A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE....

My Precious Child,

A few hours from now, the night will meet the new day. As they do, that will mean there was a time, I, your Father in heaven, had given you My Beloved Son, Jesus, as a gift to save you. His mission is to let the world know Me and My love for My earthly children. In humility, He came to this world, in obedience and sacrificial love, He carried on His mission for the love of Me and those whom I love....YOU.

Tonight, as you celebrate, please remember to honor My Son with your heart. Above all the celebrations, do not forget the true meaning of Christmas....My Beloved Son, Jesus, was born for you, My precious child. Celebrate life with Him....

Happy Birthday, My Son, thank You for Your love and obedience, for revealing My true nature to Your brothers and sisters. I have given them to You because I love them and I know You will do everything to bring them to Me for their own sake....Thank You and Happy Birthday....

Your Father Who Loves You So,
Abba


< Greetings my friends :-D   A Joyful Christmas and A Blessed New Year! :-) >



FRIENDS . . . .

FRIENDS . . . .

As I walked along life's road,

I met someone who was a stranger.

We chatted for a while

and exchanged smiles,

watched each others' actions,

tried to know one another.

Suddenly, we found ourselves

walking hand in hand,

confiding with each other,

sharing thoughts and cares,

Lifting the other's burdens,

laughing when the other was happy,

and weeping when the other was sad.

As we travel along life's road,

as time passes our way,

we are still together

walking hand in hand,

and deep within our hearts

we treasure each moment

that we spend together

for now we are not strangers anymore

but friends forever more . . . .

-luisadelacruz 073188

WHAT'S LIFE IF . . . .

WHAT'S LIFE IF . . . .

What's life if

you're just sitting
and doing nothing....

if you're just waiting

for the end of the day

while looking out of the window....

if you're just fantasizing

about anything....

if you have all the things

you can ask for

but find your world empty.

Life without struggle is boring,

without sadness, it is not fun,

without challenge,

it is not worthwhile....

- luisadelacruz 022290

DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!

DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!

You said nobody loves you,

nobody cares for you,

nobody needs you,

you wish you're dead.

I say, "Don't be ridiculous!"

For always there is Someone

who loves you and cares for you

and that love is the greatest

for it springs from God.

You said you're a nobody,

you always fail in anything you do,

you never reach success,

you wish you're dead.

I say, "Don't be ridiculous!"

If you try harder

you will reach your goal,

if you quit easily,

you will really fail.

You said your life is a trash,

it's not worth living for,

it is totally worthless

you wish you're dead.

I say, "Don't be ridiculous!"

Life is a beautiful battle

full of challenges

worth fighting for

because it's a gift from above.

So when you're down

and feeling blue,

just say to yourself,

"Don't be ridiculous!"

- luisadelacruz '88

COLLECTING TREASURES . . . .

 

Last October 24, 2010, my family celebrated the birthday of my nephew, Raphael. My tummy was so full! Yummy! Yummy! We had plenty of food . . . . But what was fuller was my heart. There was a time that Raphael ate food while everybody was having conversations. He just came from swimming in the pool. I was seating in front of him and I was watching him. I really wanted to eat again, but I was so full. He teased me by giving extra expressions and gestures of how delicious the food were. I just laughed. He gave me joy that time.

There was also a time when her cousin, Ate Lorraine, was watching something in the i-net from her laptop and Raphael sat beside her and put his head on her shoulder. How sweet! That was a sight of treasure.

Before we left, we took pictures of them hugging each other, showing how close they are.

The simple celebration and conversations with my family made me so joyful that moment. It was a precious memory I truly treasure in my heart. Simple, yet a rich part of my life.

I don't know until when will I live in this world, nor until when can I be with my family . . . . I am so blessed, I have these moments. This is something most of us forget. With the busy world we live, we forget how to really live it . . . . We forget how to balance our life.

Tomorrow we may not breathe anymore . . . . Let's collect true treasures while we still can . . . . we can not turn back time . . . .

Warm Heart!

-luisadelacruz

INTO THE FATHER'S ARMS

INTO THE FATHER'S ARMS

Inspiration: Luke 15:1-32

From His arms, I came . . . . In this world, I grew.

As a little child, my innocence kept me close to Him.

He is Papa God to me.

Gradually, I got busy with my toys . . . .

With Growing up . . . .

Later, I got drowned with this world

As I work and got exposed to worldly things . . . .

Sigh, Papa God became a distant Being . . . .

One day, I felt a longing in my heart . . . .

An emptiness . . . .

I searched and searched 'til I ended up

Face to face with Him . . . .

I am ashamed to get near

But His arms are open wide, inviting me to come.

Finally, I run to Him,

His arms wrapped tightly around me . . . .

Tears fell from my eyes.

I smiled.

I am at peace.

I am home . . . .

In the arms of my Father God . . . .

luisadelacruz

MY FIRST BABY . . . .

“Soon you will experience labor pains. It’s your baby!” A friend told me this. She is right! It’s hard and painful . . . .nerve wrecking and exciting!

Oh! For those who know me, don’t be shocked. I’m still single for the Lord, yes! So how come I have a baby and experiencing this now? ;-) My friend is referring to my first book: “The Essence of the Word-How to be Friends with Your Bible”



May 2005, God revealed to me that I would be a preacher and a writer. Yeah, right! I’m a Fine Arts graduate and a licensed architect. Preacher, huh? Writer?

But still, if God says so, then who am I to argue. I just let it be and allowed Him to do His thing in my heart and my life. I went where He led me. He equipped me. I began to share my experiences with God. Those sharing became talks. I began to develop talks then later workshops and a recollection.

I also write my sharing and just email some of them until I got tapped to become one of the writers in an English and tagalong version of a daily Scriptural reference guide.

Two years ago, I began to conceptualize a book. I got inspired by God and my friends. The busyness of life hindered me to finish it and there are frustrations that developed in me . . . . Hmmm, come to think of it, I thank this block now. Why? No, I’m not crazy. Because now, is God’s timing for my book.

I’m bolder now, more courageous, I have more friends and acquaintances. My situation is better than before, even my perspective. God had prepared me well. Why?

Because, like a pregnant woman, I’m having my labor pains. The preparations for my book was a mixture of emotion and full of prayers. I always ask God for guidance. I even asked for an editor in line with my heart and a printer/publisher that will be of good service and in line with what I need. God gave me both. I asked His help for the financial provision. He gave me that, too.

Now, my first book is published. Wow! I gave birth. I am also experiencing the hassles and pains of a Mom after her child was born. How will the people accept it? How about it’s marketing? Of course, as there is black and white, there is acceptance and rejection, both I have to deal and face.

