Anything But Boring

Ave Maria:-)

Swee'peas kumustamos...wuzzup

Have you shared this misconception about the holy book being a boring book..? perhaps in our younger years... for lack of instruction - oh we didn't know any better.. we'd harbor this thought ..."For sure it is a good book..a holy book.. full of divine teachings.. it provides us the best guidance ever for our life's journey"... yessss we believed that, we were taught that...but is it possible that at the back or even at the front of our minds  we also thought :" But it isn't the book to read when you want your spirits to be lifted.. Why it's heavy stuff... perhaps just reading 3  whole pages or a chapter would put me to sleep ---- the content more lethal than any sleeping pill ... That secret part of our brain goes on... " Whoaaa...Me..? read the bible? but I don't want to have to think or reflect... am already tired from loads of work..am stressed up to my toes... I could read the bible when I take my next retreat somewhere far, cold and hilly... perfect ambience for that... but if I wanna be relaxed or  entertained I want my Fashion Mag .. or best seller.. "

Oh dear friends, how we have missed a lot if we did think that the bible was a boring book... because guess what? the bible is anything but boring.

While it does give us superb serving of God's Word , commands and Christ's teachings -- it is also presented in a way that we can relate to it...so real and yes many major issues and concerns in the Old / New Testament are still the same issues and concerns/needs  that we human beings bother about in current times.

You can find real people.. who like us did not have a joyride finding GOD but experienced so many highs and lows before finding, believing and obeying GOD - ... As challenging and as excruciating it can be for us to surrender to the Lord is as challenging and even more excruciating as it was for biblical characters then.

I won't take you on Bible Knowledge 101... forgive me..am not a bible scholar - far from it ... just a regular Christian who has discovered the Word and with lots of prayers to the Holy Spirit  and plenty of help from  Mother Church  ..I am relishing the abundant love and sweet fruits God gives us when we read, study and try best to obey His Word... To think that God doesnot even impose upon us to be 100% changed, transformed , fully obedient to Him before we are allowed to read His Word... God is so merciful He gives everyone a chance to read the bible ..in order to  return to Him through His Word.

Last nite, thank God after 3 or 4 consecutive weeks of not being able to meet for our weekly bible sharing ...Bro. Rox finally hosted a bible cell meeting at his home. Oh how the years have passed by quickly because the profile of the group has changed. We now have 4 widows: Sis. Lubel, Sis. Lesly, Ate Bing and Ate Mel... and then Bro. Rox himself widowed last Feb.17... Many members availing of senior citizen cards and discounts - sis Ethel the most recent sister who turned 60 and now applied for her own senior citizen benefits..Oh may I reach that age , me and Bro. Dilbert I think it's cool having that card and enjoying discounts everywhere hahaha.    

Here was the passage chosen last night's sharing .. it's so real so nowthat I just had to blog about Sirach.. it is one book in the bible that covers almost every possible concern ... rather cute..take a look.

Sirach 33

 ¹ No evil will ever come to a person who fears the Lord; however often danger comes, the Lord will come to the rescue.² A person who has no use for the Law doesn't have good sense, and anyone who is insincere about it is going to be tossed about like a boat in a storm.³ If you are wise, you will believe in the Law; you will find it as reliable as the sacred lots.

 ⁴ Prepare what you are going to say and people will listen to you. Use what you have learned before you start talking.⁵ A foolish person's mind works like a cartwheel, going round and round in circles.⁶ A sarcastic friend is like a wild horse that neighs no matter who tries to ride him.

Even from the 1st paragraph alone its already so rich...loaded.... you could already spend the whole evening sharing about it..but the brothers and sisters chose the lines that connected to their heart or current situation. For sure  many loved Verse One immediately  ¹ No evil will ever come to a person who fears the Lord; however often danger comes, the Lord will come to the rescue.

Verse 2 you we won't want it to happen to us --->....² A person who has no use for the Law doesn't have good sense, and anyone who is insincere about it is going to be tossed about like a boat in a storm. ... 

no wonder we have such a hard time when we go thru our life without seeking God's guidance by reading His Word ... this arrogance reaps  a boat ride in the middle of a horrid storm.

Verse 4 is so cute and to the point:

 ⁴ Prepare what you are going to say and people will listen to you.   hehe makes us recall times we talked in circles.....our listeners utterly confused...basta lang maka daldal tayo without preparing well  our message...blah..blahhh..da...da...dada.

