LOL MOVEMENT

When was the last time you really laughed? 

I mean a grand laugh out loud (or LOL for short, for the benefit of readers not accustomed to social media lingo) moment when you didn't care if someone's thought bubble across the room read, "İs she crazy or what?" 

Old people, mostly, must rediscover laughter! (OK, count me in, though I refuse to be called "old" just because I've passed the half century mark or I flash a senior citizen card.) 

And I don't mean "smirk"! You may not have noticed it but we young once have this tendency to dismiss as silly others' attempts to be funny or cute or try hard to amuse others. 

So we smile this sly smile with "condescending," "oh, give me a break," or "you're so corny" written all over it. 

But that actually shows how petrified we've become, or how rigid and me-minded and self-absorbed we've turned into because, "Hey, I've been there, done that. I've heard it all, so don't try to impress me. I'm beyond impressing." 

Cranky is the word! 

We need to laugh. But there must be a reason to laugh, otherwise those around you will think you're cuckoo or something. 

So laugh even if the joke is corny or silly or shallow. It's for your own good. Ok lang maging mababawaw!

Doctors must prescribe laughter like they prescribe our maintenance pills or health supplements. It's one of life's freebies---might even save you from visiting your doctor often, or save you from illnesses requiring hospitalization. 

(Especially if you don't have health insurance. Horrors! Insurance companies in the Philippines don't insure you anymore when you've reached a certain age! Calling on our valiant lawmakers! There oughta be a law protecting seniors' rights to fade away from this earth in dignity, not in indebtedness as we grapple with sky-high hospitalization bills!) 

Care2.com suggests that laughter, based on many health experts' studies: 

 * Lowers blood pressure 
 * Increases vascular blood flow and oxygenation of blood 
 * Gives a workout to the diaphragm and abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles 
 * Reduces certain stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline 
 * Increases the response of tumor- and disease-killing cells such as Gamma-interferon and T-cells 
 * Defends against respiratory infections–--even reducing the frequency of colds, by immunoglobulon in saliva 
 * Increases memory and learning. In a study at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, humor during instruction led to increased test scores. 
 * Improves alertness, creativity, and memory

So come on, enlist in the LOL movement and scare the Count away: triglycerides, cholesterol, high blood pressure, blood sugar; and have your grandkids rejoicing that Lolo and Lola can afterall still walk with them in the park or visit Disneyland. 

Proverbs 15:13: A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. 

Any takers for a LOL reality TV show? Let's brainstorm... will it be Dolphy and Panchito or Charlie Chaplain type? Slapstick? Brainy? 

As long as it catches melatonin-short Lolos and Lolas at four in the morning, that's fine by me!

SAFE GUARD

Did you roll it on after you showered this morning? Honestly, without my Safeguard deodorant/anti-perspirant, I'd be so afraid to face the world---because, what if...?

İf you had tuyo and longganisang Lucban for breakfast this morning, you'd surely brush your teeth longer, then gargle, just to pulverize vinegary, garlicky breath. And for added assurance, floss da teeth!


I never leave home without them---my trusty sunglasses to shield sensitive eyes from glare, my anti-migraine protection.

Rubber shoes ready if you're up for long walks---otherwise, calluses and aching joints; or boots in really cold weather.

Our handbags, closets and car trunks are full of these. Thingamajigs and stuff without which our day seems to fall apart.

And they've almost become ritual. And just to make sure: a spare deodorant/anti-perspirant always on stand by; pills and health supplements in abundant supply in our medicine chest; umbrellas, slippers or walking shoes ready just in case.

Our doors padlocked double or triple for extra protection. Dependable wheels to safely bring us around. Hefty insurance in case the inevitable really comes knocking.

Wise is the man who does all these, not only to feel good and confident, but to make sure our days are marked with productivity, service and making lives rosier for our loved ones.

God has given us wisdom to be prepared for rainy days---or to take a bath and use another layer of protection if we're the sweaty type, so we don't cower in shame because of BO.

Didn't he instruct Noah to have his household ready for the great flood?