But you know what . . . . in all that I’m going through, God never left my side and He makes me feel His support all the way. Where I can’t reach out, He will. What I can’t do, He does. It’s a great partnership. He sends people to help me. He guides and inspires me on what to do. He feeds me ideas and encourages me to act.

When I’m down, He lifts me up. He reaches out to people. A friend’s friend in Germany ordered 100 copies, my sister sold 70 copies in one occasion, just a few unexpected marketing of God. On October 10, my baby will be one month old, we have sold more than 500 copies already.

But you know what gives me joy above all else? Four things:

One, the proceeds of my book will help orphanages and other ministries for the Lord. Yes, through it I can help the poor in need. This is a dream come true for me. It’s really a joy for me.

Two, my book can help people grow spiritually by loving God’s Word and God Himself. My baby can help the reader get closer to God. She can open doors of personal, intimate relationship between God and His beloved children.

Three, through my baby, I’m preaching even to people I do not know and who do not know me. I may not even see them nor meet them ever but somehow God had used me to touch them and help bring them to Him. Even if I die now, My baby will go on living in the shelves and preaching people even of future generations.

Four, the most I value, my baby is my love for my beloved God. I believe I put a smile on His face through her. My book suggests to people how to be friends with the Word of God, how to go on loving her and how to share her. If the suggestions are followed by the readers, they will end up developing that closer relationship with God and thus loving God more. This is the ultimate purpose of my first born . . . .

Just one soul that my book will touch . . . . just one soul that will be closer to God through her . . . . I can die now and be so filled with joy . . . .

My first born: “The Essence of the Word-How to be Friends with Your Bible” yes, labor pains are just part of it, I’m excited to where God will bring me and my baby . . . . May He be glorified through her to the ends of the world and of time.

How God wants to let people know how much He yearns to be close to us . . . . for our own sake . . . . May we respond and have that deep longing for Him in our hearts . . . .


-luisadelacruz

MY HOME . . . .

MY HOME . . . .

It is where I can rest

Feeling safe and nothing to worry about . . . .

It is where I just relax and enjoy

The simplicity of life . . . .

My home is where I can pause

And pace slowly to refresh my spirit . . . .

It is where I can be my simple self

and be childlike and simply play . . . .

It is where I am most loved

And embraced with gentleness and tenderness . . . .

It is where I am safe and confident

I can not be harmed . . . .

Ahhh, my Home,

Where the gentle Wind brings me assurance -

I am Home . . . .

My Home is You,

My Dearest Father,

My Yahweh,

My Abba, father,

My Home . . . .

- luisadelacruz

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

Are you familiar with the movie “Dead Poet Society?” When I watched that movie, I had never forgotten the part where the professor there played by Robin Williams was accused of something he didn’t do. His students believed in him. In his farewell minutes, he asked them all to stand on top of their table. The students did. Then he said that at times we have to look at things in a different perspective. This can help us move on in life.

Maybe the reason why I remembered that scene was I believed in what he wanted to convey. Well, aside from the fact that I shed tears on that part hehehe. Sometimes we’re focused on just one aspect of what’s happening in our lives or one solution to our problems that when it didn’t work, our whole world crumbled like it was the end of the world for us, or there was no way out, right?

Hmmmm . . . . there are many ways to view things. Want some proof? Look at this top view picture. What is it?

Can you guess??? . . . .Hmmmm, how about this next picture?

Well, that sure is clearer, right? Now you can say that it’s an alcohol bottle. But is there a better view?

Wow! That’s much, much clearer and better! Sometimes we tend to look at things like on the top view, then we conclude based on what we see without trying to look if there’s a better way, if there’s a truth that we fail to see, if there’s another solution to the problem.

Sometimes, we take a chance and look at it on another point of view. We get a clearer version of what we see at first.

But most of the time, there is the best view that we fail to see. What view is that? God’s perspective. Yeap! God sees things differently from us. He always sees the clearer side, the beautiful side of things. That’s the view we have to search.

Life is too beautiful, yet too short for us to get stuck to the miserable side of things. It’s your choice what kind of perspective you’ll see things. But if I were you, my friend . . . . I’ll try to look at them in different perspectives until I find God’s perspective on them! This is a sure winner! Fantastic Life!

-luisadelacruz

USAPAN LANG NAMAN . . .

One day in Novemver 2005, my friend received a text message which I liked, so I copied it:

‘Who should be blamed when a leaf fell from a tree?
Is it the wind that blew it away?
Or the tree that let it go?
Or is it the leaf itself which never held tight?’

We reflected on it for a while . . . . maybe there’s no one to blame . . . . or it depends . . . . if the tree is the Lord, and the wind is the circumstances and situations happening around, and the leaf is the person, definitely the Lord can not be blamed, situations can not be either . . . .

Well, we just joked about it and left the message alone.

The next morning when I read in the Holy Bible the readings for the day, I was struck by a passage:

‘……Because of our sins we are like leaves that wither and are blown away by the wind.’ ISAIAH 64:6

The moment I read this, I remembered the text message yesterday. I was beginning to think there was a connection. What was it? Or is there any?

As I continued to read the other Scriptures, I mistook a Scripture to be one of the readings for that day . . . . is it a mistake . . . . or I was led to it. Guess what! :

‘When one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos” – aren’t you acting like worldly people? After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God’s servants, by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow. The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God who matters, because He makes the plant grow.

There is no difference between the one who plants and the one who waters; God will reward each one according to the work each has done. For we are partners working together for God, and you are God’s field. You are also God’s building. Using the gift that God gave me, I did the work of an expert builder and laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each of you must be careful how you build. For God has already placed Jesus Christ as the one and only foundation, and no other foundation can be laid.’ 1 CORINTHIANS 3:4-11


Wow, now I believe in my heart that there is definitely a connection. So I asked, “What, Lord? What’s with the leaf and the plant? What is Your message? What do You want to tell me?” It was a puzzle for me . . . .

After I ate my breakfast, I thought of watching tv. It was a long time now since I did this. When I entered the community last year, I very seldom watched. Never got the time or I just want to sleep or read.

As I turned on the tv, there was this cartoon gundamforce. I love watching cartoons even when I was still a kid . . . . so I watched it. Well, hope you bear with me and read on.

There was this city where humans and robots (mobile citizens) who live together in harmony until the evil mobile citizens (MC) came and launch a brain control device that all the good MC became evil and the whole city was threatened. Gundamforce to the rescue! It was a team of robots, with a head robot called captain and together with them is a boy.

They zoomed in to the city, but the enemies tried to stop them at the gates. The other members of the team volunteered to sacrifice themselves to fight these enemies and told their captain to proceed with his mission. He has to reach a device called the captain system which can give Him more power to fight the evil scheme.

