that was confirmed when I asked him why he was crying. His answer was "I miss your Mother". He is sad as he has not been able to go to the cemetery to visit my mother for a few weeks because of his swollen heel. My father's reply brought tears to my eyes. We both miss my mother but I guess it hurts him more, being that he was with my mother for nearly 50 years. But I tried to be strong and I reminded him that Mama is in a better place now. And that I know she would want him to be well again. The harder p...

My father was discharged from the hospital yesterday. It was a great day, because he came home with both his legs intact. Praise be to God. My father had the surgery on his heels Friday of last week. It took us a few days to decide which doctor to choose. I felt that we needed a second opinion and consult other doctors because the first Orthopedic surgeon had a negative attitude -- I mean, I know doctors are supposed to explain to us the worst situation that could happen -- but this one just scared my father and I. He was just too unfeeling about our situation. So after a tiring process of going from one doctor to the other, and with lots of prayers, I decided to go with the Orthopedic surgeon who did my mother's hip surgery 3 years ago, and who also is a good friend of my cousin. This doctor is not only reputable, but he is also calm and encouraging. The best thing he said was that he will try his best to avoid amputation. It's not a promise, but at least I know he'll try....