 Verse 6  will help us recall difficult friends-- it says... A sarcastic friend is like a wild horse that neighs no matter who tries to ride him. 

Are you remembering those sarcastic friends now

let's read the last few lines to the end.

People Are Not Alike

 ⁷ Why are some days holier than others, even though the same sun rises on every day of the year?⁸ It is because the Lord made them different by setting them apart as religious holidays and festivals.⁹ He made some days holy and important, and made other days ordinary.

 ¹⁰ Every human being was made from the earth, just as Adam was.¹¹ But the Lord, in his wisdom, made them all different and gave them different tasks.¹² He blessed some, making them honored and holy, keeping them near him. Others he cursed, humbling them and removing them from their positions.¹³ Just as clay is in the potter's hands for him to shape as he pleases, so we are in the hands of our Creator for him to do with as he wishes.

 ¹⁴ Good is the opposite of evil, life is the opposite of death, and sin is the opposite of devotion to the Lord.¹⁵ Think about it: the Most High has made everything in pairs, each thing the opposite of something else.

 ¹⁶ As for me, I have been the last to come on duty, as if going through vineyards to gather whatever the grape-pickers had left behind. But the Lord blessed me, and I did well,^[a] like a grape-picker who has filled the wine press.¹⁷ But I want you to know that I have not done all this work for myself alone, but for everyone who wants to learn.¹⁸ Listen to me, all you great leaders! All you leaders of the assemblies, hear what I have to say!

  What line did I take home last night?... oh all the verses were beautiful but this was my take home line : ¹⁰ Every human being was made from the earth, just as Adam was.¹¹ But the Lord, in his wisdom, made them all different and gave them different tasks.

But the Lord, in his wisdom, made them all different and gave them different tasks. 

¹³ Just as clay is in the potter's hands for him to shape as he pleases, so we are in the hands of our Creator for him to do with as he wishes.

It was a stark reminder  of how we must accept and trust the Lord  even as we notice how others seem to be more "blessed" or "luckier" or have a "smaller quota of hard knocks" .... In His wisdom, God made us different and we each have our own unique path to holiness, amen!  We must  trust Him, we are clay in His Hands and He will mold us to perfection.

So let's delight in God's Word... it is refreshing.. adds life to our bones... my brother texted yesterday that no he was not yet praying the rosary daily but his wife and daughter were... but that he has started reading the bible  and that " ang sarap ng pakiramdam , ang gaan pagkatapos Ate."  (  Reading the bible is wonderful ... as tho' one's heart feels lighter...) Praise the Lord, such exciting news thank you JESUS..how good Thou art Lord. 

Hope to include a video link...God bless you all take care and always pray fervently to Jesus and Mary.................. love and prayers , te mye

3:30

Majestic Am Namin

The Second Time Around

Ave Maria :-)

Blessings that we fail to recognize come in the form of 'forced' rest - and rest is truest when it involves not just physical rest but more so, resting one's mind, heart and spirit.. letting go even of the things we think make our life more secure - and then Voluntarily... consciously , humbly turning towards the Lord - the Giver of life, the One we call heavenly Father.

You'd think this was the easiest thing to do... in truth it is the hardest.

The more accomplished we are, the older.. the richer, the stronger.. all these crazy adjectives that we think Define us ... these very things when not put in their proper place inside our heart can alienate us from God...

 as tho' in a stubborn trance we make them our demi-gods... our security blankets, our comfort zones..our sources of strength - without which if divested of them we'd be worse than naked literally and figuratively. That has been satan's lie: "You Need All Those Things!" he whispers from time immemorial and many of us have fallen for it :Hook, line and sinker.

How does it happen?

Consider these little scenes in everyday life.... 

1) when we get ill .. especially physically ill.. many are inclined to pop a pill ( guilty din ako, ouch!) ... when it doesn't work, we self-medicate ..what antibiotic shall i buy this this time?..dapat mas malakas! 7 days after---> Oh no..we are still sick.. next step: see a doctor... follow the doctor.. hey why not even go beyond what the doctor recommends, he's too cautious eh...  as long as we have the budget for it tumodo na ... as long as someone will pay hospital bills..as long as health insurance will cover it ... let's use that card for all its worth... book me at the hospital, I'll agree to the surgery... let's get it over and done with..so that I can go back to my normal life..... oh poor soul... when we go this fast auto-response route... how many precious lessons we could miss.

how bout matters of the heart????

