WORRY CHAMP

Register for the worry marathon!

Venue: your bed. When: all night. What to wear: your fears, concerns. Whoever misses sleep the entire night wins.

İ bet many will win the gold---not because they'd love to, but because they could not help it. That's the anatomy of worry: You hate it but you're trapped in it.

İ used to wear worry like second skin. As if a full day were not enough, İ'd set my worry button to max come bedtime---my mind click-clicking about a myriad things:

Wrong decisions at work, things to do tomorrow, money concerns, my son's health. Those who've offended or angered me. Fears galore!

Worse, my mind's clicker never came off  auto-replay---until the cock crowed reminding me of a new day of toil and worries. Then İ'd have migraine.

What terrible joyless life.

Then Jesus changed my heart.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matthew 6:25-27

İ held on to these words like a lifeline.

"İ will never exchange the peace that Jesus has given me for anything in the world," İ vowed. With my heart changed and my mind renewed by His Word, İ started to view things with new lens.

İt's a day to day trust walk. Neglect His Word and His presence and you go back to square one---being in control again.

Because worry is about our proud self asserting control over our lives. But we simply could not.  Our finances are limited so we fret. Your boss is an utter slave driver but you can't fight back---you need the job. Sickness? İt just happens.

But God is in control, and He is for us, not against us!

Jesus commands, "DO NOT worry;" and notes the birds---small, seemingly insignificant creatures. Yet He feeds them even if they don't get a salary or withdraw from the ATM.

Flowers don't shop for clothes, "Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these," Matthew 6:2.

The Lord is my Shepherd. İ shall not be in want! He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, Psalm 23:1-3a. Jesus is Jehovah Jireh, my Provider.

We're more precious than birds and flowers. Jesus dying for us is proof. İf God gave us His best, wouldn't He graciously provide too our daily provisions? 

Originally published at: http://cbnasia.org/home/2013/07/worry-champ/

PEERENTING OR PARENTING

Do you know your teenage kid’s whereabouts—this very moment?

Is he in his room, in your house, or out in the company of friends?

And if with friends, where do they hang out? What stuff do they indulge in? It’s hard to know, isn’t it?

Frankly, even if you think he’s safe in the confines of your house—within your gated and guarded community, he may in fact be partying with his barkada or peer group.

Either he’s chatting, uploading and downloading  “stuff” via Facebook , Myspace, Tweeter, YouTube, gaming sites;  just plain surfing; or glued to gruesome scenes and dark alleys as he mercilessly slays ghouls and zombies through his game apps.

“I’m at a loss. My son is on the computer all day so we hardly talk,” complains Jim.

“E’s room is off limits to me. I still need to knock to be let in. She’s always just on her iphone,” shares A.

“Today’s kids are differently wired,”  we’re often reminded in the university where I teach—suggesting that we baby boomer teachers better discover the way to  a millenial’s mind.

It’s harder for parents. A parent desires nothing less than to bring his kid up in the fear and instruction of the Lord—so he pursues real success, not disaster.

Younger generation parents have resorted to peerenting—portraying themselves as their kids’ best buddy to encourage them to not hide anything from them.   

A peer is an equal—not here to judge you, knows what you’re going through, a shoulder to cry on. And kids gravitate towards groups they share common things with.  While many peer groups positively influence their own, some have lured the unsuspecting to drugs, pornography and a life of crime.

Kids turn to their friends for belongingness and validation, especially nowadays that they have greater access to social media; and the nuclear family has disintegrated either because their members have  physically separated (parents working overseas) or their parents have broken up.   

Wouldn’t it be nice if our kids ran to us for answers if they mess up? We can be their best friend.

But a parent must parent. Oftentimes, it means disapproving some of our kids’ choices. They might throw a tantrum, even rebel. But they will not forever be babies. They need to mature and be responsible; and God’s way is the only way.

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord,” Ephesians 6:4.

A child needs to know a full life awaits him IF he honors his parents  (Exodus 20:12); or IF he listens to the father who gave him life, and does not despise his mother (Proverbs 23:22). 

Parenting is taxing. One needs to discipline, correct, constantly remind (but not nag), and walk the talk. 

Now, that’s completely way above peerenting.

Parenting is also about unconditional love, forgiveness, fairness, kindness and patience.

Exercise all these and your kid will be smart enough to run to you—not his peer —for guidance. Still the best way to mold smart, wise, confident and success-bound children. 

Originally publishes at CBNAsia.org:                                                            http://cbnasia.org/home/2013/07/peerenting-or-parenting/

BREAKTHROUGH

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Have you given up waiting for your blessing or big break?

Let's learn from Joseph in Genesis.  God gave him a dream, remember? Jacob's favorite son, Joseph knew from the start his heavenly Tatay had a wonderful plan for him. So he waited. And waited.

But he kept getting enmeshed in troubles not his making.

Envious half-brothers threw him into a well. Kapamilya pa mandin! One of them  took pity and suggested he be traded as a slave.

This Jewish slave proved ultra dependable nonetheless. His master Potiphar trusted him entirely---saw God was with him---so Joseph soon became manager of  The P Enterprise.

Pero natipuhan siya ni Mrs. P! She was so attracted to him, she seduced him like a constant song refrain, but to no avail. Because Joseph took to heart his heavenly Master's verse:

"My purpose will prevail. Be holy as your heavenly Father is holy."

Yet here we go again. Disgusted that Joseph refused her amorous advances, Mrs. P cried "Rape!" So to prison Joseph went. How could life be so unfair?

Joseph could by this time have suffered a meltdown, throwing up his his arms in surrender:

"Righteous me gets the bad hand again, what else is new?"

"Why insist on taking the narrow road when my obeying seems to just suck me into the gutter?"

Yet Joseph remained steadfast. Earning the respect of his fellow prisoners, it didn't take long for the warden to appoint him prison OİC (officer-in-charge).

But it was in that despicable place where Joseph met his big breakthrough, leading  him to Pharaoh who at that perfect moment desperately needed someone to interpret his weird dream.

That dream interpretation turned out to be Joseph's elevator to the penthouse office. Not only did Pharaoh appoint him Egypt İnc.'s chief operating officer (COO); he also steered Egypt to an era of agricultural productivity, thus saving his family and the world from severe famine.

Almost ready to call it quits? Sure that your longed-for promotion will never come despite your best efforts? Stuck in the basement of hopelessness though you've persevered?

The well. Slavery. Prison. Joseph proved these were not dead ends but God's means to His end. And because His route is still the best there is, we can be sure of this: He will direct it to the best possible ending, no matter the momentary tear, gashing or fracture we experience.

Joseph says in Genesis 45: 7-8, "But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant here on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So it was not you who sent me here but God. He made me shepherd to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of Egypt."

Don't miss your victory breakdance because you've been debilitated by some fractures. Remember, it's all by His grace.

(For more lessons on the life of the Joseph, check out the author's book, "Sorry to Burst Your Bubble: Life Leadership Lessons from the Greatest Dreamer, published by NewDay Publishers. Available at National Bookstores and Power Books, and soon in e-book format at Vibe Bookstore.)

Originally published at CBNAsia.org: http://cbnasia.org/home/2013/07/breakthrough/