MUSINGS FROM AN ITINERANT CHILD OF GOD

...that is why a prayerful, prayer-filled life is very important...pray for your vocation...what is God's calling for you? Pray... so that when you are practicing your vocation it does not end up with you getting caught up in a bizarre amalgamation of the two kingdoms of your own making...

 

Pray and listen to God's call for you...lest you may also get lost in a dilemma of a dichotomy between faith and action and you end up compromising and sacrificing the city of God for the city of man...

 

Been there...you will go through a lot of sticky grey situations...stand firm...glorify Him in whatever you do and say... always, always be prayerful...

When our Lord gives us a vision...our part in that vision is in the quality of the implementation. when our heart is not in it, the vision becomes a moot point. Our faith then becomes a good case study for people standing and watching on the sidelines to rip apart...

In our vocation and in the ministry we are gifted with, may we carry out whatever task we have been assigned with the passion and joy we have for our Lord...

Lord, may we glorify thee in the 'vision' and 'mission' of our faith...

When I was a flight attendant in Cathay Pacific...my day was ruled by a to do list which I made up as soon as I had woken up.  Time was precious and each hour needed to be allotted and assigned a specific task that needed doing.







From eating breakfast to shampooing my hair...the clock had already begun to tick. Pretty soon I would be on my way to accomplish and check off my day's errands.  As soon as I stepped out of my apartment building the air took on a whiff of a sense of great purpose and I was soon surrounded and elbowing folks with  similar to do lists on hand or  tucked conveniently in their pockets for easy reference.







That is what the city of Hongkong did to me.  Bustling, dynamic and vibrant people were focused on being the productive individuals they were meant to be and I was just too happy to be one of them.





Seems like eons ago...As I sit here writing, the memory is bringing a faint smile to my face...but it is a memory of what seems like an alien world...so distant and so far removed from the world I am in now.

My day pretty much starts off daily at 4 am...and by 7 am I have already accomplished most of my to do list.  Whereas before my to do list was written in a small notebook - several of which I have compiled during my 15 year stay in Hongkong - Now, my to do list is in my mind...pretty much a routine of chores...





I no longer need to write down all my errands...In fact...by 8 am my to do list is replaced with a mmmmm what will I do next list...which with a flip of a hand I can easily rearrange or totally replace depending on my mood and energy...Sometimes I feel guilty for lately with my energy pretty much below par...I have been staying in bed and watching TV alternating with sitting in front of my pc and looking at the facebook entries of my 'friends'...

This morning I am longing for that similar whiff of air I used to smell in Hongkong.  I am missing that sense of purpose and urgency. and what brought this sudden change of state of mind lately?  I will be turning 50 come October.  Quite a milestone...half a century...and the word legacy keeps popping up in my head...For the years that I have been rationalizing to myself that I deserve this much needed slowing down of pace after the highly stressful life of a flight attendant...I am slowly being roused by something or SomeOne to remove myself from this state of inertia to do something...to start thinking about leaving a legacy...





As a Christian my faith is anchored in the fact that my Lord has a design and purpose for me.  Everything I have experienced thus far  has been  with a purpose...every triumph, every trial has been allowed so that at the end of every situation is a personal story of strengthened faith with a conclusion to myself and everyone  that Jesus is Lord...that is the kind of legacy that is going through in my mind...and as I am writing this at this very moment...the legacy has shifted to where it was...about me...to where it should be...not my personal legacy... but something that I will be involved in that God gets all the credit!





I am coming into another end of which I know for sure that the Lord is ushering in an entirely different beginning...I am not frightened nor anxious...it is a different energy...I am catching that whiff of purpose and urgency...

In the middle of a trial that Bert and I are facing...the Lord is telling me that He will be planting a dream in me and in us...a dream that will require a decision of faith...

In the midst of crucifixion, as in my meditation this morning...my Lord will turn that into resurrection...

