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
Dreams have a reality all their own. To the person who indulges in its escapist world, it is as real as you and me. Do you remember the time when as a kid, we used to have our own imaginary friends? Or how about the castles in the air we escaped to when things were bleak in our real world?
I remember when I was a child and I dreamed of my own world of make believe. My favorite spot was our window upstairs. I would pretend that it was an airplane and I was a pilot that flew it wherever I wanted it to go. I would simulate so many dogfights and bomb runs on the territories of the enemy.
Sometimes, I would pick up cottons from inside our dilapidated living room sofa and blow them outside our window. Then I would pretend that they formed into the big shapely clouds that adorned our skies.
Even when I was already a young teen, I would still indulge in my make believe world. It was a world of idyllic beauty, with a breath taking lake and a garden full of gorgeous flowers and luscious fruit bearing trees. Oh, I was always lost in the enchanting beauty and grandeur of that escapist world with the lady of my dreams. Food was no problem for us for the lake was full of fishes jumping in the air. And we have our own menagerie of farm animals to provide us meat. We planted our own colorful vegetables in our garden patch.
The girl of my dreams was so beautiful, perfect in every way. I made so many poems and love letters to her. But alas, all dreams have their endings. I was brought back to the harsh realities of life. I have to go on with my schooling and later on, with my work. But my enchanted world was so good and real while it lasted.
There is now a feeling of widespread despair and discontent in the world. Somehow, things are not the same. Extremes prevail. It's either too hot or too cold. Even in the temperaments of people, extremes are evident. People have either gone too evil or too righteous. People are bewildered. They could not ascertain their true feelings. Somehow, they feel a hollowness deep inside, a sort of a personal discontent. What's happening to the world?
We are now witnessing the onset of the PreTribulation period of the world. No! This is not yet the Tribulation proper. The Tribulation proper will usher in so much suffering and pain that people will wish they were dead instead of living a hellish existence. Just like in the days of Noah before the deluge, people were enjoying themselves and giving themselves wholly to sinful living.
God is shaking the world to see who are His and who are of this world. There will be no fence sitters nor neutral watchers. Either you are for God or you are with the evil one. People are now afforded their last chance to turn a new leaf on their lives. The message of Calvary rings loud and clear for the whole world to hear. Will you accept the offer of salvation or will you be condemned together with the enemies of the cross?
The grace of salvation and eternal life are offered to us to accept or reject. Those who will not accept it will be condemned together with the lord of this world and his cohorts. The choice is ours. If the situation now is too heavy and burdensome, think of what will happen when the Tribulation proper comes. We can only weep until all tears are gone.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
Words can hurt. Words can build up and words can destroy. So let us be careful with what we say and how we say it. There are words that cut deep into one's soul and no amount of apologies can rectify the hurt that was done.
We may feel good when we give someone a piece of our mind, but though we may be relieved from the release of an intense emotion, we may have left someone devastated and with a broken spirit. Can we live with that?
Sometimes words can provoke anger and violence. It is better to hold our tongues when there is nothing good that we can say. As they say, silent waters run deep and a bubbling brook holds no depth.
Gossips, idle talk and back stabbing are some of the worse words that can leave our mouths. They do no good and destroy the reputations of others. Better to keep our peace and hold our tongues in check.
If we must speak, let us speak words of encouragements, words of inspiration, words of love and words that uplift rather than hurt and destroy others. Let us become harbingers of peace and joy to the world. Together with a genuine smile, gentle words of approbation uplift the spirits and cause considerable joy and exuberance to those we come in contact with.
As the song says, "did we fill the world with love our whole life through."
What is a blind spot? It is something that others see in us that we do not see ourselves. Either we are not aware of it or we just pretend that it is not there. Usually, it is something that may have been an offshoot of a traumatic experience from the past. Or it may be an inborn trait that we have already drowned in our conscious mind but continues to linger on in our subconscious mind.
Almost all people have blind spots in their lives, one way or the other. We may not see it until others tell us about it. We may acknowledge its presence in us but often times, it is always denied by us.
The antidote to this blind spots is an honest to goodness self examination and acceptance of who we really are. We can ask our inner circle of family and friends for inputs of our blind spots. We must be sincere in curing our blind spots by being humble and accepting everything that our family and friends will tell us. And in the end, we can resolve that we will reverse the process of blind spots by accepting the realities in our lives.
The Bible said, "you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." Are you prepared to acknowledge and correct your blind spots?
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla Philippines Inspirational
There are so many mental, psychological, emotional and psychosomatic illnesses nowadays that science and doctors can't seem to cope up with the avalanche of these sicknesses. At the root cause of this problem is man's ignorance of the total constitution of man. We are living as though we are just a physical, mental and emotional creature with nary a thought about our composite being.
Man is tripartite in nature and the sooner we realize this, the better for us. Man's obvious nature is his physical nature where we are focusing almost all our attention to the detriment of our two other natures. But aside from our body, we also have two more important natures- the soul and the spirit. The soul is the animating principle of man. Without the soul, man is reduced into a mass of lifeless flesh and bones.
