I can't help but add another one to my previous post...upon reflecting more on why I love my God!

Here is the addenda:

I love my God because He doesn't require me to conform to what He is before He accepts me, cares for me and comes to me. He doesn't have any requirement for me to do before He loves me.

He doesn't ask me to go to a certain place to meet Him. He doesn't ask me to conform to His time before He makes a meeting with me and the best thing is I don't need to run after His schedule so that I can be with Him...His time is always open for me.

He is willing to abandone His nature, His heavenly place, His position just to attend to my need.

That is my God!

I do not need to be good first. I do not need to be perfect first. I do not need to be religious first. I do not need to serve Him first...so that He may forgive me and save me. He is the one who came to this world, became like me, suffered like me and died for me so that I can experience His love!

How can I not love Him back?

Here are those reasons why I love my God:

One, He sensed my need of Him even before I felt that I needed Him. Before I sensed the need of forgiveness He forgave me. Before I sensed the need of salvation He died for me 2000 years ago. In fact the Bible says, 'He came and died even before I was yet a sinner.'

Two, I don't go to Him...He is the one who goes to me! I don't ask Him to visit me, He always initiates the call to come. And in that visitation He always comfort me through the Spirit.

Thirdly, I don't make an appointment with Him. He is always available...He is just there and always near.  He comes before I ask and call for Him.  There is no need of Him to give reasons and excuses for His absence or not coming because He is never gone, He is always present. His appointment schedule is always open for me.

Lastly, but has the biggest impact in my life, came from the tragic yet beautiful story...of Adam's (and Eve's) falling into sin. One of the things that Adam did was to hide, which is our common tendency when we fall into temptations. On the other hand, the first thing what God did was not to castigate, blame or get angry with Adam BUT He LOOKED and SEARCHED for him!

Genesis 3:9 said, 'But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”'

That is one of the most loving verses I read from His Word. And I know when I am drifting away from Him, when I am down and I am lost in life...with His loving kindness He is calling to me, "Where are you?" He is calling not to blame me for what I did and what I'm going through BUT He wanted to care for me and bring me back Home. Aren't those BIG and GOOD reasons to love Him back?

How about you what are the reasons why do you love your God? Or do you know, in the first place, that He loves you more than you can imagine?

Yesterday I went out with my generous niece to help someone...

He is Henri (pronounced as Ang-ri in French), a Belgian national, a trained chef, furniture maker and an interpreter for six different languages: French, Neatherland, Spanish, German, Portugues, English and even Filipino. But he is a "Dayuhang Dukha" (A Poor Foreigner) here in the Philippines. In fact he was featured in Kapuso network's Reel Time show. (Check out a clip of that show by clicking 'Reel Time.'

(The blogger and Henri with a smile after his lunch.)

He first came here as a tourist then came back to do business, married a Filipina and had three beautiful kids. Unfortune hit him when his wife died, then his mother-in-law took their children, followed by unfavorable acts of Filipinos who took advantage of his money and belongings. Then he became so at a lost and couldn't find meaning to life, can't work and went around aimlessly. As of the moment he is staying in Angeles Pampanga under the care of a Barangay captain and accommodated in a house cheaply rented to him by a generous woman but he has no regular work for one year so surviving is really a struggle. There were times he thought of killing himself, he showed me the visible scars on his arms, but he continued on living for the love of his children, whom he still has to see after eight years of being taken from him by his mother-in-law.

Yet with these unfortunate circumstances in this country, he still loves the Philippines, that he found this a country with more freedom. And that he still believes in the kindness and generosity of many more Filipinos kahit na loko na sya ng iba.

I understood how Henri felt because I was a foreigner myself in another country and circumstantially, I stayed in his home country, Belgium, for four years...so I thought this was a time to pay back for the goodness of the Belgians when I was there.

My niece involved me in this because she has the heart to help less privileged individuals, though our common kindness with people were taken advantaged in the past. The game plan we had was to explore in whatever areas we can help Henri, so it was the reason for meeting him.

The good thing is he is already waiting for his new job to start in a month time. We resolved to assure him that we will help him with what he needed until he got his regualr work. We provided him grocery items before we separated, had him eat at McDonalds, with which he requested, coffee, chicken with fries but without rice...that brought color to his pale and haggard bearing.

Post Script: During this time I am not in a good position to help because there are some difficulties and adjustments in my life. But I notice that everytime I am in the shadows of life's journey, God gives me an opportunity to see how blessed I am as a person. And that the best therapy when I am down is to help others who are more needing than I am.

Are you down & problematic this time of your life? Go out look for someone to help and you will be lifted up!

This is one of our family anecdotes:

When our mom was conceiving, that was for my Kuya (elder brother), it was very difficult on her. She had nausea and cannot eat all day.

Our papa was of course very concern of her comfort and wanting to give her everything she needed and wanted, including her 'pinaglilihihan' (conceiving desires) so he asked her, "Anong gusto mong kainin?" ("What do you want to eat?")

And she responded: "Ewan ko, hanapin mo kung ano!" ("I don't know, just look for it!")

Footnote: Now I know where my 'Kuyahood' (that is how I call my brother) and I got our response to people who ask us what do we really want and we are not sure how to answer them.

Our young family from left to right: Elvis, Mama (seated with Baby Prudy on her lap) & Papa.

There are many times we are caught in circumstances where things seem to be troublesome. Here's a poem that I was inspired to write from that situation.

A point at the left...then a line to the right.

A line so long...in a sheet so black!

Neither beveled nor slanted...but merely so straight.

So much in you that I percieve...

...profoundly deep as can be...

...others may not...but I can see!

You are absolute and ultimate people seach of for their fate.

