This is the product of my fertile thoughts. I am recreating them here and am sharing them with you, dear bloggers, for whatever benefits, if any, you could derive from them. I wish you could be more open and share with me your comments and suggestions so that I can improve on my blog. Thank you, God bless and have a nice day. Mel Avila Alarilla
In Memoriam Today, February 23, 2009 at exactly 10:00 am, my eldest sister- Lulu died after a lingering coma brought about by a second massive stroke. I am so devastated by her death but I commend her spirit to the Lord. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
" Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bells toll, it tolls for thee." For Whom The Bells Toll by Ernest Hemingway
Life is ebb and flow. It is never constant. Life is up and down. It is never steady. Life is a constant change. We are like mere puppets at the end of a marionette strings manipulated by fate. Who can say I am what I am and I am where I had wanted to be? Only fools say that. Nobody stands proud and mighty who can look up to heaven and say I have been what I decided to be and I have accomplished all that my mind has purposed in my life. We are like rag dolls in the swelling eddies of life's current, carried in the ebb and flow of the changing fortunes of life. Was it not so long ago that America stood proud and mighty among the community of nations? Now it has bowed down on its knees and the whole world bowed down with her. Only God is constant in the scheme of things. Only He decrees who would rise and who would fall. The high and the mighty have fallen in the weight of their own decadent lifestyles, leaving only memories of their once insatiable appetite for worldliness and pleasure seeking. Many people look only for the pursuit of happiness. But what is it? Only a vain clutching at straws set on fire at a mere spark of life's changing fortunes. We will walk this life but once, and many have succumbed to the pursuit of their own happiness at the expense of their souls. Is it worth it? Can a lifetime of "happiness," gross materialism, sensuality and the satisfaction of our cravings for sexual and sensual fantasies ever compensate for the loss of our conscience and the desire to please God and walk in His ways? Only time will tell what the real truth will be. Then those who sneered at people who obey God will have the chance to prove their lifelong obsession to live their lives the way they wanted to. But will there be weeping and gnashing of teeth when the Lord comes for judgment?
Tags: Ebb, Flow, Life, Meaning of Life, Happiness, Pursuit of Happiness, Changing Fortunes, Gross Materialism, Cravings, Desires, Sexual Fantasies, Obsession, Constant Change, Puppets, Marionette Strings, Fools, America, Decadent Lifestyles, Souls
This is a great love story (an actual one) that transcends even death. I know Roy only casually in my blogging activities as the writer of The House of Puroy. I used to advertise at his site through Entrecard. But as I scanned all the other blogs he maintained, one stood out for its peculiarity. Roy dela Cruz was writing to his wife regularly. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, only that his wife has been dead for over a year now. The foreword of his blog- Letters To Mama really touched a soft spot in my heart. Here is his rationale for creating that blog: "My way of reaching out to my wife...even if she is already in heaven...I know that she can read this...cause maybe...just maybe...maybe, there's an internet in heaven." His wife- Nimia died of kidney complications on the eve of Valentine's day over a year ago and left him with three healthy kids. Now Roy serves as their father and mother, taking care of them as though his wife is still alive. You can sense the extreme loneliness and deep longings of Roy for his wife in his letters to his wife posted regularly in his blog and his earnest desire to someday see her again. I included three (3) videos here from youtube- two from Rated K with Korina Sanchez where his love story was featured and one- a tribute to Nimia. Please see these videos to actually sense the great and undying love of Roy for his wife. I assure you, it will be worth your precious time as you will be drenched in tears afterwards.
Tags: Love, Undying Love, Internet To Heaven, Dying, Loneliness, Longings, Family, Loving Wife, Father, Husband, Children, Rated K, Korina Sanchez, Ugoy Ng Duyan, Nimia dela Cruz, Roy dela Cruz, Reunion in Heaven
We must be very careful in what we believe in. There is great power in one's beliefs. As they say, "you are the sum total of your belief." Let us observe nature for the elucidation of this point. The draco lizard can glide on water. Yet studies conducted by scientists and experts in animal anatomy have concluded that draco lizards could not walk on water. Another example is the bumble bee. It's body is unproportionately bigger than its tiny wings that scientists and experts concluded that it is impossible for bumble bees to fly. Impossible? Why not tell that to the draco lizards and the bumble bees. They are already powered by their beliefs and they defy the laws of nature and the wisest conclusions of the world's so called experts.
The power of belief works both ways- both positive and negative. So be very careful in what you believe in. Many a curses and witching spells do come true because the victims believe in their efficacy. Scientists and psychology experts say that we function only with about 10% of the potential of the mind. If we could but tap the unused 90% remaining, think of the incredible things we can do. That remaining 90% potential is lodged in our subconscious mind and there are times of extreme emergencies when this potential can be triggered to operate. We have heard of feats of superhuman efforts in times of emergency where a frail and seemingly unhealthy person could lift a weight 10 times its body weight just to save the life of a loved one from a smoldering fire.
The best thing to do is hook your faith (extreme belief) in the promises of God enunciated in the Bible and claim His promises for yourself. Believe in them with all your heart and see your life transformed from a mere spectator and reactionary to a wondrous eagle able to soar high in the atmosphere of God's love and protection against all harms. BELIEVE AND YOU CAN.
Have you been unfairly and savagely criticized by others and your first reaction was to tear the person apart by venomous words pouring out of your mouth or pen? How many times have we reacted immediately to a disparaging remarks and dished out our own missile to our enemy? After that what happened? We did not only give the offending party justification for his unfair accusations but we overdo the reaction and feel guilty as hell afterwards. And that will be the start of a cold war between you and your detractor.