Or didn't my doctor tell me to always have my migraine pill "cocked," ready to "fire" at the first aura of pain so throbbing pain and puking never occur?

But we tend to get used to these tools we oftentimes forget that our first line of defense does not come from anything material---holdable, rollable, lockable, eatable, drinkable or wearable though it be.

İf you believe in the Christ and what He has done on the cross to "give us life and have it more abundant," we have confidence to come into His throne of grace, sure that He will provide all the tools we need to feel secure and confident, whatever it is we do---especially if our situations call for more than just deodorants or umbrellas and padlocks.

Our first impulse upon waking up should be to seek Him who knows our days from beginning to end. The Alpha and Omega, the Great İ Am holds the key to better days---in spite of our days becoming more dangerous!

His warehouse of Word gizmos is as real and way more powerful than the doodads we ordinarily depend on.

Afraid to go out or enter a bank because crooked men may be out there to rob you? His promise: The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. (Psalm 34:7)

Going through turbulent times? Unsure of your tomorrow? "Fear not, for İ have redeemed you; İ have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For İ am the Lord your God, the Holy one of İsrael, your Savior." (Psalm 43:1a-3a)

Your confidence chopped to pieces because someone said you'll not amount to anything? "İ can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

Feel everyone ganging up on you? "İf God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

Reached a point where you feel alone? "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ..." (Romans 8:16,17a)

Could not go on because you're tired and old and lacking energy? "The LORD replied, 'İ will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest--everything will be fine for you.'" (Exodus 33:14). Then Moses did his exploits, even though he was an old man.

God's promises are there for the picking. But sorry, it's not something you can casually pick as you would flowers in a garden.


He needs your heart first and foremost, just like David whom God said was after His own heart. 

Call on Jesus. Pray, meditate on His Word. Believe it. Wear it around your neck. Store it in your heart. Guard it and don't let the enemy steal it from you. İt's your Safe Guard, your Body Guard, your Soul Guard, your Life Guard.

Then you can go out confidently, knowing you've got your Safeguard deodorant and your all powerful and knowing Heavenly Guard who takes care of your every care. 

Jesus has your back, front and center. What better guard can you ask for?

And He's willing to make your life a demonstration of His power. Now, believe and obey.

LOVE MULTIPLICATION

I could have made it big, but my numbers sense hardly made it to "Pass", so my destined-for-greatness dream fizzled.

You see, when I was growing up and one-two-three marched to thousands, I developed a hate affair with numbers.


Grade 3 Math felt like helplessly surrendering to my executioner in a torture chamber. When Ms Z glared with her furrowed brows, flared nostrils and beat-box histrionics, I just wanted to run for my life. Why, even her eraser flew into space, reducing her naughtier pupils into a whimper!

Could that be the reason why my mind blanks at the mention of numbers? All in all, I went past elementary and high school math by the skin of my teeth, just like playing a game of Russian roulette. Pass or fail? Fail or pass?

I did manage to memorize my multiplication table, my only saving grace. I could have ended in repeat row were it not for the multiplication table!

I've lately been appreciating the multiplication table in a different light. And whether mostly right-brained, math-averse Yay can compute it or not, she's here to testify that God desires multiplication for you and me. It's a powerful concept that can totally turn your life around, as it has changed mine.

For the past few weeks, Pastor Paul Chase has been teaching us the principle of "seed, time and harvest" and its implications. "It's one of the laws operating in nature and in every area of our lives," he says.
 
God created everything just once---man and woman, animals, trees and every living creature. Generations after them replicated by multiplication, each species reproducing exponentially after its kind.  

Imagine the tiny mustard seed. Within that seed is a tree with more seeds to multiply themselves into an infinite number of trees. Mustard trees all, whose seeds are prized for their medicinal and culinary benefits.

The principle does not only apply to people and animals and trees.

Jesus says in Luke 6:38: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over..."

I've proven God's multiplication principle when my husband and I learned to give our tithe, a concept which we initially struggled with. But as we grew in our faith, we relented.

Malachi 3:10: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."

