Promised Land

Ave Maria:-)

Howdy folks... summer musings here we come... Whether we like it or not..welcome or detest it... accept joyfully or resist even rebel at the thought of it ... Our life goes on , won't lose a single beat..from the moment we are concieved in our mother's womb, until we breathe our last breath and surrender our soul back to the Almighty... It's rhythm over which we have no control...

For what has been written by God will unfold in our life, one by one... joys and sorrows... learning and unlearning (ouch the latter hurts more) , there will be our 

Eureka moments :" I did it! I won !Yahooo! ".... to  marked miserable phases..  life is after all a divine gift -- it is given in its totality.. beauty and ugliness of it all... comprehensible and incomprehensible details... Put candidly we have like a---
 Part I :our earthly sojourn ..and a Part 2 : our eternal life spent either with God or forever alienated from Him.

Ever wondered if we could have it some other way.... to ask God to allow us to do a Take 2 -- like they do in the movies?  haha, you wish!!  

But we can't ask God to "Lord... please...can you just extract and allow me to live the phases of my life that were enjoyable ..a  pure delight !Constructive and fulfilling..and that brought out the best in me and in others ? And  to please oh God..do away with pain in all its horrid forms or at the least anaesthetize me so it doesn't hurt too much.... would you allow that Lord, please pretty please?"

Pero di talaga puede.

No way that can happen, sweepeas.

 No , God in His wisdom gives us the Whole Living Experience.

And to make sure there's no duplication..we each have our Unique life to live... our own identity, set of variables and experiences,settings and opportunities... strengths, weaknesses and manifold gifts... material treasure or the lack of treasure, hehe... success or a permanent ignominy -- yes personal dishonor.. terrible  isn't it?  

What to do then upon realizing there's no stopping life..? It's either we face it prepared or watch our life wasted away.. and then we suffer bitter regrets. 

How helpful then to take a closer look at heroes and heroines in the greatest book ever written..the holy Bible Our son was named Joshua Emmanuel...Dilbert chose the Joshua..and I liked the Emmanuel ...I knew then that Emmanuel meant "God with us" ... it couldn't have been more appropriate because the gift of child always signals God's loving Presence...But the Joshua name... back then we both weren't so familiar about the character in the old Testament bearing this name.

The shortest way to introduce Joshua is to simply say..that he took over Moses' grand role to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. He was a man of faith..believed with all his heart that they could overcome the giants living in the Promised Land, was not afraid and trusted that God would see them thru... while the other leaders wavered in their courage and mission to claim the Promised Land ...Josh chose to believe in God's Love and promises for them  . This marvelous faith and loyalty was rewarded. 


 The Lord equipped Joshua to be a good leader... under his leadership, the Israelites conquered the Promised Land and started a new life there. 

 Josh gave good guidance till 110 yrs. old..Phew, long life was the trend back then

Unfortunately .. the Israelites had habitual flirtations with other religions..amazing how it's so easy to forget God's goodness, this afflicts our spirit up to the present. Like the Israelites we will tango with false gods...and even with the devil.

Why bother with these famous last words.. what's in it for me? what's in it for you?

Dil and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary... a Silver Year indeed...there is no grand celebration.. no magnificent party.. but there is a Magnificent God who has patiently steered us, our little family through the years.Yes Dilbert and I were also asked to enter our Promised Land... marriage is like a Promised Land.. it is filled with lots of joyful possibilities but we also don't know what to expect... Marriage is the land where giants could live and frighten you out of your senses until you say.... there is no victory here... I can't handle "giants", I can't cope with all these challenges.. I 'd rather go back to Egypt or any place but this Promised Land. I'd rather continue walking the desert for another 40 years rather than settle.... take note... .rather than SETTLE in the Promised Land...rather than settle in my vocation...rather than adjust to the surroundings and habitat.

We each have our Promised Land to conquer....We each have a vocation to fulfill...we each have a destiny.. a certain path we must walk till the very end. Even if giants and dragons , we must enter it bravely knowing the God of Glory is with us.

So as I pray for another 25 yrs of togetherness...I imagine myself and Dilbert enrolled in Marriage 101... with a Masteral Class in  How to Imitate Jesus... arrrghhh.... this course really purifies us, hehe.... I will find inspiration in Joshua... a biblical character we must never forget.

 Here's the highlight of Joshua's leadership ...famous last words before He died and something we can borrow and apply in our own journey.

¹⁴ “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soulthat not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed…” (Joshua 23:14, NIV)

¹⁴ “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵ But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD…” (Joshua 24:14-15, NIV)

²⁹ After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. ³⁰And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. (Joshua 24:29-30, NIV)

Joshua’s faith never wavered.

False gods have harmed us , fooled us, tempted us through the years but God hears the tiniest prayer we make: even if it is just : "God ,help me!"  God looks into our heart to see if we chose to serve Him and make Him a part of our life, a part of our marriage... our family.. our work..our thought process..our health... since God gave us all... it would be so strange to wave to Him the "Off-Limits " sign, right?

We celebrate then the love and wisdom..the truth and forgiveness of Christ Jesus... He made it work... this is one battle where the Lord gave the most valuable contribution...He was, is and will be our sole ammunition, a Holy One.  Praise you Sweetest Jesus..bless us all as we journey and conquer our Promised Land.Forgive our wrongdoings and heal our heart so we may do things Your way.

Please offer an Our Father and Hail Mary for us as we do the same for you...God bless you all...........................................................................lovelots.......te mye