Kristine & Leon

Isusulat ko na ito sa Filipino dahil hindi ko na alam ano ba dapat kong maramdaman. Dapat ba akong matawa, malungkot, o kabahan sa mga bagong kaganapan ng bagyong Kristine na matinding pinsala na ang iniwan sa Bicol at ngayon ay hinahabol ni Leon na panibagong bagyo na inaasahang papasok ng Pinas ngayong Linggo. Dahil kay Leon ay mahahatak nya si Kristine at babalik ito sa Pilipinas. Magsasanib pwersa ba sila?

Hindi ko alam kung mga bagyo pa ba ito o love story na ba ang nasasaksihan natin. Marami na akong memes na nakita sa Fb na ginawan nila ito ng joke. Na si Kristine daw ay nagtampo kaya naghasik ng lagim sa Bicol bago umalis. Ngayon, hinabol sya ni Leon at mukhang sinuyo kaya babalik sya ng Pinas para magkasama silang dalawa.

Paparusahan mo ba kami ulit, Kristine? Ano ba kasi naging kasalanan ni Leon saiyo? Pwede ba huwag na kayo sa Bicol mag-LQ at doon na lang sa malayo? Mag-cruise ship na lang kayo dyan sa dagat, please? Doon na lang sana nyo ayusin ang inyong ‘di pagkakaunawaan.

Alam naming mahal na mahal nyo ang isa’t isa at hindi nyo kayang mawalay sa isa’t isa. Pero sana magmahalan kayo ng walang ibang masasaktan? Kalmahan nyo sana pareho. Malulusaw din ang mga poot sa puso nyo at papalitan ng umaalab na mga pusong punong-puno ng pagmamahalan sa bawat isa.

Ay shucks, baka ang Bulkang Mayon naman pumutok nito sa umaalab ninyong mga damdamin. Huwag naman sana, please. Hays, basta. Doon muna kayo sa dagat mag-ikot ikot o mag-nature tripping kayo sa mga walang katao-tao, at nang makapagnilay-nilay sa inyong mga nararamdaman sa isa’t isa.

Nagmamahal,

Ang Tunay Na Christine

P.S. Maghanda na po tayo ulit sa posibleng pagsanib pwersa ng dalawang bagyong ito sa susunod na linggo. Manalangin tayo, maghanda, at manalig sa Dios na hindi Nya tayo pababayaan hangga’t ginawa natin ano ang mga dapat nating gawin. Sa mga bagay na hindi na natin kontrolado, ipaubaya na natin ito sa Panginoon. 🙏

P.P.S. Nararamdaman ko ang pagdadalamhati ni Kristine. Pakiramdam ko hindi ito galit na nararamdaman nya kundi pagluluksa at pighati. Kaya bumaha ng luha. Parang ako lang din – nawalan ng Nanay noong nakaraang taon, nawalan ng employment opportunity dahil kay Kristine, nawalay sa asawa dahil nagtrabaho sa ibang bansa, at nasalanta ang mga ari-arian dahil sa bagyo.

Pero may isa pang tao na mas kahalintulad ko ang pinagdaanan. Ito ay si Job sa Bibliya. At mas malala pinagdaanan nya. At kagaya ni Job, hindi ko kailanman tatalikuran ang Dios gaano pa kahirap ng sitwasyon na aking pagdaanan. Pero kagaya din ni Job tatanggapin at haharapin ko itong mga pagsubok kung ito ang sukatan ng pananampalataya ko sa Panginoon. 🙏





Psalm 46:1-2
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Psalm 91:2
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Isaiah 43:2
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

Nahum 1:7
“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.”

John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Nehemiah 8:10b
“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Psalm 32:7-8
“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”

Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

2 Thessalonians 3:16
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”

Source: Care Magazine


God Is With Us

Do You Have A War Room?

For I certainly need one. 🙂

First, my apologies. I promised to write this after the “tugging” article and yet another article came before this and another one more.