Yay's arithmetic computed "deficit" if we tithed. We wrote that first check anyway, sealed it with a bye-bye kiss, but relieved and at peace that we finally obeyed.

The rest is history---His Story. It was not necessarily "bye-bye" but a welcome party. His Story, His Word which took residence in our hearts, welcomed promotion after promotion into our laps, bringing with them blessings we didn't imagine we could have.

Too, when God pours out His blessings, you can be sure that money is just a fraction. You see, He's the El Shaddai, our God who's more than enough. Once Jesus becomes our Lord---but first and foremost Savior---peace, joy, grace, favor, mercy, contentment, healing, wisdom, etc., etc., become part of our blessings-filled terrain.

But the key is in dying. John 12:24: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." 

Dying to self makes us alive in Christ, enabling us to act upon His promises---making us triumph even in the most dreadful situations. Though we walk through the valley of darkness, we fear no evil. For which power of darkness can come against the light of lights and the Lord of Lords?

So what seed will you plant today? Harsh words? Get harsh words in return. Unkindness? Reap unkindness then. And sometimes we wonder why some people don't want to be around us!


But try serving compassion, season your words with grace, dash it with a little helping hand, top that with a dessert of prayer; and those around you will naturally want to eat at your table, because Christ is seated there. 

God is in the business of multiplication! Multiply prayers and they will avail much. Multiply your time with God, and you'll see His character in you multiplied. Desire His will and see Him use you in things you've not even imagined yourself doing.

Oh, by the way, don't forget about subtraction. Grow proud and you'll get the red ink. Demerits---in the form of humbling experiences and negative consequences, we get a lot of these too on a daily basis.

Thank God for His grace too to start all over again! Jesus picks us up every time we stumble. He wants us all to receive our graduation certificate.

Really, the numbers business is much more exciting than third grade math. My goodness, my mind didn't go blank this time! I'm free to multiply!

GOOD BURRPP!

N and J treated our bible study group to a buffet dinner recently, to thank God for His faithfulness.

For six long years, we've prayed with them for  breakthrough on one of their prayer concerns; and recently, God answered.

It pays to seek God and be relentless with our prayers. Because God does listen! His answer could not be forced. He is sovereign and knows His plan and timing for us. But He is attentive to those who call on Him in Spirit and truth and honors their desires with good things.

It pays too to treat those who pray for you. Oops, biro lang! Joke!

But come to think of it, treating senior-citizen-card-wielding folks pays. N and J right then and there received another blessing---20 per cent discount plus VAT-free privilege on their bill---out of being kind to seniors with an appetite.

Anyway, back to the buffet table.

Coming to that restaurant, I'd decided to first survey the lay of the land. Humongous buffet we were told; got to plan the attack.

Japanese here, Chinese there, Pinoy and broiled items in one section, steaks and meats somewhere, Mediterranean across, finger foods on one side, desserts till you wax sweetie-pie over there. Bottomless coffee, tea, soft drinks, juices. İ didn't even know where to start.

With all these stuff titillating my nose and taste buds, my strategy soon turned mush. Instead of sticking to veggies and fish, having just a piece at a time and taking it really slow, my eyes ran amok. İ just went for what looked good.

Thank God we prayed no one would go home with a bum tummy. So merciful, He answered our prayers even if we didn't desert the dessert or the bulalo or the steak. 

I did take two sodium bicarbonate tablets before bedtime, to make sure I would not be accused of senior corporeal abuse (as opposed to child abuse) after all that gorging.

Life is pretty much a buffet too, don't you think? Choices, they abound! What to choose is always a challenge.

But far from just stomach aches or upped blood sugar or cholesterol count, our wrong choices may yield regrettable fruit---shattered dreams, broken relationships, even death.

Just watched a video on Facebook of a car swerving to what one may conclude as a fatal turn. Was the driver intoxicated, on drugs or plain texting while driving?

A lot of our choices don't even give us second chances. An extra marital fling can destroy a family, scarring generations upon generations hereafter.

Deutoronomy 28 spells the curses that follow us for our disobedience, including "our children going into captivity." İf only because of their effect on our children and our loved ones, we need to think twice about our choices.