And the spirit is the divine principle of man. The spirit of man is the same creation that was created by God in His own image and likeness. But the big problem is, man's spirit is dead because of the original sin of our first parents at Eden. And so we function mainly as body and soul. And with these two vehicles, our inclination is to become spiritually evil and depraved. Until our spirit is brought to life by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we commit mistakes upon mistakes, blunders upon blunders, errors upon errors, and sins upon sins. And we stack up for ourselves the condemnations for all these sins.
We are like a mountain climber that climbs a mountain during peak of "spiritual enlightenment" only to fall down at the first attack of worldly temptation. And after our fall, we become worse than when we first started our climb. Some of us try and try again until they develop spiritual fatigue. They climb and fall down, and climb again to fall down again, on and on, ad infinitum. Why? Because our spirit is dead and until our spirit is made alive and animated by the Holy Spirit, we will never ever succeed in climbing that holy mountain.
And so what do we do? We conclude that it is impossible to climb that holy mountain. We develop our own homegrown philosophies in life explaining the whys and wherefores of our failures to reach the summit of that mountain. So we say that we have so many lifetimes to reach that summit, there's no need to hurry. Let us just live this life the way we want it, anyway there are countless of lifetimes ahead of us. But is that the truth?
The Bible clearly states that, "it is appointed for man to die once and after that judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). God never lies. He is the repository of all truths. Whom shall we believe?
God gave man the ultimate solution to his problem. He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross and pay for all the penalties of our sins. Jesus death on the cross satisfied God's demand for justice. And so the door to heaven was opened to those who will enter it through Jesus Christ. By availing ourselves of the divine grace of God, we can enter God's kingdom by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and surrendering our lives to Him.
Then the Holy Spirit shall empower us and bring to life our long dead spirit. Now through the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus, we can climb the mountain of God up to the summit to meet our Father in heaven. The only solution to all our problems lies in the acceptance of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. He is the only key, the only door and the only way to the kingdom of God.
Shall we begin our new climb to the holy mountain of God?
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla Philippines Spiritual/Inspirational
We will not be always here to stay. Tomorrow, we may be gone from this world. What legacy would we want to leave behind?
We tread the sands of time but once in our lifetime. Good or bad, people will remember us for what we stood for. How we stood amidst the tremendous pressures that pushed us down? How we managed our tears? How we survived the pains? How we overcame all the bitterness and sorrows that welled in our hearts? And in the end, how we made peace with our Creator?
We move along the sands of time but once, to measure each and every song that influenced our lives. We recalled the lonely verses that pulled our hearts burning with fervent hopes of a bygone love. How strange that we faced the unfathomable horizons beyond, never knowing what lies behind the curtains of time.
With each heavy steps, our feet tread on the golden steps of the sands of time. Then we leave our legacies behind.
It was just like yesterday when I had an argument with my wife and we had a falling out. I had to get out of the house to simmer down. As I was walking in the park, I saw a flower, a red one standing at the edge of the park. I was mesmerized by it that I found myself going out there to pick it up. What kind of flower was this? It was gorgeous and the color was crimson red, just like my blood. As I picked it up I thought of my wife. How lovely she was. It was just like yesterday when I married her and we had a turbulent relationship. We had our shares of quarrels but somehow, we managed to patch things up. And today was just like any other day that we had a spat.
As I looked at the flower, my anger seemed to have vanished and I realized just how important she was to my life. Ah, I'm going back to her and fix our relationship. I could not really go on with my life without her. And the children, they need a father to bring them up as wonderful kids. How foolish of me to run out of my house. Hah, I'm going back and straighten everything out. And I promise to God that I will never quarrel with my wife again. Life is more bearable with her charming presence around.
The house was in disarray. Everything seemed in topsy turvey. Rows of flowers lined the entrance to the house. It was so bright inside. People were milling around. Stifled cries can be heard outside. I saw familiar faces in the house. My father was there and so was my mother. I saw faces of my friends and relatives there. They were all there. Must be some sort of a reunion I guessed. Then I saw my wife. How lovely she was. She was wearing a white gown. And I saw my children, their faces ashen and sad. How I missed them all. I will tell them how much I love them.
I approached my wife and gave her the flower that I have. And she placed it with the other flowers in a big vase. I counted them all. Twelve white flowers and mine was the thirteenth, one that stand out in crimson red.
Everything became so eerie. Something's wrong. Suddenly, I realized that my father and mother were dead and so do all the relatives and friends that I saw there. They were all dead. My God don't tell me that my wife and children are all dead too.
Everything seemed to whirl around me. Flashes of darkness and light kept flickering all around me. My body stiffened and I could sense a vague light penetrating my eyes. Then voices occupied the peripheries of my mind. He's coming into. He is breathing. He is alive. I saw people milling all around me. And I saw the loveliest face that ever beheld my eyes. It was my beautiful wife, as she hugged me with all her might. And I saw my children milling around me, all crying unabashedly. What happened? I asked timidly. You were ran over by a car and you were brought here in the hospital already dead. The doctors tried to revive you and it's only now that you were revived.
And I saw the red flower that she held in her hand. Where did you get that, I asked? I got it from you. You were clutching this flower as though your life depended on it. Ah, freedom at last. I have been given back a new leash on life.
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla Philippines Literary/Short Story
"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?
