HEARTS PRAY BETTER

Prayer is not just a word but the only common language known and shared the world over. It is spoken in all the different languages by a vast multitude and diversity of race, culture, and creed. Oh but we all know that, don't we?!

But this one thing I do know....... prayer is the only 6-letter word around with heart permanently attached to it. Not always visible to the eye but a poor man living on the streets or the president of a country or a little kid of 5 or a life-weary old man of 80 or a person praying for a loved one -- they all have their hearts tied up in their prayers. So many things to pray about -- life, death, healing, success, provision, protection, guidance, relationships, ambitions, dreams, goals -- everything contained in our life struggles is reason for a prayer. For self or for others. Even in our mundane pettiness and whimsical desires. Oh yes, ever heard how kids pray? And maybe in some adults too.

No lengthy phrases and offerings need be said nor sacrifices be presented although it will not harm to do so too. Prayer is as according to one's faith and belief. But prayer need not be much of a burden for anyone to do. A whisper or a silent tear can be a prayer too. All that is needed or ever could be needed is already there in the heart. Pray with it.

Though the different ways of praying, still only the heart knows how best to pray. Only the heart can send off a plea carried by throngs of angels straight to the Holy Throne. Only an earnest heartfelt pleading is heard loud and clear reverberating in the sacred halls of God's kingdom. And only in the heart is where you are authentically genuinely you in prayer.

"When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart." --- John Bunyan

"I have come to know that God can smooth my path, calm the storms, keep me and all I care about safe, and even make my way simple when I ask Him to carry the complexities of life for me. But these things don’t just happen. Not without prayer." --- Stormie Omartian, author of The Power Of A Praying Woman

THE GREEN GRASS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE HAS ITS OWN WEEDS TO FIGHT

I remember one lunch I had some months back with my best friends. 'Twas the usual monthly get-together lunch we usually have for our group. Conversation would flow easily on any random subject brought in by anyone. This was one such thought brought to the table.....

"Was there a time when you wished that you had the life of your next door neighbor who seems all well-placed in all the areas of her life... work, family, success, career, prosperity??"

That question drew a momentary blank stare from us all. I guess that frozen moment disclosed and simply confirmed that yes we did. Yes, we all do at some point or another in our lives. Who doesn't?! Whether we do it in our dreams or every time she-the-neighbor-in-her-smart-business suit passes by our window driving her car to work.

Human nature. We haven't really learned not to long for the greener pastures outside our fence despite our mother's warnings. To the average woman then and now (or for any person for that matter male or female), it always looks more enticing, attractive, challenging, promising, fulfilling ... than our shaggy apron, pots and pans, milk bottles, children in public schools, and a husband toiling bravely on a minimum wage pay.

Then Cynthia spoke up --- 'Well, 'think she's happy? Meaning really happy.'

Glenda followed it up with ---- 'We'll never know. But I know that she ain't any different from the rest of us with our dozens of issues in the home, marriage, in-laws, husbands and raising our children. Including that of our personal demons we have battled almost all of our lives and still do with a few left over.'

To that Myrtle replied ---- 'Oho then she IS human too??! By golly, let's drink to that!!' and raised her Sprite in can with two straws in it. She always takes two straws with her soft drinks!

The grass may look greener on the other side of the fence... but it too has to battle the weeds that also makes its home on the same turf.
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Have a good Friday, folks! :-)

WHO ARE WE WITH OUR ATTITUDE

-- So what's on my mind today?

It is this.... on the subject of attitude

"Our attitude toward the world around us depends upon what we are ourselves. If we are selfish, we will be suspicious of others. If we are of a generous nature, we will be likely to be more trustful. If we are quite honest with ourselves, , we won't always be anticipating deceit in others. If we are inclined to be fair, we won't feel that we are being cheated. In a sense, looking at the people around you is like looking in a mirror. You see a reflection of yourself." ----- Lifted from the book Maybe It's Time To Laugh Again -- by Charles R. Swindoll

Grandma would always caution her grandchildren, that's me and a dozen others, to take care of our attitudes. The world is how you see it and how you see it is dictated by your attitude. Whenever there was a misstep from any one of us, that would incur her special look. A look which all of us hoped and prayed wouldn't be directed at us, singly or collectively. She got us straightened out alright, a good support to the training we already had in the home.