What's on the menu may be yummy but if opting to "just have a puff" or "a snort" of something, or try forbidden fruit just because your amigas say it will "bring back your youthfulness," think again---your real riches may be on the line.

"Nice to look at, but if you break it, you pay for it," says a sign in a department store filled with precious and fragile crystal home decor.

Our relationship with God is precious. Jesus placed His life on the line for us. He died for us, taking our sin as far away as the east is from the west, and loving us unconditionally even when we were unlovable.

Once we've accepted Him as Lord and Savior and His Word richly dwells in us, He pares down our range of choices, narrowing our alternatives to basically His. Not because we deserve less or He's selfish, but because our all powerful Maker knows what's best for us.

Consider Jesus' pre-selected menu. İf you make Him your Way, your Truth and your Life, you get to feast on a sure bounty:

*Eternal life. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, Acts 16:31. Phase two of this life means you don't even need a buffet of food or food supplements to survive. Forever young and beautiful, that's what you'll be, even if you momentarily pass through tribulations in phase one.

*Unspeakable peace. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, Phil. 4:7. I've never slept so peacefully until Jesus. But this means too that in spite of chaos, you can dwell in Him and be at peace.

*His provisions. He is Jehovah Jireh, my Provider, Genesis 22:14. He owns everything. Providing our needs is not the issue. Being content is the real issue. Sometimes we don't know how to moderate our wants and demands, or we're not faithful stewards, so we lack. That's why He gives us...

*Wisdom. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you, John 14:26. Knowing a lot, being educated and trained is good, but deciding to do things His way is far greater, because it adds no sorrow and glorifies His Name.

Jesus' buffet table may seem uninviting to many, especially to those looking for sensory, emotional, or material highs alone. But really, His table is the ONLY one with the REAL goodies.

On today's menu: strength, wholeness, contentment, manna for your spirit, wisdom, fullness of joy, love, mercy. His grace is sufficient for you, says He. It's the same menu tomorrow, but expect it to be like freshly-picked flowers, because His grace is fresh every morning.

Have Jesus. Have it all! And it's for free. Call on Him, believe in Him, obey Him. His buffet is simply generous.

All together now. Burrpp! 

Grandparenting 101 | YahooNews Philippines Book Review by Babeth Lolarga

Grandparenting 101 | Vera Files

TREE TALK

"I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree," wrote Joyce Kilmer.

What makes a tree lovely? 

Its height? Tall trees are a sight to behold. And as its canopy extends, so does a tree's capacity to protect us from the sun's sting. Who needs facial cream with SPF 15, 24 or 50 when you can bask in Special Protection for Flawlessness underneath a shady tree?

I won't forget this tree in the middle of Sydney's harbor park. Hundreds of meters away, you could hear birds chirping, their chorus crescendoing as you approach that enormous sky-high tree. Lovely shelter indeed!

Wide trunks and thick barks? The narra tree trunk, for example, can grow two meters in diameter. Wow, all that wood to build one's house and furniture; or using paper---its by-product---to write love letters or school exams with. And not to forget one's being able to come out delighted post toilet time, courtesy of wood's gentler and more discreet daughter, the toilet paper. Lovely functional!

Roots? Even as a narra tree shoots up 40 meters skyward, it burrows with its roots sideways and deeper still---all to steady, nourish and defend itself against raging and relentless winds and rain, shielding us too from disaster and flooding.   

Sad to say though, that because of global warming, we're now deluged with more unusually heavy rainfalls (La Nina) which, in spite of trees' heroic attempts to protect us, could not be prevented. 

Let me just make a short detour. How sad it is that in our country, all sorts of tree harvesting has been banned, including those done by companies who reforest or replenish cut trees.  Legitimate loggers have contractual obligations with government. They follow the rules of engagement, remit their taxes, pay their employees their due, even help communities around them. They invest for the long term, a boon to our economy.

