Ahuv Sheli

  *Listen to my blogpost* Voice Recorder >> ------- My heart's not for two What makes me look at you? I tried the other way... but my decisions I keep at bay... "Lord make me pure... ~ St. Augustine, Confessions Book Eight ...but not yet." Have you ever found yourself going back to zero when you're just two steps away from the finish line? It happens in Snakes and Ladders... Just when I thought the game will be over soon, I cascade back and have to run the path again... and life.. . One day, the Lord leads me to taste heavenly joys and delights. I feel high! I see everything through rose-colored glasses. And then the next day, I slip back into my old self and I shrivel like a wilted flower in God's garden. I lose the spiritual fruits I have gathered. My soul is disturbed. I have tried running away  ~ I thought, 'could it be what I read? see? hear? taste and smell? touch?' ~ But the more I flee, the mor...

I just wrapped up my classes with my Satur-dates when my dad asked if I was alright. I confessed that I wasn’t (my head felt very heavy and my knee joints were aching) and would be heading back to bed before dinnertime. My mom came to me and whispered, “You’re wasting time with those kids…” I looked at her intently and shook my head… ---- I remember when I was younger, we didn’t have Vision Boards nor blogs, although our teachers would tell us to write what we would like to be five or ten years from now. We didn’t have Catechism class, neither was I very active in our parish. My mom enrolled us all in Catholic schools. Our grandmother would tell us Biblical stories ~ what I remember best was Samson & Delilah and David & Goliath ~ and sometimes, we’d embroil the stories with giants and dwarves and fairies. I could say that most of what I learned about God, I heard from my sister and saw on tv. I vividly recall the ‘ Superbook ’ and ‘ The Flying House ’ serie...

~ linked to Duane Scott 's Unwrapping God's promises ~ My guardian angel... I remember I met her when she was already two years old. I was so excited to see her after living in North Africa for sometime. I came back for good when she was four. She literally stayed with me when I was sick for several months... She was only six when she led me to teach catechism to her playmates two years ago. It eventually became a dream come true in our street last year. I do believe God speaks to us through the little ones. ----- Last week's rain gave us 'bonding time'. Classes were suspended for a week, so we took out our board games from The Catholic Toolbox  (click to view) Bible Reviews   (click to view) Since she lives with me, she gets to play the games first. We used Bible Reviews for the younger children in our Catechism class and for the older ones, the Sacraments (in preparation for those who will be receiving their Fir...

~ linked to Duane Scott 's  in everything give thanks   ~ It was raining when I went to celebrate Mass one Sunday afternoon. Water rose to knee high level after an hour of harsh rain, and even if the Church was just a walking distance to our house, I knew I would not be able to pass through. As I was looking for another way, a young woman came to me and told me that she lived in our street and she saw me earlier walking to the Church. We crossed the foot bridge together and asked a tricycle driver if he could take us to Banawe. All of the drivers refused. I began to panic and prayed Oh God,   I couldn't contact my parents (I was thinking perhaps my dad could fetch us but that would be next to impossible)  and I didn't have money for transportation. See us through. The young lady, as if reading my thoughts, readily lent me her cell phone and paid for me when a jeepney agreed to take us to our street. She even walked me to our house. I looked for her after...

Just a couple of months ago, my colleague confided that she adopted a family (a mother and three kids) in her home. The mother was a victim of domestic violence for many years but she sought for help when her husband started sexually abusing the children. It was a difficult decision on my colleague's part but she welcomed the family and extended help by supporting her to raise funds so that they could go home to the province where my sister's colleague awaited them. What was striking in the story was the entire process ... My colleague disclosed that had she left the mother alone, it would've taken her forever to get her papers and solicit money because the mother knew nobody and had no means to contact the ' right '  persons... and this, is not an isolated case. On Poverty and Ignorance My father and I once had a discussion on poverty while watching the news. He asked me, if people had money would they still steal ?  Here's a better quest...

I've been raring to share this post the past couple of weeks...those weekends we weren't at home... While others would've culled to stay cozy inside their houses because of heavy rain, my mom won over her desire to go over to my brother's place two Saturdays ago... We were stuck on the road for five hours together with the kids... They didn't seem to mind the time. They kept on playing, eating, laughing (and sleeping)  all the way while we, the 'big' ones, riled over the traffic. What could ever move one to go out of that enclosed shell ? Out on the road to a far away place? Inertia ... ------- It's pretty amazing how external forces could push one to do  extra- ordinary things...  earthquakes, floods (natural calamities), sickness, accidents, death... reunions, celebrations, love... To go out and seek for answers... when God calls  only to find ourselves being redirected back to t...