But soon enough children grow up to be adults and the world has its ways with them. Attitudes take on a different color, become diluted or dissolved, change skin and tone, get replaced, or erased (now that's a sorry state). Sometimes sadly one discovers that what was once .. isn't anymore. Attitudes change, so I've been told.

Maybe, maybe not. I can't speak for others but only for myself. I still am that kid who stood before grandma listening to her lectures and ofttimes getting her special look. I see the world and understand that there is both good and bad in it. I understand too that other people will reflect both the good and the bad in me. And vice versa. It's true, the mirror works both ways. But if perfection is your goal, that can only be seen at the end of our earthly journey. I think God isn't finished with anyone of us yet.

But I have the choice to choose what to believe or trust or cherish. And try as hard to be what I believe. And if the world would speak up and tell me that isn't right. I won't believe it. I only have to remember grandma who knew better. Thanks, grandma.!
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It's a rainy Thursday today but blessings still abound in it, maybe just a little bit soaked and wet. :-) God bless you all!

LOVE FROM UNEXPECTED PLACES

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My thoughts on this fine sunny morning are on the beauty of friendship and of finding love in unexpected places. Here's something I found in my inbox that pretty well illustrates it magnificently.

To quote:
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The Law Of The Wild says kill only when you are hungry

Photographer Michel Denis-Huot, who captured these amazing pictures on safari in Kenya 's Masai Mara in October last year, said he was astounded by what he saw:

"These three brothers (cheetahs) have been living together since they left their mother at about 18 months old,' he said. 'On the morning we saw them, they seemed not to be hungry, walking quickly but stopping sometimes to play together. 'At one point, they met a group of impala who ran away.. But one youngster was not quick enough and .... The brothers caught it easily'."

But something else happened....
This was caught on camera.

And then they just walked away without hurting him...

Message: Life is short... Forgive quickly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably...and never regret anything that made you smile.

Unquote.
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Imagine finding love and friendship in unexpected places from humans, with humans?

We're so quick to defend our turf when we feel threatened. But we don't first stop to think that perhaps the other person is just as scared as you feeling the same threat to his life too. Blessed is he who first sees with his heart.... and then responds accordingly with his mind. They say that heroes do it. But ..... isn't it that there's a hero inside us just waiting to be called forth? Everyday holds opportunities to be heroes; we just don't look hard enough. Sometimes it's right here with our families in our own homes. Are you seeing it?
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Blessings to you and your day.

WE SUFFER PRIMARILY FROM OUR ILLUSIONS

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Quotes do better with things we would like to say ourselves. But looking hard at it you will see that it is written or comes from the thoughts of men and women just like you and me. Good quotes travel through the years, some add to it or remove from it ... it takes on a different flavor in different hands which try to inject some freshness into it. But the basic thought behind it is always the same. So it's like saying old things in new ways and differently. But I much prefer to seek out its authenticity and origin adding nor removing nothing from it. An original quote is a treasure. And equally so is its author. Remember when you bring in a quote, to quote his or her name too. Giving credit where its due increases its worth... and you.

I like quotes because it provides the missing word or thought I could be struggling with as I do my writing. Here's one quote I'd like to share with you, sent to me by a good friend.

--- "We suffer primarily not from our vices or our weaknesses, but from our illusions. We are haunted, not by reality, but by those images we have put in their place." --- (Daniel Boorstin)
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Illusions... oh but we have plenty -- of ourselves, of others, of our world. Sometimes we gauge our actual lives or decisions off it. Sometimes it defines in some measure our expectations, beliefs, hopes, and dreams. Sometimes it stunts us, makes us lose our way, makes us believe that we're getting somewhere but really are not. Illusions.