Ban or no ban, illegal loggers continue to ply their trade. That's why they are illegal. They don't follow the rules. And they corrupt the corruptible, to the detriment of our lovely trees! Someone better consult the experts to bring back productive tree harvesters and planters, and ask why we suffer landslides in supposedly non-logging areas.

Wouldn't you agree that our state of forest degradation opposes God's mandate for responsible forest management? Would anyone please pound on Malacanang or the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)'s doors, before we all drown from tree-less-ness?

Anyway, back to "what makes a tree lovely?"

Fruit? It's the nature of creation: Fruit-bearing trees must yield fruit---mango from mango trees, apple from apple trees---to nourish man with nutrients and enzymes for health and strength, and hopefully long life.

Joyce Kilmer ends his poem with "Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree." Indeed!
 
Psalm 1:3 likens to a tree someone who delights and meditates on His word, and refuses to follow crooked paths:  

"He will be like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not wither---whatever he does prospers," demonstrated by:

Growth, upwards and outwards. Not only in knowledge and stature, but more so in wisdom and right living. Which means, each day you become less prideful, more patient, less stingy, more loving, less judgmental, more gracious, less sensitive to criticism, more productive. More like Jesus.

Growth, inwards and heart-ward. Not deluged, not uprooted, but gently showered by His Word---His Holy spirit trickling through our every joint and marrow, every crevice of the heart, so that only Jesus gets enthroned in this temple, 24/7. That's refreshing waters courtesy of your daily one-on-one with Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, whose blessings overtake us while we give Him first place daily.

Fruit, in and out of season. I still recall that delicious nourishing fruit my good friend Cyd gave me many years back. She shared Jesus. But she did not just speak of Jesus. She lived Jesus. Yay was sheep bound for slaughter but the Good Shepherd seized me by the collar of my heart. Jesus has been, and always will be, my loveliest gift! Jesus is my everything! 

Pastor Paul encouraged us last Sunday to bear much fruit as we tread the new year. "People don't need much sermons; even if you zip the mouth, people will see Jesus in you if you demonstrate His character," he said. 

Have the heart and mind of Jesus and be a lovely tree. Why not today?

Photo credits:  inkart.com, thejourneyofspirit.blogspot.com

HAPPY NEW DAY

We wake up tomorrow to a brand new year.

Oh yeah, we greet it with all the fireworks and enthusiasm our holiday-fired-up bodies can muster. But really, for many, "2013" will just be another number, a phantom if you will.

Consider: Many lying in hospitals or their death beds may not even see the sun rise tomorrow. One may be up and about today, feeling on top of the world, but will he be around for the roll call tomorrow?

Yesterday, today, tomorrow--- that I can grasp. Yesterday is gone but as I woke up today, yesterday was just a memory. Today is right here, right now, and this is where I have every chance to fulfill something---whatever! But tomorrow is something else---if, and that's a big if, I ever wake up.

That's why, to me, the concept of a new year is really just a blur. Nice to imagine what it holds for me, but nevertheless, iffy.

No wonder the bible tells us to consider each day, not this new year, as the day, the chance, the opportunity. Maybe the only day left to do one last good!

Psalms 118:24: "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Today is a good time as any to appreciate our blessings, our loved ones, the fact that we still have breath and the strength to do the Father's will and purpose, because tomorrow may never come.

So be thankful now, be glad now, rejoice now! Send those flowers now. Say "I love you" now. Write that book now. Pray for someone now. Be reconciled now. Give now. Repent now. Choose life now. Know Jesus now. Be ready to face Him now.

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Being hopeful about the new year is great. Planning to do this and that, or taking steps to be in a certain place or position next year is a mark of wisdom---and God has given us a good measure of that; but today is what matters---while he faithfully sends us new mornings.

Great is His faithfulness every morning: New mercy, new grace; and with these, fresh hope, fresh faith. 

Today, Jesus makes everything brand new, even our hearts. 

Ezekiel 36:26: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." (Hebrews 4:7)

Photo credits: 1. cloudtimes.org  2. gentleshepherdbaptist.blogspot.com                                                 3.footprintsfromthebible.blogspot.com  4. allaboutflowers.com