As the captain and the boy neared their destiny, two evil MCs came and tried to stop them. As the boy was in danger another member of the team came. He was hurt, but he still rescued the boy and told the captain to proceed and he fought the enemies. As the kid asked him if he can still go on, he said with full confidence, “I am part of the team and I will do all I can as long as I can.”

The captain reached the captain system and started to operate it but his energy is not enough. Then came the other members of the team and released all their energies without thinking of themselves. Not a single amount of energy was left in their system. The device powered up to its maximum and the captain had the access to the systems of all the robots in the city, knocked down the brain control device in each of them . . . . they won the battle. They brought back the good mobile citizens to being good again. THE END.

THE END. What’s with the story? Is there a connection in all these from the leaf to this. Weird . . . . I really found it weird. Robot cartoon was one of my favorites, but I never cried over them . . . . Weird because I found myself with 2 or 3 or 4 teardrops in my eyes. All I could ask God : “What have You done to me? Why am I crying over a seemingly senseless robot cartoon? I felt so weird? This change You made in my heart, sometimes I do not understand it. Why do I see differently at times even in such simple, uncomplicated things?”

You know what I saw as I watched this cartoon? I saw a TEAM of good creations . . . . robots and humans alike . . . . with differences from each other but possess one heart. They have the determination to fight evil no matter what. They have the hope, the zeal, the enthusiasm, the courage, the unity. They are willing to sacrifice everything, even if it hurts them, just to save the citizens and for their mission to succeed.

The weird thing for me here is I saw the community in place of the TEAM. Different people, with different points of view, different characters, different gifts and talents. I have seen dedicated people in this community just like the members of the gundamforce. Dedicated, committed people who are willing to sacrifice anything for the success of whatever tasks God had entrusted to them. There are different ministries, different areas of service, different members . . . . equipped, molded, empowered, gifted . . . . by the Holy Spirit. For what??? To be The LORD’S TEAM in this world . . . . to be His instruments to fight evil to save humanity . . . . the citizens. The Lord needs a TEAM whose members are full of hope . . . . so enthusiastic in doing their part . . . . so zealous in bringing Him to the hearts of His people . . . . willing to go out of their ways and sacrifice for each other and for God for the success of the mission . . . . willing to support and help each other with love in the hearts . . . . understanding the differences of each other . . . . using the gifts the Lord has given . . . . being a model of courage, obedience and humility to one another . . . . willing to do all they can do . . . . because they are part of the TEAM . . . . The LORD’S TEAM.

In the text message and Scripture passage, the tree is the Lord. He is the source of everything. He is the root that is deeply planted on the ground. He stands firm and can never be toppled down. He is our strength. He holds on to us. He will not let go. He will always be there for us to rely upon. He will always be our Source. The wind is our sins, our doubts, fears, temptations . . . . all that causes us to let go of the Lord. If we allow the wind to affect us, if we give in . . . . we will wither away and lose our grip on the branch.

In our service, we have to stay focused on the tree and not on the wind. The Lord is our Master. He alone is the One we serve. It matters not what others will say. It matters not how big or small or what kind of service we give . . . . what matters is we do our part and give it all we’ve got . . . . what matters is we serve with commitment and dedication as a TEAM, as different parts of the TEAM in one body . . . . but what matters most is God. Whatever success we achieve, it is not because of me, or you, or him, or her or anybody else . . . . It is because of God. We serve for the glory of the Kingdom of God. We serve for the salvation of our sisters and brothers. We serve for the victory of good against evil. We serve because we love God and we are willing to sacrifice, to get hurt, get tired, get out of our comfort zones for that. All for God. What matters is God . . . . But we have to serve as a TEAM with understanding, humility, love . . . . and willingness to support and serve each other.

Weird????? I don’t know . . . . The next cartoon I watched after gundamforce doesn’t have an impression on me. I watched it just like the others way back before. But hey……I am not promoting this cartoon . . . . its not really good especially for kids because of the fightings.

Well . . . . usapan lang naman . . . . I just shared a weird, kiddie, mind twisting, serious, mababaw experience of mine on a Sunday morning . . . . It doesn’t happen every Sunday you know.

-luisadelacruz

DARK TUNNELS

October 8, 2005, I was sitting by my bedside. A tape of praise and worship songs was playing on the background. I was letting myself to be lost in it as my whole being worshipped the Lord.

The rain fell outside. It poured so hard. From time to time, thunders roared. It felt like there was chaos outside my room, but through it all, I felt so safe inside it. I was protected from the anger of the rain and thunder. I felt peace . . . . and loved by God.

Then it struck me, often times we compare our troubles . . . . struggles . . . . sufferings . . . . pain to a storm. We cry. We get lost. We get hurt. We focus on our struggle. Our weaknesses overcome us. We have no strength to fight back. We get so tired. It seems we are in a dark tunnel. We don’t know what to do. We want to go on but something is holding us back. We cannot see where we are going. We are in total darkness.

The only hope we have is the voice within our hearts telling us to pray and just keep on going. The only thing we can do is to look up and believe that at the end of the tunnel is a light that will lead us to the right path. All we can do is cry out to the Lord and plead with our hearts to help us survive.

As we journey and pray, as we put our trust in the Lord . . . . as we put our lives upon His hands, He protects us with His love. All the thunders and the downpours of the rain cannot hurt us. They cannot keep us down for the Lord is holding our hands, leading us, constantly whispering in our ears how much He loves us. He gives us His strength. He warns us of the pitfalls along the way. He never leaves us even for just a second.

Through that darkness, we feel safe and peaceful because we know the Lord is with us. As we reach the end of that dark tunnel, the heavenly light we see. And as we leave the dark and step into the light, behold we see, that it was not just the Lord who is with us, but also the angels and the saints. We are so protected by the Lord. That’s how He gives importance to each of us . . . . and in the heavens, all who are in there are cheering and rejoicing for us because we made it through our journey.

Each time we pass through dark tunnels in our lives, this happens . . . . we have to remember, we have to pray . . . . listen, trust and obey the Lord. Our dark tunnels are necessary to mold us, to equip us, to make us stronger . . . . to make our faith stronger. It is necessary to deepen our relationship with the Lord, to remind us that we need Him in our lives. We can never survive without His grace and love. Each tunnel has purpose. Each purpose is significant. As the Lord reveals each of them, we will understand the importance of those dark tunnels . . . . and that it is a great privilege to get through them together with the Lord. These are things to be joyful about during those moments. Life is beautiful if we only look beyong our dark tunnels!

