Day 12 - Such a Blessing

No more clean clothes left in my bag. Last day at the hotel.

I called up our Engineer at home to check if there was an update. He was sad to tell me that water supply may take a while and that he was trying to coordinate with Meralco. There was scarcity with manpower. Oh. I thought I saw one Meralco truck along Ortigas Ext. last Monday before we left. But I guess I was wrong.

And so I had to let my manager know about the still sad news.

Next plan was dorm. For a week. I am sooo grateful for my company's provision of my temporary accommodation. Thank you so much! It's a great help for me. Such a blessing!

So me and my brother rushed home to gather more clean clothes. Upon entering the gate, a group of people were busy pumping out the muddy water from the basement. Looked like they were having a hard time drying out the basement. This may take a few more days, I thought.

Then there we were again at the bottom of the bridge, waiting for Ortigas-bound vehicles for half an hour or so.

I got a call that the room will be ready in a while but when I checked my watch, there was no time to drop by at the dorm's counter to claim the key. Instead, I went straight to work, finished my shift with half of my lids closed, then went to the dorm to rest.

It was tiring but still very thankful that there's a place to stay, water for bathing, and power to charge our communication tools.

We're still so much blessed. News say that there are parts of Pasig and Cainta still soaked in water. Many are homeless, hungry, and have no more clean clothes to wear.

We are still blessed.

PERSPECTIVE

Puddles are baby oceans. Really, there’s not much difference except that the wildlife in one lives longer and is big enough for us to see.

Trees are giant weeds. Just look at one when the leaves have fallen, and you’ll see how similar they look.

And our house is nothing but an overgrown dollhouse.

It’s all a matter of perspective. Try looking at something differently today. It will help your creative juices flow and your tolerance level grow.

By THE HAPPY GUY

SADNESS

Feeling a little sad? Down in the dumps? Should I try to cheer you up?

Maybe not just yet. It’s Ok to feel down sometimes. Happiness is not about constantly feeling like you’re on top of the world. Yes, it’s great to feel joy and excitement, but sometimes we have to charge our batteries and come back down to ground ourselves.

Allow yourself these moments. The key is not to let them drag on for hours or days. Kick yourself back up if it starts to drag on. But until then, you deserve the space to come down for a while.

-The Happy Guy

Something You Never Had

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

Cindy waited 34 long years and stayed in the marriage. She gave it her all, and waited for her husband to come around. He was emotionally unavailable. He dropped dead from a heart attack last month. Bye-bye to that hope. Sam is 58 years old. There's been a hole in his heart as big as all outdoors for 56 of those years, wanting his father who disappeared when he was two. Dianne has been looking for someone to come into her life for many years. A partner and lover. She is old now. It may not happen.

Have you ever longed for something you've never had? Something money can't buy? Maybe a good relationship with your mother or father, or your kids. Perhaps you would really like a relationship that is now impossible, because that person has died.

You can be sad about something you never had. You can grieve something you never will have. But can you lose something you never had? 

One thing you could never lose - even if you wanted to - the unconditional love that God your Father has for you. Never. No way! Not possible to lose that; it's there for ever and ever. It's just for you.

The LOVE that GOD has for YOU is not, and never could be, something you never had. It's been there all of your life. Even before.And it will be after.

Just ask him to show you. He will!

Sally I. Kennedy is the author of Irish Thursdays: More Little Parables, Words from the 
Heart, and 52 Little Parables from Ireland . She lives in south Florida, with her husband 
Ben. Please visit her website at this address: http://www.sallyikennedy.com Sally's 
email: sallyikennedy@bellsouth.net

SElECTIvE HEaRING

And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. – 1 John 5:14

I know a man who used to get in trouble with his wife because she claims he never listens to her. Every time she would call him, he wouldn't respond. "Why don't you answer me?" she'd demand. His reply would be, "But I didn't hear you." The wife interpreted this as her husband's way of ignoring her. She accused him of selective hearing — subconsciously not listening to her whenever she spoke. Of course, the man vehemently denied this. And the conflict only deepened.

Until the man had a hearing test. That's when they discovered that he was partially deaf to a certain frequency of sounds, including — you guessed it — his wife's voice. The Lord has selective hearing, too. He doesn't hear our prayers that will not benefit us or, at worse, harm us. Like those times we asked Him to make us sick just so we could avoid an undesirable situation. Or the times we prayed for death because we were depressed or heartbroken. Or the times we asked Him to bless us with something less than what He actually wanted to give us. But when we do ask for something according to His will, be sure that He has perfect hearing. 

by Rissa Singson-Kawpeng

REFLECTION:
When did you ask the Lord for something that wasn't good for you?

Lord, thank You for wanting the best for me. Amen.

The Good Life

Beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. — Luke 12:15

Driving down the highway in Houston, I passed a billboard with large letters that announced "THE GOOD LIFE!" I couldn't wait to get closer to read the small print, which explained that the "good life" was about buying a lakefront home starting at $300,000. Which made me wonder if some unhappy families might live in those homes, with kids who never see their parents or couples who, though living on the lake, wish they weren't even living together.

Luke 12 came to mind as I remembered the story of the man who asked Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance with him. That was the wrong thing to ask Jesus! He replied with a warning, "Beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (v. 15). He then went on to tell the story of an extremely rich man who, from God's point of view, was a fool — not because he was successfully wealthy but because he was not rich toward God.

The sooner we get over the illusion that more stuff means more peace, happiness, and self-fulfillment, the better off we will be. And then the more able we will be to find the longed-for peace and happiness — the true "good life" — that only Jesus can provide. — Joe Stowell

O Lord, help us to be content,

Whatever we possess;

Protect us from the foolish lie

That "more" brings happiness. — Sper

The STRESS Factor

Stress, its all around us. It's common to say that because society is so much more complex today, we are all under a lot more stress than people were fifty years ago.

What is stress? When you put weight on a cable, you place it under stress. Too much stress will cause the cable to snap. That's how it is with you and me. Too much pressure, and we snap. The nerves are shattered. There can be a nervous breakdown. 

Listen to the warning given by Jesus, "Be on your guard, that your hearts not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life" (Luke 21:34). The human heart involves the mind and emotions as well as the physical life. Jesus is saying that too great a burden may be placed upon our minds and emotions. Getting drunk is one way such a burden can be placed on your mind. You know that drunkenness clouds your mind and alters your emotions. The result is that you cannot relate to others properly. Drunkenness so alters our moods that some people become dangerous. They sometimes beat their wives and kill people while driving. Drunkenness is a terrible sin.

But Jesus says worry is just as bad as drunkenness when it comes to putting stress on ourselves. Listen again, "Be on your guard, that your hearts not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and
the worries of life." Worry clouds your thinking. Worry alters your emotions. You become touchy and sharp with others. Too much worry can shatter your nerves and bring you to the breaking point! This is why Jesus warns us to watch out.

Contributed by Dr. Dennis J. Prutow