The ever long peace in life...a slumber...Yes Oh rest!

In toilsome chore you...are the peace from life's labor!

Solitude from trouble....Serenity in the world so boisterous!

You are the still body...the hushed object...so silent!

While to exhausted creature...you bring strength and vigor...

...the lost vital force you restore!

You are candid, honest and pretenseless...

...so pure and clean...undiluted reality.

You are a sign of humility and meekness...

...you show no bias and definite equality!

Since childhood we all experience the shaking of the earth. I still can't get over the fear of these tremors no matter how I tried to.

When I was a kid I thought of strategies how to handle it, one of which was discovering that I won't feel the movement if I jump while the earth shakes, and I did. I also learned that to be on a tree top will make me felt like the wind swayed the tree so I ran and climbed an Aratilis or Guava tree when the earth moved.

But then the best is to understand this fear so that I may know how to manage it...by searching deep deep inside my fear factor I realize that I am afraid of the earthquake because the land where all the buildings stand, including the house I call my home and my security moves, shakes, trembles and even breaks isn't a very stable foundation at all. I realize that I am afraid of earthquake because the very place where I thought I can stand firmly isn't dependable.

So if my surrounding is vulnerable to shatter is dangerously alarming thus I become very very very afraid of every movement, every instability and every shaking of the ground where I stand.

Yet there is nothing in all the world that is sure and is grounded, even the very foundation of the earth! If that is the case we can always be afraid...I then realize yes nothing on this earth is dependable, strong and firm...BUT our GOD is firm, strong and dependable, He is the only STABLE FOUNDATION in all areas of our life!

Didn't the Bible say, "He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge ..."(Isaiah 33:6).

I learned to depend on Him even in the times of the shaking of the earth and you can depend on Him too!

Understandeth not...

Tears floweth...

Confusion abideth...

Fatigue covereth...

Desire to abandon life is intense...

Were it all the repetitions?

Were it all the regulars?

Were it all the pain?

Were it all the toils?

Were it all the unaccomplished?

Were it all the frustrations?

Were it all the things should be but were not?

Was it was me and not should be or should be?

Save Lord from this ebb!

Rescue Oh God from the deep!

After the performances one of the performing guests, Ms. Carisse Escueta, encouraged the audience to participate in making their own poetries by passing on to other participants their 'paper-manuscripts' of the poem and allow them to write words that either rhyme or relate with the original word written by a particular participating audience, as unsolicited contributions for the poem-in-the-making. Here is what I crafted from the (all CAPS) words given by my fellow participants in the exercise, rhyming or relating to my original word CALLING...

This is my 'Calling'...

...a very challenging MINISTRY...

...given by the TRINITY...

...in it there is UNITY...

...envelop in great BEAUTY.

Because I am a MASTERPIECE...

no one can call this a BLASPHEMY.

Though Satan may give me LIES...

...but I will let him be a FRIES...

...spoken as the difficult FRENCH...

...munch in LUNCH...

...so that my body be NOURISH (ed)...

...so that I may FLOURISH...

...that I become God's BLOOM.

I hope that wasn't a bad attempt to become a spoken word artist :)

In six minutes I will be breaking my fast for this day!

While going to the day's errand earlier I was feeling very very hungry seeing all the billboards of different fastfoods and restaurants in our vicinity. These are all enticingly delicious, palatable, smorgashboard pictures of food. I had a flash of vision me eating to my desire Marinara with its aromatic herb!

One of the supplementary readings in my 21 Days Bible Reading Plan says, during your fasting you will feel physical struggle and will crave for food. That was the exact feeling I had.

With that experience God just gave also an instant insight:

Hungering now is like hungering for the presence of God!

For those of us who really love God we are fasting from His physical being. We are craving and wanting to see Him yet we still have to wait until we are translated to His Kingdom!

But as of the moment we long for Him, we desire Him. We just imagine the joy in meeting Him!

While going back home I filled my thought with the lavishing moment of meeting Him like that of lavishing the food that I am desperately craving.

I will be ending my writing now so that I can consume the waiting Marinara on our kitchen counter to satisfy my physical desire for food but my spritual desire for God still remains!

Christmas Season in the Philippines is very joyous but one of its unfavorable features are the street kids running up and down the busy and dangerous streets of Manila, jumping from one jeepney to another, distributing worn envelops with hand written plea for "Pamasko" to the passengers.

And I choose not to be randomly generous to them...and here are my reasons:

1. I don't want to give in to emotional ambush.
2. I don't want to provide alms just to get away with my guilt of not giving during the season of giving.
3. I don't want to tolerate the mentality of poverty with these kids and their families.
4. I don't want to nurture the begging and easy money culture.
5. I don't want to allow urban organized underground organizations that use kids to gather money for their own purpose.

So I choose to look for legitimate organizations that can efficiently and effectively help children who are the neglects of the society and children who are victims of unkind circumstances.

One of which is Precious Heritage, an orphanage affiliated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), that provides housing, food, clothing, medical care, education and love to orphans, abandoned, neglected, tribal and less fortunate children. They also provide community development and transformation programs in rural and urban poor areas nationwide.

This year together with some church friends and family, we will be organizing medical missions to the kids there and the children in the community where they are located (Lower Antipolo).

To those of you who choose not to be randomly generous last Christmas Season and would like to help the children in Precious Heritage Orphanage send me message in my email (prudy@lifechurchmakati.com) or message me in my Facebook account should you wanted to volunteer or help financially and in kind (like that of pedia medicine and multivitamins and supplements, sack of rice, canned goods, toiletries, clothings and toys) to this institution.

When you do so you will efficiently help children and God will be honored!