-luisadelacruz

‘My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing trials, the result is the ability to endure.’ JAMES 1:2-3

‘Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.’ 1 PETER 1:6-7

WALA LANG . . . .

There was a time in 2005, it had been very tiring, mind draining weeks for me. My mind was so preoccupied by the singles medical mission. I had been constantly praying for guidance on the steps that should be taken for it. Honestly speaking, I had never attended one in my entire life. One of my best friends had been inviting me to join before but I was always too busy with my work, so I ended up just donating.

Months after joining the community, I joined the service team because the Lord wanted me to. I never really liked the idea because I know it will make me give up my comfort zone, but obeying, serving and loving the Lord are the desires of my heart. I don't want to offend Him. I don't want to hurt Him. I have to trust Him on this. He has a purpose in everything He asked of me.

Along the way, I was right, I had to give up things I want to do for me to follow His will. At first my resistance was there, but later I began to cheerfully do my tasks. Although it was tiring, God made me see something. Before, I get so tired with my work, with my career. My body and brain yearn for rest most of the time. Now I feel the same tiredness but there is more fulfillment and satisfaction and there is joy in my heart because what I do is for the Lord. And He never fails to give me rest, assurances, joy, gratitude, and blessings even if He doesn't have to because He had already given so much. For me, it's about time that I should be the one giving Him.

Anyway, now I ended up one of the point persons of the medical mission. Irony isn't it? Well not really. For in here, the works of the hands of our Dear Lord will be seen. I am inexperienced and not equipped for this task. In everything I do I ask Him and He teaches me. He equips me. Anything that comes out as a result of my efforts to help the others in this mission is because of the Lord. I depend on Him. The week before that, I was having apprehensions and fear in my heart, but He assured me through many ways. The one that hit me most was the homily of the priest saturday night. The Gospel was MATTHEW 11:25-30. It was about having rest in the Lord and His yoke that He will give is easy. The priest said that in Jesus time a yoke is put on two cows to plow the field. They are yokemates. He further said that today in our present lives, whatever Jesus asks us to do, it is His yoke and He is just inviting us to be His yokemate. He puts the heavy burden upon His shoulders and we are just there to help Him. He extends His hand toward us as an invitation it is up to us to take that hand and help Him or turn our back away.

It is a privilege to serve the Lord . . . . to be chosen by Him to do a certain task, whether big or small, whether as part of a team or as an individual. Before we were born, the Lord has set the purpose of our existence in His Master Plan, but the decision still lies upon us if we will do our part or not.

More than five times, I heard people say to me in different occasions to slow down a bit. I might get burned out, and like other people, have a backslide. Every time this happens, I look deep in my heart to check myself for I dont want this to happen to me . . . . I also venture into the thought that it might be the Lord is telling me to slow down. But every time, what I found there is love for the Lord. I have to give what I can for the Lord each day. If I slow down, if I tell myself I can do this or that for Him the next day and yet I still have the capacity to do it, there will be regret in me if the next day He holds my hand and bring me to the Father to live in His home eternally. I could have done something more that I can for Him and His people, I could have obeyed Him at that moment, if I chose to, before I leave this world.

Spiritual dryness or burning out can happen to anyone. It can be seen as a bad sign, but it can also be seen as a good sign. I prefer to see it as the latter. It is a sign, that one is giving his best for whatever he is working on, and if it is for the Lord it is definitely worth it. But the question here is what do we do about it if we experience it. Will we allow it to throw away the special relationship we have with the Lord? Or will we focus on the Lord and deepen more our relationship with Him and come out a victor over it? We can always have a break. We can always have a rest. We can have a vacation, spend time with the family, friends, a retreat . . . . do something different, go out of town, read a book, have a silent and restful moment with the Lord . . . . whichever way that fits us that will renew our burning desire in our heart.

But there is one thing that will stand out on this. How deep is our relationship with the Lord? The deeper we become in love with the Lord the more we will hold on to Him. Irregardless of whatever difficulties we experience, irregardless of how many burn outs we encounter, we will continue to serve Him because we are anchored on Him. If we deeply love the Lord, if we know Him in a personal way, if we look at the Father as our real Dear FATHER who cherishes us and treasures us, who longs for our embraces and enjoys loving us so much, if we look at Jesus as our real Dear Brother, who gave up His life for us, who offers His love and friendship to us, if we see our Dear Holy Spirit as our Counselor, One who makes us recognize who the Lord really is . . . . if we open up ourselves to all these, and experience them, and believe in them . . . . we will never abandon the Lord no matter what. If our Dear Lord is the center of our life, we will never turn our back from Him because our world will crumble. Our life will have no direction. We will have nowhere to go . . . . because God is our everything. If we have deep love for Him in our hearts, it is better to die than take away God from us.

WHHEEWW! That turned out to be too serious. WALA LANG (just nothing). I just had this urge in me to write this . . . . WALA LANG . . .

-luisadelacruz

SIGNBOARDS OF LIFE!

Yesterday early morning, my two sisters, a family friend and myself visited my cousin Arlene in Perpetual Help Hospital in Las Piñas. She was brought there Wednesday around 12:00 – 1:00 a.m. Doctors found out that she had to operated on her appendix immediately. Thank God she's fine and on her way to recovery.

Coming from the hospital, we followed a sign that says: Alternate route to C-5 via Naga Road. Wow! Faster way of going home and avoiding traffic. We turned right and followed all the signs that direct us to our destination. We entered a subdivision.

At first that was so easy, just follow the signs. But there was a time, we got lost, there were no signs. We followed a car, but alas! Hahahaha, the owner lives there. We asked a gardener for directions.

A second time, we didn’t know whether to go straight, right or left. Straight ahead was a gate, to the right was another gate with a sign “NO ENTRY – One Way.” So we turned left. But it seemed not the right way, so we asked bystanders and they directed us back, then we took the straight path. But as we turned we ended up where we came from.

We asked two youngsters on a bike and they accompanied us since it’s also their direction. Oh no! They led us pass through the “NO ENTRY” gate, hehehe. God bless those youngsters. Their heaven sent.

As we reached their destination, they gave us instruction and we parted ways. Oh, we got lost another time, and we asked an elderly man who gave us directions. Haaaay! Siiiiigggnnn boards, pls! As we reached a guard house and pass through it, yes! We were on our way to SLEX, then to C-5. We got home, avoiding traffics, too much heat and faster.

But you know what!?! I enjoyed our ride home. I realized, like the new way we took, changes happen in our lives as we ourselves change. We need directions. But if there are none, don’t be afraid ask those who knew and who can help. There will be times, signages are all around or none at all, or instructions are not that clear, but there will be times we’ll encounter those who are willing to get out of their way to help us. But all these, can help us to get to our destination, faster, easier, in spite of some hassles.