 2|)what's happening to our family... why have we become dysfunctional.. so detached.. oblivious to the pain or troubles our loved ones go thru, preferringto not know about it, for fear we will be asked to suffer along ...and these days , nobody wants to suffer... everyone wants a pain-free life.We want to invoke it under Human Rights, women's rights... without taking into account our accountability to the One who made us stewards of this world.that' another topic in itself   

3|)  financial setbacks... perhaps out of a badly needed job.. and for the nth time. We are so tempted to yell at angels as we can't sum up the courage to yell at God and complain..but in fact that is the state of our heart.

when things don't go our way... donot work out..donot flow..donot compute... we don't have to resort to our auto Responses... Our Super-Hero "I know this situation - I -can-cope" attitude... we don't have to always be on Top of the Situation but instead wisely allow everything to come to an invisible halt. Invisible  because it happens inside our mind and heart... it affects our will.

and we instead incline towards the Lord... with our first baby step being JUST SIMPLY quieting down , crying out to God: "Lord God, hear me, help me." and when ready we learn to pause and reflect...to do this more often.

This is so opposite to what we are used to... because sometimes we can only see as far as our nose. Or we have become content to see only what our physical eyes can see. And even then... sometimes even our physical eyesight has been tampered with... conditioned by worldly values so that when we behold things, situations, or people with our eyes we don't see the real worth -- we have become blind to beauty and truth.Sad is it not? To see and yet  to not see. to hear and to not hear... to not understand.

How sublime is the path to growth.. the maturing of our soul.

How fortunate we are that God does not stop to give us opportunities to stop dead in our hazardous tracks and then have timely realizations...before it is too late.

Going back to our little examples above.... as when we get sick ... as when relationships flounder, and we become so estranged with one another ... or when we are experiencing career or financial setbacks.... all of these provide that golden openning for us to remember the God who has breathed His life into us, saved us from our sins and who wants to restore us to glorious friendship with Him.

while God would not stop us from consulting doctors... from trying ways to bridge gaps or to devise remedies to rise from material bankruptcies yet THE PRIMARY STEP IS ALWAYS TO ALLOW THE LORD INTO THE PICTURE.. to include Jesus, to seek his counsel, His blessing, His guidance, His healing... to lift everything to Him to  -- so that our work will yield good results! the best  ever to not take even a single breath unless we realize we breathe through Him.

Barring sinful acts...There is nothing sweeter than being allowed to do the same things, same routine ..to be with the same people.. to keep doing the same work... but with a new heart and new mind. 

How very possible that we have been with our family or friends but not realizing their beautiful traits, their uniqueness... that portion of Jesus in them.

We could even walk the same concrete road in our village and be so grateful for that path... it may sound strange but believe it is possible.

Perhaps our whims and caprices are not attended to : we did not win the lotto, we still have that anthritic pain... there is not enough money for a holiday trip to that idyllic place.... we must still continue doing work /duties whether at home or at the office, our bodies may be conking nevertheless... there is a new found peace and the sweetest joy ever knowing that God loves us.

LOVE IS LOVELIER THE SECOND TIME AROUND..YOU BETCHA God bless you all..te mye 

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and

renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Make a new heart in me, My God! Create it out of Your Pureness! (2 Cor. 5:17) Make my heart brand new so that it is totally pure and without anything bad. Dear God, make a new and faithful spirit inside of me. Give me Your Holy Spirit that I may be faithful to You in all things!! (John 3:1-21) Have my heart stick to You no matter what comes my way!! The psalmist, who is King David, is asking the loving and merciful God of all to create a perfectly clean heart in him, and to feed and grow his own heart in the Lord.

Create means "make completely new, and sustain". This is the same word used by God in the account of when He created the world in Genesis 1:1.

Pure, means, "to be bright, clean, unadulterated, uncontaminated, fully innocent, holy, moral".

Heart, refers to the center of your being. The Hebrew is used for the feelings, the will and even the intellect.

God, means Elohiym (pronounced el-o-heem). This is the plural form of God, referring to the Trinity. The Trinity is made up of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Elohiym means the Supreme God, the mighty and powerful God Who is Judge. He is the One to Whom we are accountable for all of our thoughts, words, and actions.

Putting them together, "Make and keep in me a new and bright, clean, fully innocent, and holy center of my being. May my feelings, will, and intellect be pure! O Supreme God, Mighty and Powerful Judge over all, I depend upon You to do this, please. For I am accountable to You for all of my thoughts, words, and actions."