A RAINY DAY CAN'T BE SO BAD

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If I were to say something about this kind of weather we're having now, I'd say that it sucks. Big time! because I love weekends...... and sometimes I plan my weekends way ahead of time. The big plans with families and the small ones with myself.

But these unpredictable rains are just keeping me so grounded. Even if I do manage to raise some bravado to go out there.... it's not going to be pretty or fun. One has to contend with monster traffic snarls, pot holes especially around here in the long stretch of Marcos Highway now undergoing a huge makeover, wet shoes and feet, people scurrying to and fro trying to escape the heavy downpour, and the sudden scarcity of taxis just when you needed one.

We planned to see the movie 'Kung Fu Panda 2' but considering the 'panda'-monium that these rains bring... we've decided to stay home. Maybe next time...

But there still is something about a rainy day I must still say.

Whatever arguments other people may have as to its negative impact on ordinary and not so ordinary lives, I still think it's got something we can or should be thankful for. Mom would say that sometimes you just have to wrest your eyes and mind and even heart away from the unpleasant things of the day or life. You got to put your effort where you can rise above it or soar up way above the gray clouds hovering above you. Simply put... when your feet gets wet you have to go somewhere where you can dry it! When your heart is burdened with the irritations of the day, you go find something to bring the smile back to it. And she further adds, you surely will find it if you try hard enough.

That's where I am at right now. In the stillness and quiet of a rainy day I find my thoughts and it runs over meadows hills and valleys of wonder and awe at the beauty of things and life even on a rainy day such as this. Peace prevails, within and without.

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Take care, folks. Don't forget your umbrellas.

(Above photo courtesy of youngest daughter, Malen.)

I'M SHOOTING BULLETS!

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Today I'm on a shooting rampage!

Yeah! Fact is, have been doing it for quite a time now, long before and continuously. And the police -- oh they have no idea who-what-when-where-why. Although I wish that they knew why.

I'm invisible .... and everybody is my target... on the street where I live, out there on the main roads, inside jeepneys, at the mall, at clinics, at the supermarket. Even from here where I stand at my window looking out to my neighborhood street. Because you know why, everybody deserves to be shot with my bullet.

When I see a cripple walking down the street on his poor man's crutches, I shoot him. When I see a family crying at hospital corridors, I shoot them... all of them. When I see an ambulance rushing with sirens blaring, I shoot out a trail of bullets hitting everything animate or inanimate inside and out. When I see a fire truck screaming down the road, I point the bullets in that direction sparing no one and nothing. Recently when I saw this fat lady who, on seeing her husband gaze at sexy young women with a naughty eye, deliberately turned her face away as sadness shadowed her chubby face, I shot her... with two bullets. Of course I shot the husband too, he deserved one. When I saw this old wrinkled man reduced to a mere wisp of a body sitting forlornly in his wheelchair while his family chat nearby oblivious to his presence, I shot him two -- three times. And I shot his family too with a dozen more.

So there you see... if that isn't a shooting rampage, what is??!!! :-)

Bullets? I've got plenty. But if ever I do run out of stock... my BOSS up there sends immediate replenishment. Because you see..... GOD approves of my shooting BULLET PRAYERS!

Bullet prayers give life. It builds up and not destroys. Nothing can stop this bullet, not even the devil.

You want to join the Team? God's hiring. And you can start RIGHT NOW!
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OF PENCILS AND ERASERS - OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN

So what's on my mind today? ........

OF PENCILS AND ERASERS -- OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN

I'm quoting this nice story (author unknown)...

PENCIL: I'm sorry

ERASER: For what? You didn't do anything wrong.

PENCIL: I'm sorry because you get hurt because of me. Whenever I made a mistake, you're always there to erase it. But as you make my mistakes vanish, you lose a part of yourself. You get smaller and smaller each time.