When God sets us to new directions in our lives, He will give all the help we will need. Whatever is missing, He will provide. Don’t be afraid to take risks. God will be there to guide you.

-luisadelacruz

TRAAAFIIICCC!!!

It’s already dark, around 7:45 p.m. I am getting impatient and worried. Why? I am caught in the middle of the traffic, bumper to bumper, as in. Haaay, I have a meeting 6:30 p.m. in SM Megamall. Yeap! I am already late, more than an hour, in fact.

This was my situation the night of June 3, 2009. I came from my Ate Lulu’s residence in Meralco Ave., fifteen minutes or less away from Megamall. We had a simple surprise for our eldest sister, Ate Conie, and her husband, Kuya Joseph, for their anniversary the day before. Their family spent three days in Bohol and they would be coming straight to Ate Lulu’s house.

We were supposed to meet at 4:00 p.m., but their flight was delayed due to rain. Tik! Tak! Tik! Tak! It was getting late and I have a dinner meeting with a couple who would be our new pastoral head and a sister in the community. Around 6:00 p.m. I was about to text Ate Lulu that I would be leaving, when I saw her arrive.

With the ample time that I have with them, I listened to Ate Conie’s joyous stories of their experience as my niece took pictures here and there. God is so good!

By 6:30 p.m., I said my goodbye and Ate Lulu asked their driver to bring me to SM. There . . . was where my ordeal in the traffic in J. Vargas St. happened.

Could you believe it! We were moving just like a space one tricycle could occupy every after 20 minutes of not moving. Our side of the street was filled with vehicles, even motorcycles and bicycles were having hard time passing through. They were stuck, too. Yeap! That was how it was.

I tried to relax myself. I couldn’t do anything about this situation. I tried to pray for others, but I couldn’t focus. Tik! Tak! Tik! Tak!

I was real worried, never in my life had I been this late in a meeting, considering that it was my first meeting with them, I didn’t know them yet. I felt I had no face to show in that meeting, haaaay. By 7:45 p.m. I said to God, “Dear God, this is the time only You can make a miracle happen. I entrust this situation with You. Pleeeeaaaassseee, make this traffic be gone.”

Wow! Nothing happened. I assessed myself. I saw my heart being impatient. I knew I need help in prayer. That was the time I text my intercessor friends. I told them my situation and asked for their prayers.

Voila! The miracle happened. Right after I text, after a minute or two, we moved about three cars away from where we were. My hope was increased. In a very short while, we moved several cars away from our spot before. Still after a very short while . . . zoom! No vehicles in front of us. I was in front the mid-entrance and getting out of our vehicle.

From the spot where I asked for prayers, it took us less than 10 minutes when awhile ago, with the very heavy traffic, I was thinking I wouldn’t even make it to the meeting.

Talk about the power of prayer and God’s grace.

PSALM 34:17 When His people pray for help, He listens and rescues them from their troubles.

Time in time again, God never failed to amaze me even in simple ways. He never failed to make me feel His fatherly love for me. I was real grateful to God and my prayer warrior friends. Thank God for His gift of prayer and friends. Thank God for His wonderful grace.

The dinner meeting? Oh, it went very well. I was forgiven, too. They were very nice people. Well that’s another story to tell. ;-D Happy Prayerful Day Everyone!

-luisadelaruz

WISDOM SEARCH

I wake up . . . uhhuurrmm . . .It is still dark, still very early, haaayyy . . . I’m sleepy, but then, I can’t sleep. I sit down, pray, open my light and get my Sabbath, a daily reflection reference, and my Bible. I read:

WISDOM 6:12-19 Wisdom shines bright and never grows dim; those who love her and look for her can easily find her. She is quick to make herself known to anyone who desires her. Get up early in the morning to find her, and you will have no problem; you will find her sitting at your door To fasten your attention to Wisdom is to gain perfect understanding.

If you look for her, you will soon find peace of mind, because she will be looking for those who are worthy of her, and she will find you wherever you are. She is kind and will be with you in your every thought.

Wisdom begins when you sincerely want to learn. To desire Wisdom is to love her; to love her is to keep her laws; to keep her laws is to be certain of immortality; immortality will bring you close to God.

Wow! Excitement slowly runs from my heart to my veins. It was pounding with enthusiasm. Wow! Wisdom, she’s such a great treasure to be found. The desire in me to find her suddenly got increased. I got so awake.

I read on and as I reach the prayer of Solomon for Wisdom (Wisdom 9), I sort of borrow it from him, and I so sincerely pray it, as if they are my very own words, then I read on again up to chapter 11, on one seating.

. . . This happened one morning at dawn, early of 2005, a few months after I entered our community. Considering I only read my Bible no more than 15 times until August of 2004 when I got across Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life” . . . within 40 days I had read verses from my Bible more than 700 times.

But that morning, it was very different, an experience I would never forget. Since then I prayed to God for Wisdom, because I knew she could guide me towards Him. She could tell me what pleases Him and not. She could tell me whether to turn right or left, trace back or go straight ahead in my life’s journey. But the most wonderful of all, she could bring me close to God. That’s the best above all. J

Later, I was also led to read the Books of Proverbs and Sirach. I love the Book of Sirach, so full of Wisdom.

As of now, my search for Wisdom is not over yet . . . well, it will only come to an end when God will take away His breath from me.

As long as we live, it is a continuous search for Wisdom. I am thankful that God is not selfish. He shares His Wisdom with us . . . not only through The Bible. Every creation He made, every experience we all have, everything we see or hear . . .speaks of God’s Wisdom.

Awesome! God really reaches out to us and wants to make sure we don’t take the wrong turns in our life. Well, we still make mistakes and have failures, as we turn deaf or blind on Him . . . but still He makes them into victory as He gives us Wisdom through them. Right, my friend? J

Wisdom had helped me a lot in my decision makings. She helped me see things beneath the surface of situations and people. She helped me take the right steps towards my purpose in life. She helped in my continuous transformation . . . but above all, true to her promise, she brings me closer and closer to Dearest God. J

Search for Wisdom! Sincerely desire her! . . . She’s one friend you can’t do without in your daily journey in life.

WISDOM 8:20 Still, I realized that I would never receive Wisdom unless God gave her to me – and knowing that only God could give her to me was itself a sign of understanding. So I prayed, begging the Lord with all my heart.

Oh, by the way, I discovered, as I pray for Wisdom, I have to pray for discernment, too. I have to choose from what I learned from her which one I can apply at the right time, at the right situation . . . “Teach me, Lord, for I know not . . .”