What are you expecting God to do in your life? Jesus says, "According to your faith will it be done to you" (Matthew 9:29 NIV).

Dear Lord...I am excited for the new story You have in store for me and my family...

Like the author of this article...I have up to now refused to leave Firefox for Chrome for reasons that I thought Chrome had no available extensions that Firefox offers...

For someone who is into web design certain Firefox extensions I could not live without...thus my home browser will and always be Firefox...or so I thought...

Take a look at the 30 Google Chrome extensions that are available... mmmmm....

As I teach my children to be proud of their Filipino Heritage and to love their dialect...thus Cebuano is the primary language at home....I am a patriot after all...

But when it comes to browser browser loyalty...Firefox patriotism may have seen its abrupt demise as of now...  :)

Perhaps I am off to googler pastures...United States of Chrome...here I come!


30 Google Chrome extensions:

http://www.1stwebde signer.com/ development/ transfer- chrome-irreplace able-chrome- extensions/

Lord thank you for leading me to this prayer today...


Dear God,
  
Please open my eyes further to the truth of what is right and what is wrong.

Open my eyes so that I can see with truth and righteousness.

Open my eyes so that I will know when someone evil is standing before me,

that I may be protected with discernment.

Open my eyes to know when I am doing something wrong.

Open my eyes to know what to do.

The whole world is falling apart,

and loosing the ability to discern between truth and lies.

Let me be apart from them,

and know what is right,

and what is wrong.

Reveal your word to me Jesus.

Thank you,

Amen!

Your Servant Always,

Ana



http://www.onechristianministry.com/christian-prayers-poetry-233.html

Yesterday, the two babies and I were just hanging out at the Robinsons mall.  We had no idea yet whether the Papa would join us, so our plan A was just to go from one junk food stall to another munching on whatever pleased our fancy while walking around looking at everything the mall had to offer and basically doing nothing.





The two babies regaled me with comments about acquaintances we would spy from a distance and their remarks had me entertained like anything...Ever heard the word 'man tits'?  I never have and apparently it refers to just that...a man with 'tits'.  I am chuckling as I write this but boy did I roar with laughter the first time I heard it during our leisurely mall promenade. This phrase the elder baby used to describe one friend...matter of factly actually.

So finally, the Papa confirmed that he would join us. Yey!  To kill time while waiting for the Papa, I suggested we go buy a 'few' 'groceries'.  Basically, in my mind, I meant just the essential items.  Every time I use the words few and groceries together in one sentence the babies would roll their eyes 360 degrees in one direction and then in a reverse roll to indicate what they thought of the two words: incompatible!  Few Groceries -  a rhetorical oxymoron at its finest form.





True enough, the grocery cart became more and more difficult to maneuver as the weight of the contents started to bear down on the four tiny wheels.  But seeing as there was no hurry, the Papa was still nowhere in sight...the three of us meandered lazily through the grocery aisles enjoying all the products on the shelves which were all shouting and begging 'buy me, buy me!'





I could have easily complied and succumbed and placed all the attractive products in our fast groaning cart, after all I had just withdrawn some cash from my beloved atm and - another after all - I knew I would be paying for the stash of few groceries with my credit card.

The stuff that we would end up buying that afternoon could be conveniently thrown into the category of groceries...One thing that I am proud of and strive to adhere to and discipline myself on: only use the credit card for groceries.  Everything else gets bundled up together on the list 'non-essentials' and therefore cold cash is used to pay for that other category.

Feeling mightily magnanimous with my expansive but thankfully (especially for the Papa who ends up paying the bills) temporary grocery criteria, I picked up a few items that are not on my normal grocery list.  Quickly picking up on this, the two babies latched on to my liberally generous spirit and slid in a few of their 'non-essentials' with an accompanying Shrek - Puss in Boots...pleading look...please? The rolling eyes replaced by an appealing peep of the two eyeballs from under the eyelids that could only melt the heart of a mom who had nothing better to do for that hour...Oh heck, they could have put a pack of health juice costing P2,000 and I would have said...yes...





