Bahay Kubo VS Bahay na Bato

A husband & wife who lives on the other street at the back of our compound, rented an up and down apartment, works hard until they were able to built a mansion, still beside our lot but this time facing the main road one lot away beside our house. Their new house catches all the attention of passersby exclaiming: "They should have constructed that kind of house in the likes of Forbes Park or Corinthian Garden, it is not suited to our community" since most of the residents in our neigborhood are either low-income or middle income group. Sometimes when officemates wish to drop by our house, I usually comment: "Pag nakakita ka ng mansion sa street namin, ... yung nasa gilid nu'n malapit ung bahay namin!. Later, a few months after occupying their new home, the husband volunteered to form and to lead an association where we meet weekly to plan and discuss ideas and suggestions for the development of our community . During one of our session, his wife told us that when they were just renting an apartment and they happened to have an argument, she said that no matter how she nags at him and tells him: "I don't want to see your face anymore!", she had no choice because she still sees his face everywhere at the corners of the house because it was just a 4x4 meter apartment. but when their dream house was built and they have a fight and she shouts at him the same line - when her anger subsides later and she tried to search for his husband in their master's bedroom, library, music room and all the other parts of the house - she really has difficulty of tracking him. This reminds me of a Filipino sayings about house or home although not directly related to the story: "Mabuti pa ang tumira sa isang bahay kubo, kung and nakatira ay tao, kaysa sa bahay na bato, kung ang nakatira naman ay kuwago".

The Pastor Who Made Me Cry

Here's a short message greeting for my Pastor's birthday: When you were still a kid, you made me cry because of your mischievousness, tantrums and immaturity - until now you still always make me cry whenever you deliver/preach God's message that truly touched my heart, awakens my soul and rebuked me to the bones. Praise Him!!! What a transformation! from a semi-spoiled brat kid to a man of God, whose life now is still not perfect but who always humbles himself whenever the Lord is teaching him something. My handsome cousin- a pastor, who studied in prestigious schools and took up Conservatory of Music from University of Sto. Tomas, raised from a materially blessed family, who can choose to enjoy life in his younger years and pursue what he wants for his life and just mind his own business - heeded God's call, to choose His path, transferred to a Bible School to serve as a full-time minister of God's Word. His is a life whose testimony as a believer was not extra-ordinary, does not have much impact, no heart-breaking transformation story - but the grace of God is very evident in his life. It dawned on me that it is not our colorful pasts that count most in our testimony as a believer, but what God has done and is still doing in our lives, how he uses us, all unworthy beings - in His vineyard to share the good news of His salvation for the lost world. He is no other than

A Question Mark on a Face???

When I was in high school, my male teacher in a certain subject commented on my report card: "She always has a question mark on her face which shows that she craves for more wisdom. When I first read this, I feel elated that it is how my teacher perceived my facial expressions. True enough, I can affirm that when I was a student, I used to listen attentively to all that was being discussed by my teachers. I am an avid fan especially of my elementary and high school teachers, I think of them as an"all knowing" human being whose every word proves true or correct and so I treat them as my "role models". As I went through later years of my high school and during my college days, I began to realize that teachers are not perfect and they do not know everything under the sun. I started experiencing I may say, a few frustrations with some of them and I was truly disappointed because I used to put them on a pedestal during my younger years. Today, I still show love and concern to all the teachers of my children as their parent next to us and I am more understanding and lenient of their misgivings and I give high regard for them. During my middle years in college, I met the best teacher of all times - whose stories, teachings and lessons touched hearts, transformed lives and made a great difference in thousands of souls not only during his three-year teaching career but until now - His life, His ministry and His passion, He reveals to those who would humbly trust Him, and by faith, acknowledge Hims as Lord and Savior - He is no other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose very words are life and whose legacy as the greatest teacher of all lives on. I know I don't deserve to be His student but His death on the cross for me - erased all my mistakes, shreded all my failed test papers and issued me a 100% grade in all my subjects on my permanent card. Everyday, I hunger for His words, I long for His teachings and I always crave for His wisdom, He is the teacher who will never fail us because He passed from death to life!!! Glory!!! Halleluiah!!!