-luisadelacruz

UNSELFISH PRINCESS

A while ago, I stumbled on a cartoon about a king who had 6 princes and a princess. He remarried when the queen died. The new mom was a witch and she was so cruel to her stepsons and stepdaughter that she turned all the 6 the princes into wild geese. The princess learned about this. Her brothers told her that the only antidote for the spell was: she couldn’t smile, nor speak, nor laugh within 6 years and she had to make a cloak for each of them made from a certain wild flower.

The princess promised to her dear brothers that she would do this for them no matter what. Wow! What a loving and courageous little princess! Her brothers were losing hope, but she didn’t give up!

Her brothers flew with the other wild geese of the forest. The princess? She lived in the forest and never spoke a word nor smiled nor laughed. She knitted each cloak with her own hands, until she grew so beautiful.

One day, a prince passed by the forest and fell in love with her. He married her, but at times he requested the princess to talk to him. With tears in her eyes, the princess would just shake her head. What a faithful sister!

A son was born to them and they had a feast. Many were invited. Alas! The cruel queen came and cornered her. She told the princess that their father died of loneliness and she, the witch, was the ruler in their land.

She forced the princess to speak, but to no avail. She kidnapped their baby and told everybody that the princess was a witch and ate her own son. The prince pleaded for her to speak out, but she didn’t. The people tied her in a pole. Put the 6 cloaks she wove on top of the logs on her feet and started a fire to burn her.

She kept silent and cried. She remained loyal to her promise even at the verge of death.

Swoosh! Came her geese brothers, flying towards the cloaks and they turned into human. One of the carrying the baby as they rescued him in the forest. 6 years had passed and the antidote was completed. The queen’s cruelty was exposed and she used her power against them, but the fire was blown to her and she was burned to death.

The brothers went back to their palace to lead their people and princess, now smiled and laughed and spoke again.

I was struck by the character of the princess. Like her, sometimes we have to sacrifice our own desires, our own happiness and dreams for the sake of other people.

At times we have to give up our comfort zones. We experience pain. We make hard decisions. At times we have to endure sacrificial love for blessings to be received by others.

In the end, the bewitched hearts of many will be freed because of how we allowed God to use our sacrificial love to make them free.

Abundant future is ahead of all of us . . . . Let’s be like the unselfish princess!

-luisadelacruz

WHEN ANGELS CAME DOWN!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009, I was told that those who will be manning the table on Sunday Feast, May 17, in Valle Verde would be wearing a costume of angels. Whaaaaat!?! I was shocked. I was told to read my email, the request was there.

When I got home, I immediately read that email. Voila! It was there. Oh no, I honestly didn’t like that. Wearing costumes, never in my life had I done that. But I couldn’t back out my name or find somebody to replace me just because of this reason. Well, I am the head of our ministry, if this was my only reason not to serve, I had to do it.

The next day, I had to think of how to encourage my three other sisters in the ministry, Nell, Erlie, and Joy, who will also man the table. So, I text them to wear all white and for once in our lives we would be angels here in this world, even for just now as we wear angel costumes. They liked the idea, they said that they had never did that but it was an exciting thought. There, problem solved . . . ummm but you know what? With our text exchanges, I was also encouraged myself and if we were going to do it, why not with the best we could . . . ;-D

Friday night . . . ahhh, we were so sleepy and tired already. It was around 10:00 p.m. Nell, spent the night in our house. We were making angel halos and wings. We started since 6:00 p.m.

We had used a thick wire for the outside skeleton and a very thin one for the support inside the wings. I shaped 2 sets of wings, Nell wrapped them with white cartolinas, then pasted cut out white crepe paper for feather effect.

My fingers were aching and my arms were tired because of the pressure I had to use in bending the thick wire. Its ends sometimes even pinched my fingers. After the skeleton, I made the halos with the wire then wrapped them with white ribbons. Wow! They looked so nice. Nell and I smiled. When she finished one wing, and one side of the other three wings, we were so happy and excited. ;-D

But we didn’t finish them that night. As I took a glimpse on Nell, she looked so tired and sleepy. I was feeling the same and the next day we had to wake up early.

Come Saturday, from a seminar in Makati, we went to our CG meeting in Meralco Ave. When we arrived home between 10:00 – 10:30 p.m. we rested awhile, then started doing again our angel wings.

We finish by 1:00 a.m., We were plastered, but excited. On Sunday, when we met Erlie and Joy, we put on them the wings and the halos. Wooooow! They looked beautiful. Picture! Picture! . . . souvenir . . . ;-D

Of course, during our turn, our pictures were also taken. It was an enjoyable day of service. For once in our lives, we became angels on earth . . . hahahaha! Wearing those costumes was not bad after all.

You know what? Friday night, when we were so tired and my fingers were hurting because of the thick wire, a wonderful thought came in my mind. That very moment, I questioned myself, “Why are we doing this? We were told that it was okay even if we did just the halos.”

But then again, since we knew how to make wings and halos, and we could make time to do them why not. In our little way, this was the help we could contribute in the ambience we were creating in the Feast.

Then I told Nell, “Making this wings and halos are not easy. It’s really hard to be an angel. It’s hard to be holy in real life. As we live our life, we get hurt. We encounter problems, difficult people and situations. There are times we want to give up or ask ourselves, why we are doing this or that. Why do we give more when this amount is just enough?

When God asks us to do something, at times we don’t want to do them. We have to sacrifice something. There are times, we get really tired and want to give up. When temptations come, whew, some are really irresistable. Haaaay! It’s real hard to stay holy . . . but it’s worth it. Heaven is worth it. Being with God in eternity is worth it. Loving God is worth it.”

Yes, at the end of everything there is joy and peace in the heart. Knowing that you’ve done something in the works for God, in all humility and obedience, even in just the simplest way, all your efforts are worth it . . .

What keep us going? . . . Love . . . It is also what can keep us holy no matter what . . . It can make our life enjoyable in spite of challenges with angel smiles . . . ;-D


COLLOSSIANS 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people . . . For Christ is the real Master you serve.

PSALMS 112:1 Praise the Lord! Happy is the person who honors the Lord, who takes pleasure in obeying His commands.

-luisadelacruz

A BRIEF ENCOUNTER

One day, I had a meeting. I took my bath. The water was a bit cold but refreshing to my skin. I hurried up, I didn’t want to be late. As soon as I was finished, I went out of our house and waited for a jeep.

The ride I got had no passengers yet. On its next stop, a lady rode and sat opposite me. Then two poor kids started shouting the destination of the jeep. One was smaller than the other, they maybe around 9 and 11 years old. They seem to be brothers. They have similarities.