ERASER: That's true. But I don't really mind. You see, I was made to do this. I was made to help you whenever you do something wrong. Even though one day, I know I'll be gone and you'll replace me with a new one, I'm actually happy with my job. So please, stop worrying. I hate seeing you sad.
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The author further writes.....

I found this conversation between the pencil and the eraser very inspirational. Parents are like the eraser whereas their children are the pencil. They're always there for their children, cleaning up their mistakes. Sometimes along the way, they get hurt, and become smaller / older, and eventually pass on. Though their children will eventually find someone new (spouse), but parents are still happy with what they do for their children, and will always hate seeing their precious ones worrying, or sad.

All my life, I've been the pencil. And it pains me to see the eraser that is my parents getting smaller and smaller each day. For I know that one day, all that I'm left with would be eraser shavings and memories of what I used to have.

Unquote.
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I guess this says it all. Nothing more can be said about that. You know, make everyday your Mother's or Father's Day. You don't need a calendar for that.

WHEN BIG IS SMALL

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WHEN BIG IS SMALL

That's what's on my mind this morning. Let me tell you a story.. a short one.

Nene, not her real name, came to my house late one night. She didn't come in but stayed at the gate, so I came out to meet her. Saw her in tears, so I asked what's wrong. She said, in tagalog, that she needed help for her very sick child who needed to be brought to the hospital that night. She has already knocked at friends' doors for that help in the effort of trying to raise the necessary fund. And she thought of me too. My mind was racing through the contents of my purse trying to count what was left there. It was not a good time to be generous as I was not prepared for it. But I went back into the house and shook my purse, shook it harder hoping that it would cough up magically some more. No luck. So I ran back to the gate with what I had and gave it to her explaining my situation. When she saw it she cried even more and thanked me profusely saying that it was going to be a big help to her plight. To make a long story short, she came back to me a few days after to thank me for that. Such a sweet gesture from a sweet person I must say. Her grateful thanks was unexpected. You don't get something like that everyday.

Anyway, The whole point of the story is ---- in helping others small is big! You don't have to withhold help because you think or feel that you don't have enough or that you could give bigger at a better time. You don't have to wait for better circumstances for you to be able to help. Whatever there is that you can --- just give. Because you will never know if that 'small' is just what is needed to complete a 'big'. A few hundred pesos may be the missing link to raise the thousand aimed for. Or that you may have been the last person on that exhaustive list ... because there are only a few of you who the suffering one could think of as friends. Where would she go next.. if you withheld the giving?? Would there be anyone else to approach? What would have happened if she wasn't able to gather help to her desperate need?

In that moment of another person's need, This is what happens..... you are given the opportunity to make God shine through. You have the opportunity to serve as God's conduit or channel of blessing to a burdened soul. That moment is not all about you; no it is not. That moment is all about God reaching out to a burdened soul. God is using you to minister to his children. Be a willing channel of God's grace and blessing to another.

Give with whatever you can, with what you have. Serve in whatever capacity God wants you to serve. How do you know it's what He wants you to do? Simple, listen to your heart. It's all there if you pay close attention. And get your ego out of the way.
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Be blessed and stay blessed.

THE REAL TEST OF COURAGE ARE MUCH QUIETER

What's on my mind today? ---- These lines from Charles Swindoll .....

"Courage is not limited top the battle field or the indianapolis500 or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are inner tests, like remaining faithful when no one's looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you're misunderstood." --------

Deeply moved by it I penned these few lines and dedicate this to my best friend. She's a strong lady .......

'The real test of courage are much quieter' ... is so true.
It is those times when you suffer quietly as a dagger or daggers pierce through your heart.
It is those times when you sit alone in an empty room wondering if you can still make it another day.
It is those times when you wet your pillow many nights flooding it with tears.
It is those times when you ask yourself - 'Is there a God?'. And hope that He hears.
There is no fanfare to herald your display of courage or strength. No fireworks or band playing.
It's just you and your shadow trying to put together the shattered pieces of your dream.
As your soul gets down on its knees praying ........... still praying.
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