James said in James 3: 6, "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." We must control the urge to speak out or write when we are angry, for we are ruled by unbridled emotions at that moment. Better to keep silent and put the offending party off guard. Imagine his consternation to elicit a different reaction from you. Silence speaks louder than so many hollow words. It speaks volumes of what could have been and is the best reaction to a savage attack. Instead of counter attacking, we just stand our ground without necessarily capitulating. The attacker is then exposed with all the negative implications of his actions. He is exposed as an impulsive person who shoots first then ask questions later. And believe you me, he will realize that he has placed his foot on his mouth and will feel terrible about it. So instead of engaging your enemy in a war of words, why not give him a dose of your eloquence of silence?
Notice: This article was not written to spite any person living or dead. Any similarity of this article to a factual experience in life is purely coincidental and means no harm to anyone. I apologize to anybody who might feel alluded to by this article. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God bless you all.
What kind of a person are you, proactive or reactive? Your answer to this question may unravel so much of your personality that may still be unknown to you. There are advantages and disadvantages on either side. A proactive person is normally a task oriented person. He is, more often than not, a perfectionist who takes pride in his work. He anticipates problems and devise ways to solve them long before they arise. He is the doer, the innovator, the trailblazer. He loves to take risks and will not hesitate to take chances on an unclear situation. But the greater the risk, the bigger the loss if the project fails.
The reactive person is normally a procrastinator. He dislike to take risk, that is why he, more often than not, just reacts to situations in his life. He is fearful of the unknown and would wait to see things settle clearly before he makes any decision especially major ones. He is a person who loves to find ways and means to evade or at least procrastinate doing a task at hand. He just do what is expected from him, no more no less. And if he can skirt doing a task, he will be more than glad to escape from it.
If we will compare these two types of personalities to chess players, the proactive person is the attacking player, full of derring do and innovative moves. He would analyze all the counter moves of his opponent and will find ways to thwart them. The reactive person is like a defensive type of a chess player who will just defend every attack delivered by the attacking player. NOW WHICH TYPE OF PERSON ARE YOU?
I have often wondered why God has allowed to make you suffer that much and inspite of that, you remain so true to Him, faithful up to the end. You make your life a shining testimony of how a sickly woman, with an equally sickly mother and brother living all by themselves in Canada, can carry on with your collective lives. How your body, wracked with lupus, fibromyalgia and that dreaded nerve disease they call suicide syndrome because majority of its sufferers tend to commit suicide because of the excruciating pain it brought to them, have been able to bear them all? It made me wonder how God can tolerate such suffering from a kindhearted soul who, inspite of your physical and financial woes, could still help others like me with the outstanding testimonials of your life in the love of the Lord.
But you are not alone. I am also suffering like you. My body is also wracked with all diseases and pains that I seemed to live just by faith alone. When I think of sis Emmyrose of Just Let Go, I know that there are countless Christians suffering terrible trials in their lives but still faithfully holding on to God's promises. All of us have our own "thorn in the flesh" just like Paul. God is also saying, "My grace is sufficient for you." For when we are weak then we are strong in the strength of ourGod. Often, people like Euroyankand Vest, good and honorable people themselves, have often asked me how I carry on with my faith and not with the wisdom of the world. This is our collective answer, as this was also the answer of the thousands of early Christians who were martyred in the early days of the church for professing their faith. WE ARE HOLDING ON TO THE PROMISE OF THE LORD THAT WHEN WE MEET HIM FACE TO FACE, HE WILL WIPE EVERY TEAR FROM OUR EYES AND HE WILL WELCOME US TO HIS HEAVENLY DWELLING WITH THE WORDS, "WELCOME MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANTS TO THE DWELLING OF MY FATHER AND YOUR FATHER."
The reason why our resolve to withstand temptations and the allures of the flesh always fails is because we identify with the wrong self. We always identify with our physical, emotional or mental bodies that is why we succumb to the overpowering onslaught of temptations. We say we are angry or we are sad when in fact it is our emotional body who is angry or sad. Or we say we feel weak or sick when in fact it is our physical body who feels this way. Or we are easily offended when others criticize us when it is our mental body and our pride that are offended. We are prisoners of our own cravings, desires and covetousness for things that seem good to the senses and the mind. We always desire things and we consummate these desires in our imaginations. Sometimes these imaginations become virtual obsessions which may lead to uncontrollable immoral or even criminal acts.
What the Bible means when it says that man was created in the image and likeness of God was that man as spirit is similar to God. Remember God is Spirit and if man was likened to God, the likeness is with man as spirit and not man as physical, emotional or mental bodies. The physical bodies that we so pamper now will someday rot and decay after we die. Not so with our spirit. It will soar to greater heights, to the dimension it is intended to dwell on after our physical death.
When the Lord returns and all creatures living and dead are called forth to account for what they did while still alive, the bodies that will resurrect will be glorified bodies who will no longer be limited by time and space. Those who have accepted Christ as Lord and savior and have walked faithfully in the will of God will be rewarded with eternal life in the presence of the Lord. Those who rejected Christ (or who have not accepted Him) and who lived sinful and unrepentant lives will be condemned to eternal death together with Satan and his cohorts. It is for us to choose whom we will serve- Jesus Christ or the lord of the world-Satan.
Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, True Self, Spirit, Physical Body, Emotional Body, Mental Body, Temptations, Allures of the Flesh, Resurrection, Glorified Body, Lord and Savior, Sinful Unrepentant Lives, Lord of the World
"Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (Hebrews 4:7b)
DO YOU NEED HELP? ARE YOU IN THE DARK? CAN'T FIND YOUR WAY AROUND? NEED A FRIEND WHO WILL STICK WITH YOU THROUGH THICK OR THIN OR WHEN EVERYBDOY ELSE HAS DESERTED YOU?
In Memoriam