They were wearing dirty clothes. The shade of their skins was dark from constant exposure from the sun everyday. The slippers of the older one were old and much bigger than his feet.

When we started to move, they both got inside the jeep and sat beside me. Oh! Really sat beside me, arm to arm, the older boy beside me . . . our skin touching. I twitch a bit, I stiffened, held my breath, they smell like they spent the whole afternoon under the sun.

I thought, “Oh no! Kakaligo ko lang (I just took my bath), I feel so fresh!”

But you know what? God instantly corrected me. God humbled me. As I remembered that He loves them, that the poor is close to His heart especially the children, I felt ashamed.

Slowly, I relaxed. I didn’t try to twitch any part of my body anymore. I began to experience compassion as I look at the two kids conversing, smiling and joking. I didn’t mind anymore their smell. I allowed my skin to touch the skin of the kid. I allowed my clothes to touch his clothes.

In a short while, the jeep stopped and they egress . . . they were gone . . .

Such a brief encounter, they didn’t even notice me. They had a world of their own . . . But you know what, in that very brief moment God used them to touch my heart. He reminded me of the continuous transformation He is doing to me so I can slowly learn to feel what He feels for them . . . to see what He sees in them . . . to love them as He does . . .

They are total strangers to me, but in them flows the breath of God, the same breath that gives life to me. They are dearly loved by the same God who loves me with the same love . . . They are my little brothers . . . Whew! I was real close that time to snobbing God. I sure pray, I will always be open to be changed by Him each day.

MARK 12:28-30 A teacher of the Law was there . . . he came to Him (Jesus) with a question: “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus replied, “The most important one is this: ‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

. . . but He didn’t just stop there . . . He continued . . .

MARK 12:31 The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment more important than these two.”

-luisadelacruz

SLICE OF LIFE

One time, I was peeling a green Indian mango. I have another one on the container waiting to be peeled. With it were two reddish tomatoes. As I gradually let the teeth of the knife slide over the mango, it’s a bit yellow color appeared. Wow! Looks delicious!

As I removed all the green skin, I diced it all over with the knife, then sliced it. Now I got little cubes of mango on a tiny bowl. I did the same with the other.

I got the two tomatoes, let the teeth of the knife go through them as I diced them, too. I put together the mangoes and the tomatoes. I put some bagoong. Mixed them. Ummmm, yummy! This is very delicious combined with fried fish.

In peeling the mango, a thought came to me. It’s like the change we want in our life. Drastic change most of the times bring a sharp teeth of knife that peels off our emotions, mind, heart, spirit, our very being . . . our life . . . and so much more.

Why? Well, for major change to happen to us . . . we need to give up things that we are so used to. We get to sacrifice our comfort zone. Yeap! The comforts we so love because we feel safe in there and so cozy. We are familiar of all its corners. Yaiks! For change to happen, we’ve got to step out of it!

Change is full of unknowns that we don’t want to face. But if we want to taste the delicious side of life that it can bring us . . . we allow the knife to skin us and remove the garbage and the things that need change within us and in our lifestyle. We also allow it to slice our life so we can find out the beauty waiting for us. Ouch!

Yes, there are ouches . . . but you’ll find sooner or later, they are worth it. The combination of all the unknowns can turn out into several successes, big or small. Then, voila! You can now enjoy the delicious blessings of life through change . . . that God has been offering to you since time immemorial.

Well, if we will not take a deep breath . . . haaay! . . . and act on it, we will never know . . . No pain, no gain, my friend! It’s never too late for anyone to change!

Success is not the absence of problems and challenges, but it is stepping forward in spite of their presence in your path . . . Happy Change!

-luisadelacruz

BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE

Hello! Hope your day is fine. You know, one day I came across a cartoon series entitled “Moomin.” The story revolved around a family of white hippos, a very little old lady and a scarecrow. The other characters there were animals dressed as humans. All of them live like humans, too . . . with houses, backyards, parks, etc.

Moomin was the kid boy in the family. One day, he helped his father look for a camera. He would be joining a photo contest. They searched and searched here and there. Until the mother hippo asked what they were looking for. To the father’s surprise, she showed them the fan blower where the accordion type part of the camera was attached! Hahaha!

He screwed it on the box body of the camera. When he peeped, oh no, where was the lens? Moomin took something from his room and there in his hand was a handmade magnifying glass with the camera lens as the glass. Hehehe! The tripod was with Moomin, too. Wow! This cartoon is an old type. You know why? The camera was the big box type with the camera man peeping on it with a black cloth covering his head and the camera. On one of his hand was the flash.

Hehehe , , , and the black cloth . . . oh, boy, the mom hippo painted it with hearts all over and sew a lace on its edges. She used it as a table cloth. Well now that all was set, they all went to shoot pictures of nature.

For the last shot, it was for the family and the old lady, with the flowery garden on the background. Perfect! But then, the flash was so bright that when the pictures were developed they looked like white statues.

Guess what? This last picture, it won the first price. It was on the newspaper. The whole family was so happy, except for father . . . why? Because, he knew there was a mistake in the picture. Well, his prize was a 10-year supply of the newspaper.

Then artists all over their country came to their place looking for the statues in the picture. There was a painting contest and they wanted to use them as subject. They were disappointed to find out that these statues didn’t exist. They painted nature instead.

The father hippo was encouraged to try to paint and join the contest. He got an easel, paint brushes, paint and canvass. He started painting. To his disappointment, he didn’t finish his painting. He threw the mixing plate to the drawing and it got stuck on it. He left his house to unwind.

His wife saw this and removed the mixing plate. The colors were spread on the drawing. She didn’t want the efforts of her husband to go to waste so she enlisted it to the contest . . . blessed hippo father, he won first place!

Moomin fetch him and the award was given to him. Again, his family was happy except for him. He gave away the prize. He thought he didn’t deserve it. The painting was a mistake. What a pity . . .

Sometimes we are like the father hippo . . . we perceive things differently. We are so focused with what we want to achieve that we do not appreciate the good things coming our way.

Gratefulness is overcome by sulkiness. Sad . . .

There are moments blessings come to us in disguise, like what happened to him . . . and as he did, we take them for granted. My goodness! He won first prize for the two consecutive contests. The so called mistakes? I wonder. Maybe they were God’s helping hand because if it weren’t for them, his entries would not be winning pieces. Possible, wasn’t it?

But the thing is, he wanted to rely on his own ability and not on Divine Providence. But this cost him a price . . . he never enjoyed the blessings brought by them. He never experienced the joy of a grateful heart, up to the end of the story, he never did.