Still no word at this point from the Papa...No problem...my eyes continued to wander... pleasantly soaking up the visually stimulating landscape - an impressionist painting a la Monet was how I was enjoying my surroundings...then...from out of the mural painting, my eyes zoomed in and focused on something very intriguing.  A package on the make-up/cosmetics aisle labeled Lip Plumper...hmmmm...

• Lip Plumper:  Long lasting formula.  Mix of special herbal and natural ingredients...Helps add volume to your lips.

• Get full, fabulous and luscious lips that you've always wanted...Feel a tingling effect as active amplifiers instantly plump lips for a visibly fuller pout...

I was smiling to myself as I read the product description...Hey, I can on occasion be as superficial, shallow and vain as the next person...but lip plumper?!  Anti-wrinkles...now that is a product I can really relate to, same as hair dye and all the anti aging lotions and potions I come across...but lip plumper...immediately pictures of the model Kate Moss and the actress Angelina Jolie flashbulb in my mind...





I called the two babies over and told them that we will have fun...over dinner that evening we would all apply it and see if a transformation takes place.  If it doesn't work...then we enjoy the lip gloss effect...but what if it does really work!  The Papa would be having dinner with three Angelina Jolie look-a-likes!  Well...just exclusive and limited only to the pouting lips..

To make a long story yet longer...Yes, I did apply the Lip Plumper just before dinner...whether it had any long lasting effects I cannot say for I downed all the lip plumper together with my seafood garlic pasta.  the pasta was so good I kept licking and smacking my lips..So much for the experiment.  It did not last past 5 minutes...Maybe that's why my tummy started to ache and develop so much gas soon after...my stomach got the brunt of the effects of the plumper...Stomach Plumper anyone?! Talk about being unladylike...so very unMama, the babies would declare...

What made my encounter with this strange product more enjoyable and memorable was how the younger baby perceived its use...The package, as a form of marketing come-on, came with an actual plastic lip form.  The younger baby thought that you use the product as glue to which one places the plastic lip over the actual lips and voila!  you are actually walking around with instant but plastic plump lips!  We all had a good laugh over that one...

So if by chance we  bump into each other either today or tomorrow or even within the week...take a close look at my lips...Or if you think you see Angelina Jolie...stop and take a closer look...it may just be me...bwahahaha...

The End

Shalom all and thank you for traveling together with me on yet another episode of my growing list of clueless meanderings...

:)

This is so true for me: Often we desire the end product, being His masterpiece, but usually we are unwilling to go through what it takes to bring us to that place. I need 2 remember James 1:2-4...

James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

The other day my two babies went with their Papa to have a pedicure and manicure while their Papa had his haircut.

I did not go with them because as in massages, I don't like strangers touching my body, so I have an aversion too about going to salons for even a pedicure and manicure...

Off they all went to the beauty salon.  But that brought me to focus on my two hands and feet.  A thought crossed my mind.  My feet are ugly.  I have large feet - public announcement - Ana has large feet! And that morning, Ana had two large ugly feet!

But guess what?  My reflection and meditation this morning brought me to the verse:  Romans 10:15

Romans 10:15 (New International Version)

¹⁵And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

This verse brings reference to what is written also in Isaiah:

Isaiah 52:7 (New International Version)

 ⁷ How beautiful on the mountains
       are the feet of those who bring good news,
       who proclaim peace,
       who bring good tidings,
       who proclaim salvation,
       who say to Zion,
       "Your God reigns!"

I looked at my feet again this morning with new eyes....they are beautiful!!!!  YEY!!!!

I pray in whatever way our Lord will continue to use all of us to share HIS Good News! For "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Look at your feet this morning and discover that they too are beautiful!

(but look again...check...are your toenails clean? hahaha)

Shalom!