God’s plan – additional relevant info came in along with the recent events which will be discussed at the latter part of this article.

So I thought it better there’d be a “war room”  in churches. If Muslims have a mosque, Catholics have a confessional, I believe born-again Christians should also have a “war room.”  We are all united by one God and we all serve one God. If I am not mistaken, we have been called as “The Prayer Nation” too.

This “war room”  will offer 3 options to believers whichever they are most inclined to do:

1. Pray in the war room alone if a quiet, personal time with God is needed and yet a war room is not available at home, at work or in school during the midweek.
2. Beside a war room there is a prayer box in case they felt the need for more members of the spiritual family to pray for them and yet do not have the courage to meet them personally.
3. Beside the prayer box is an instruction what to do and who to contact when a dire need is there to talk to a spiritual leader regarding a very urgent and pressing concern i.e. life and death, demonic possessions, safety, hopeless cases, etc.

I have envisioned “war rooms” placed in every city which would be similar to the garden that Jesus went to before the crucial moments of His arrest. I thought it better that every church in every city would build what I call a “A Place of Serenity” where it’ll give peace and solitude to those who desperately seek it.

I got this idea from Sagada in the Mountain Province in the northern part of the Philippines wherein it is flocked by visitors who needed to break away from their busy lives and busy environments and I personally call it as “The Prayer Mountains”  based from the experiences of friends who’ve had their “enlightenment”  there.

Unfortunately, it is a 6-hour drive from the metro – something that not everyone have the privilege to do on a regular basis. I thought why not create something like it within the metro but as compared to Jesus’ garden and Sagada, this place of serenity within the metro will be built adjusted accordingly to the demands of the city lifestyle – crowded, busy and noisy.

It could be a small parcel of land, turned into a garden i.e. landscaped and surrounded by trees and at the center will be a building or any structure that holds cubicles built in the same way as recording studios (sound proof) with nothing else inside it but a chair, a table, a pen, a paper and a bible.

Why these 5 things only?

First, God will give His instructions as prompted by the Spirit through the Holy Scripture. Second, a chair and a table are another option if one does not want to kneel while praying, there is a physical disability or an elderly. Lastly, a pen and a paper will be needed for documentation if one needs to write a specific bible verse that the Spirit has prompted or if there is a need to write down his/her prayer requests so more members of the spiritual family can pray over them. This can be dropped in a prayer box which I have mentioned in item 2 above.

This idea of a “war room”  came after watching none other than one of the best Christian films I have watched so far which is War Room: Prayer Is A Powerful Weapon.  It is also because I am in need of one being situated beside a very busy street and neighborhood wherein you hear all sort of sounds and noise any time of the day and night. Our living quarters too come in the form of a small apartment wherein there is use for every nook of the place that does not elicit solitude. So I wondered where would I go if I wanted to seek for serenity within the metro so I could hear God’s instructions clearly.

After our volunteer work at the home for the aged, one of the outreach coordinators asked us who would be willing to volunteer as intercessors to that “special ward”  which I referred in the article. Three of us volunteered and they are my church mates, my sisters in Christ and my former bible study group mates. I just thought I’d totally appreciate finding a place that I can call a “war room”  as being an intercessor would mean I need to have a more quiet and personal time with God so I could present all these prayer requests, be more in tune with the Spirit and discern His instructions – I have so many to pray for in every area of my life and in everything and everyone around me.

In case you haven’t watched the movie War Room: Prayer Is A Powerful Weapon yet, I highly encourage you to watch it for it’s message is just so powerful, it is so real and yet tells so much of the Truth. 🙂

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” – Matthew 26:39 (The Prayer in the Garden, Jesus Prays in Gethsemane)

“But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:6 (The Lord’s Prayer)

In case you have been called by the Spirit to intercede for someone or something, this article might help in preparing for the work:

http://www1.cbn.com/questions/what-is-intercessory-prayer

“Lord, we need an army of believers. Lord, call us to battle. Raise them up, Lord. Raise them up.”