Mama Emma

Just a few minutes ago I got a call from my cousin, Karen from San Francisco. She had informed me that my only remaining aunt from my Father side has just passed away. She was 94 years old. The last time I saw her was during the summer when I returned to the Philippines, I made it a point for me and my girls to visit her. Surprisingly she still recognized me when I walked inside her room. She spoke in spanish and sometimes in english and then switched to the vernacular. But it was such a joy to see her again, I remember how appreciative she looked when I gave her the present which she has asked me to bring to her from the States when she found out that I was returning to the Philippines...It was a doll...and her eyes lit up as I handed it over to her.

Mama Emma (as we fondly call her) lived a wonderful life of 94 years, we engaged ourselves every now and then in a discussion on religion and faith and she had such profound ideas on how religion should be defined. She was a wonderful lady, aunt, grandmother, daughter, sister and businesswoman. She loved living in the farm and taking care of her plants. She was full of life and proud to be part of our clan. Now she is gone...I believe she is now enjoying in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and has finally found her rest.

Would you please join me in praying for the Lord to comfort my family at this time of grief. Please pray for my Father (Mama Emma was the only living sibling that he had left) he is going through a hard time dealing with the thought of loosing his sister (he is two years older than her) let alone finding out about her passing. He has been feeling depressed these past few days...He still has not found out about the death of his sister and my family is looking for a way on how to break the news to him.

In a span of a year and a half since I moved to the United States, I lost four very important people in my life. My Father In Law (Vic), My Best Friend (Omie), My Uncle (Paul) and now my Aunt (Emma). May God continue to give me the strength as I deal with this difficulty.

EMMA VILLACIN CORUNA
1914-2008

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Meet Me At The Pole

Several week ago while dropping off my daughter to school I noticed a group of young kids gathering together around the school's flagpole. I asked my daughter what it was all about and she immediately jolted from her car seat and said that she was supposed to wake up early to join these kids coz' they were there, she said to gather around the pole to pray for the nation. I told her that she can still go and join them...it's not too late.

Seeing those young people meet at the flagpole area early in the morning and at the risk of ridicule from some of their peers and persecutions from other groups within their school gives me so much hope for this nation. I firmly believe that God honors those who seek Him, I learned later on that day that there were other meetings of the same nature being done in different parts of the country. Hope...Hope is what we should all hang on to...Hope for the nation...Hope for the world...Hope for the lost...Hope in the Lord.

Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? So the Lord said "If I find in Sodom fiflty righteous witin the city then I will spare all the place for their sakes."

Genesis 18:24-26

Bailout

These past days all we hear in the news is whether or not the bailout/rescue plan for our economy will be approved in congress. The week started with the Dow Jones dropping big time as congress decided not to pass the bill for the bailout plan. It's the economy stupid! As they all say. But a little reminder for the children of God... His economy is different from this world's economy.


I have been young and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor His descendants begging bread.

Psalm 37:25

Waiting

This is a picture of surfers waiting for a wave they hope to ride. I took this shot on a cool Sunday afternoon in San Diego's Mission Beach. Sometimes it becomes really frustrating...waiting, I mean. But boy, when it comes....

But those who WAIT on the Lord, Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Curve Road

I was driving the other day down a curve road and I happen to take a glance at something that attracted my attention. As soon as I redirected my attention back to the road I realized that I was off my lane and almost hit the gutter that could have spun my car into oblivion. Driving on a curve road reminds me of our daily walk with the Lord, there will always be elements within the heavenly realm that would seek to divert our attention from our pursuit of following God's statutes. It can come in different forms that can attract our attention much like the forbidden fruit was to both Adam and Eve. Internet Porn, a very pretty/handsome colleague that leads you to what you may think to be an innocent flirtation, cable television shows that has a lot of sexual content and then some. Next thing you know your just far too deep into it that once you try to redirect your attention back to God you would have already hit the gutter so hard and you would have spun and thrown you into a triple turn into nowhere. Temptation is real and should never be underestimated. The safe route to take is to remain focused on the Lord and remain immersed in His word.

So if you think you are standing firm, be grateful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

1Corinthians 10:12-13

Gustav

Everyone was anticipating a category 4 hurricane yesterday. It was all over the news, people evacuating to different states from Lousiana where it was expected to make landfall early Monday morning. Gustav made landfall but did not incur the kind of damage that it was expected to. God is sovereign... we will have our own expectations of what category the storms in our lives will be, sometimes what may be a category 4 for us is nothing but a speck of dust for God. Often times we dodge these expected hurricanes because of God's favor and our faith in Him. All it takes is faith as small as a mustard seed and it begins by believing.

The desciples went and woke him, saying "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith? He asked His disciples."

Luke 8:24-25

Phillip

Phillip was my former Production Director when I began working as a part time Radio Talk Show Host in the Philippines. Back in the day Phillip was a party animal and a heathen in the true sense of the word. When he temporarily left the Radio Industry I lost touch with him for a good year or two. Lo and Behold one lazy weekday afternoon I bumped into him in one of the malls within Bacolod City (where I used to live). He asked me if I was still active in church but before I could answer his question I had to ask him first why he was asking that question (am I sounding too redundant?). Anyways, his reply to me was that he felt that it was time for him to renew himself spiritually. Long story short, I invited him to attend our Monday Night Men's Bible Study which we used to call MOVI (short for Men Of Vision) which we later changed into MEMO (short for Men In Motion). He did show up, committed his life to Jesus and in a course of a few months he helped me and other brothers in the Lord in running a Sunday Evening Christian Radio Talkshow which went on air in one of the top commercial radio stations in our city. A few more months after he spoke to me of his decision to be baptized...a few years later (present time) he is now the Assistant Pastor of Horizon Christian Fellowship, Philippines. He is unstopable and relentless in his pursuit to declare the gospel message to every corner of Bacolod City and the rest of the province. Whether in a Radio Station or in Church, this humble man of God is truly a committed soldier of Jesus Christ. However, in the midst of his success in the ministry he has been striken by a physical illness called APAS (don't even ask me what it is short for ... just google it!). This illness has caused blood clots and almost cost him his life when he suffered from a heart attack triggered by this kind of disease that also attacks the immune system through the blood stream. He has never given up the fight on the contrary in spite of his physical ailment he remains excited to daily testify of the goodness of Jesus in his life. Say a prayer if you will for my very good friend and brother in Christ...Phillip.

So then death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. It is written; "I believe therefore I have spoken." With that same Sprit of faith we also believe and therefore speak.

2 Corinthian 4:12-13