Sounds familiar? Yap! We hear stories like these, know people like this . . . or sometimes, we, ourselves, are like this.

OOOOPS, STOP! Do you have any disguised blessings right now? Try to look closer, my friend. It’s not too late to be grateful, not too late to enjoy them . . . Don’t let each blessing just pass by in your life without you recognizing them and being thankful for them. Each will only pass once . . . Capture the moment. Enjoy them while you can.

A Grateful-Filled Day!

-luisadelacruz

MAKINIG . . . . MAKINIG . . . . (Listen . . . . Listen . . . .)

It was November 30, 2008, the second day of Kerygma Conference (KCon), an annual celebration of my community. Everybody was witnessing the glory of God as He showers His healing to His people. I was at the upper box level. A woman in black was walking below. What was written on her back caught my attention “MAKINIG” ("Listen"). I stared at it as she walked away until she joined the crowd and turned. The word, I couldn’t see anymore. Then I put it off my mind.

More than a week after, second week of December, I had to meet somebody in a church in Sta. Mesa, Manila. We attended the 7:00 a.m. Mass. There was a few church goers. Then in front, in a bright red t-shirt, stood a woman. Guess what was written in white at her back . . . . yap! It was the word “MAKINIG.”

This word never left my mind. On my way home, I remembered the instance in KCon. Based in my past experiences, I knew God was telling me something, but I didn’t know what. So I asked Him, “Dear God, what do I have to listen to?”

December 21, at the Feast, a weekly gathering of my community, the Scripture about Gideon from the Book of Judges, struck me. I was wondering then, if it was part of what I had to listen to. That afternoon, one of my bestfriends treat us in SM Megamall. We ate, watched a movie, then went to Starbucks. We were joyfully exchanging stories, when a guy on the other table caught my attention. He was wearing a bright black t-shirt. Guess what was written on it? Nope! It was not makinig. It was “LALO NA NGAYON” ("especially now"). This kept on echoing in my mind. From time to time I glanced at these words (well not at the guy ha, I didn’t even saw his face hehehe). I knew in my heart, it was part of what God was telling me. But what was it He was trying to say to me?

During that week, before December 25, I was in a public place. There was a guy wearing black again. He was going to ride a jeep. In a brief moment, I saw the words “STAND YOUR GROUND. STAND FIRM” at his back.

Okay so now I have: “Makinig” “Makinig” “Lalo na ngayon” “Stand your ground. Stand Firm.” But this is like a puzzle to me. It was not clear. There were still missing pieces. I asked God again, “Dear God, what are You trying to tell me?”

December 26, my whole family always went to Manila Memorial in Paranaque on this date. My mother and father are buried here. This day was my mother’s birthday. When we were on our way home, my niece, Lorraine, elbowed me and asked me to look at a billboard. It was a big one with a black background. The lettering was white and written on it? “FOLLOW ME – GOD” . . . . I looked at it until I couldn’t see it anymore. It left a mark on my mind.

December 28, I was spending that time with Lorraine and Raphael, my nephew, in my Ate Connie’s house in Taytay, Rizal. After going to Mass, we went to a vulcanizing shop to have their wheels checked up. As we sat there waiting, across the street was a small signboard “LIVING WITNESS . . . . church of . . . .” it caught my attention but didn’t mind it coz as soon as I saw it, a jeepney was parking almost below it with a very big lettering on its side “I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.” After reading this, I looked at the small signboard again “LIVING WITNESS” I looked at them back and forth. Then I said to myself, “Is this still part of Your message God?” . . . . I don’t know, but in my heart, somehow I sensed, it was.

December 30, something came up that I got so confused and troubled. I didn’t really know what to do. I felt like I was caught in the middle of two boulders, and I don’t know how to decide on things. Chhhiiinggg! Like a bolt of lightning, all the words that caught my attention crossed my mind. Then God made me understood what He was telling me. The puzzle was made whole.

There are times in our lives that we get caught in the middle of things that we do not understand. There are times, we are caught in the middle and we do not know what is the right thing to do. Sometimes we get confused. We have to be very careful in the decisions we have to make, especially when people and situations will be affected. There are times in our lives that things seem impossible. Things are overwhelming. We have fears and doubts and worries. There seems to be a hurricane or chaos around us. We became indecisive on things. We don’t know what step to take or even how to take them.

When this comes in my life, God is telling me . . . . MAKINIG . . . . MAKINIG . . . . I have to listen and listen and listen and listen, here and there, then discern and search where His voice is among all those voices . . . . LALO NA NGAYON . . . . especially in times that things are not so clear, that I am troubled. I had to find God’s voice, where there is peace deep, deep, deep within my heart, there is His voice. After I had made sure of what He is saying, after His confirmations . . . . . STAND YOUR GROUND. STAND FIRM . . . . I have to stand my ground and stand firm, even if others may judge me, even if I get hurt and wounded, even if others do not understand . . . . no matter what I face, I can’t be so shaken because . . . . FOLLOW ME - GOD . . . . I have to follow God. He knows everything, because . . . . ”I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE” . . . . ”LIVING WITNESS” . . . . He is the way, He knows what will happen, He is the Source of everything, He is the Source of all Wisdom, He alone knows what is best to be done. His will is perfect. He works for the good of all.

And like in Gideon story, in little that he had, God made wonders and gave victory . . . . all will be well. God will take care of everything.

God said be a living witness of His glory and His love. When a storm or a hurricane is around me, I stay at its eye, at the center, because in there, I sit on God’s lap like a little child. He is my Dear Dear Daddy and I am His precious little daughter. There I am safe. He embraces me. He showers me with love. He heals my wounds. I let go of everything because He will take care of them. I’m just me, His little child. He is my Daddy, my strength, my haven, my peace and joy, my love……He will make the storm disappear……all will be well, in the right places, in His perfect time.

When things get rough the most, this is when we have to get so connected with God. This is when we have to get glued to Him, when we have to pray deeply and have silent moments with Him because this is the only way we can discern well, to make our hearts in line with His heart, to make His desires our desires, to make us listen well to His voice . . . . and make the right decisions to take the path where He leads us.

How are you right now? Are you in the middle of a storm? Why not stay in its eye and

MAKINIG . . . . MAKINIG . . . . FOLLOW GOD . . . . HE IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE . . . . AND BE THE LIVING WITNESS OF THE GREATNESS OF HIS LOVE FOR ALL OF US . . . .


LET GO AND LET GOD!


“I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future I hold for you. Then you will come and pray to Me, and I will answer you. You will seek Me, and you will find Me because you will seek Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13


“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people……For Christ is the real Master you serve.” Colossians 3:23-24

-luisadelacruz