...This morning, I would like to focus on the event just before Jesus was actually nailed to the cross. After Pontius Pilate had the crowd decide that Jesus was to be crucified, the Bible says that Pilate had Jesus flogged. Dr. C. Truman Davis, a medical doctor by profession, presents a very graphic interpretation of what it meant for Jesus to be flogged. He writes, “Preparations for the scourging were carried out when the Prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. It is doubtful the Romans would have made any attempt to follow the Jewish law in this matter, but the Jews had an ancient law prohibiting more than forty lashes.

“The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (or flagellum) in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus' shoulders, back, and legs. At first the thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles.

“The small balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows. Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped.

“The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood. The Roman soldiers see a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be king. They throw a robe across His shoulders and place a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still need a crown to make their travesty complete. Flexible branches covered with long thorns (commonly used in bundles for firewood) are plaited into the shape of a crown and this is pressed into His scalp. Again there is copious bleeding, the scalp being one of the most vascular areas of the body.

“After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers take the stick from His hand and strike Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tire of their sadistic sport and the robe is torn from His back. Already having adhered to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, its removal causes excruciating pain just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, and almost as though He were again being whipped the wounds once more begin to bleed.”

After Jesus was whipped, flogged, or scourged, He was then made to carry His cross that was ultimately used to crucify Him. Scholars point out that what Jesus carried was actually not the whole cross (the vertical and horizontal parts), but only the crossbar or the horizontal part. This crossbar, according to scholars weighs from about 30 to 50 kilos. It is about the weight of one sack of rice. You might say that carrying the crossbar is really no big deal. We must remember, though, that Jesus had had no sleep and was almost whipped to death with blood oozing from all over His body. Aside from this, He was made to carry the crossbar from the courtyard where He was whipped and flogged, a place called Fortress Antonia, to a hill outside Jerusalem called Golgotha.

It was in Golgotha or Calvary that Jesus was crucified. It is said that the distance from Fortress Antonia to Golgotha was about 594 meters or about 1 and half rounds of the oval at the SU ballfield. The path to Golgotha, though, was not a straight one, but rather it was through crowded market streets with the final approach to the crucifixion area most likely elevated from the city gates. This path that Jesus took carrying the heavy crossbar is now known as the “Via Dolorosa” or the “way of suffering”.            

We might all ask, “Why did Jesus have to go through all that suffering?” We must remember that the one who was whipped, carried the crossbar, and was crucified, was God Himself. So why would God undergo such difficulty and pain? We know that God Himself as a man died on Good Friday so that we can all be saved of our sins. As we have learned, it is sin that separates us from being in the fellowship of God. Instead of punishing us for our sins, God took on all the sins of the world instead. He was the one who took our place instead of us being the ones sentenced to death. That is how much God loves us!            

The death of Jesus Christ at Calvary was already foretold and prophesied. In Luke 9:22, Jesus Himself said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."            

After telling His disciplines of the certainty of His death and resurrection, Jesus continued to say (our Scripture reading this morning): “23Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27I tell you the truth, some who are standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:23-27).            

What does it mean to take up or carry the cross of Jesus?...

Down the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem that day
The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street
But the crowd pressed in to see
The Man condemned to die on Calvary

He was bleeding from a beating, there were stripes upon His back
And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head
And He bore with every step
The scorn of those who cried out for His death

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King,
But He chose to walk that road out of
His love for you and me.
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

Por la Via Dolorosa, triste dia en Jerusalem
Los saldados le abrian paso a Jesus
Mas la gente se acercaba
Para ver al que llevaba aquella cruz

Por la Via Dolorosa, que es la via del dolor
Como oveja vino Cristo, Rey, Senor
Y fue El quien quiso ir por su amor por ti y por mi
Por la Via Dolorosa al Calvario y a morir

The blood that would cleanse the souls of all men
Made its way through the heart of Jerusalem.

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King
But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

Favorite Christian Songs I

Favorite Christian Songs 2

Favorite Christian Songs 3