"Finding Comfort In God's Word Of Promises..."

January 9th...

Thinking of my good friend Senaida today. Her mother passed in her sleep today. She was in her late 8o's. She lived in a nursing home for about 5 years. It wasn't easy for everyone involved especially my friend Senaida. She wanted to take her mom and live with her but her apartment is not accessible to a wheelchair and no one would watch her mom while she goes teaching the ESL kids at school. Thus, it was a unanimous decision to put her in a nursing home.

Last January first, I asked my good friend if I could tag along to see her mom. We've been good friends for a decade now and I know her mom only through constant stories about her and pictures through the years. For some inevitable reason, I wanted to go. And so we went...

Since the inception of COVID 19, nursing homes and churches are the most targeted places to shut their doors for open visitation. How would you deal with this scenario? I believe that is the hardest to take not to be able to touch, hug, and kiss your loved ones. How much more on them, those that were kept inside waiting when is the next time for their loved one to visit? 

When we were there, I had witnessed before my eyes a pure love between a mother and a daughter. Mind you, it was a four-hour drive, back & forth. But that didn't seem to bother Senaida. She goes to visit her mom 2-3 times a month.                                                                                                                    I knew that we won't be able to go in but it didn't dawn on me how on earth that this is even allowed to happen on our Christian watch? There was this window with the curtains wide opened and there Senaida & her mother exchanged their affection towards each other with gestures and words that will forever be etched on my friend's mind & heart. She brought her mom's favorite snacks and beverages and the attending nurse gladly picked them up at the doorstep where we left the goodies.

 It was cold that early evening. We had to wait in the parking lot until the nursing home residents are done with their dinner. (in their room) For sure, that moment will remain with me in the deep recesses of my brain. So when Senaida told me that her mom passed after exactly a week that I saw her on that window, I thank God that He let me be a part of that sweet moment before her appointed time with the Lord. My friend was talking to me Thursday night, on her way to visit her mom again because she found out that her mom caught pneumonia. I believe God put in my friend's heart to go see her mom immediately as if to say goodbye. And she told me that night, that she was ready and already embraced that possibility. She was at peace of her passing in her sleep and not to suffer any longer. And their greatest comfort in the midst of grief is knowing where their mom went to reside forever. She is with the Lord... 

"The Climb..."

 I know that I've been posting songs that are very close to my heart. I hope that you find this song another treasure from my heart to yours...

"As The Storm Passes By..."

 We Praise The Lord,

We Glorify His Name, Jesus,

And We Worship Him in Prayer, In Songs, In Fasting, In Giving, In Tithing, and in all of our Ways, Till we hear from Heaven's Door...God Be With Us!

"In Such A Time As Today..."

 Day 6 of 2021

The images that happened in the Capitol Building this afternoon are a testament to how we are as a Country--no longer the United States of America. It is very heartbreaking that we can't bring this country to a common ground. Not even evangelicals and the fivefold ministries and Christians all over this nation can pray for a breakthrough for they themselves, not all of them, but the majority of them are not pressing on preaching the Word of God uncompromised. Many pastors just don't want to involve in politics for they believe that's not to be discussed in the pulpit. 

T become a pastor and fulfilling that call of God in your life is the greatest commission and the hardest job on earth. Shepherding your congregation entails so many colossal responsibilities. You may delegate some of your responsibilities but the burden of taking good care of your congregation, making disciples out of them solely falls on you. However, if you are really seeking God for wisdom and provision, God will be there for you. He not only provides but already puts people in your path to help you if you put your faith and trust him in your life.

What happened today is no longer a shock to everyone especially me. It wasn't a surprise for me because there's so much hatred perpetuated by everyone involved. They hate President Trump even before he became our President. They don't even address him right. They just call him Trump or Mr. Trump. How do you feel if they cut you off while you're on a microphone, disregarding that you are the Commander-in-chief? The worst part and the most unreasonable of all is when he gets to be the pawn, and be blamed for everything. Nothing that he did right was acknowledged but deemed forsaken. And yet his spirit is a very strong force to reckon with. They've been trying to impeach him since the day he was inaugurated. Many times they tried even today but to no avail. This is the greatest disgrace in humanity: shamingly impeaching a president that God has put in the White House for such a time as this...

I am nobody but I know that President Trump has done great things for this country especially for the nation of Israel. What can the enemy purge and squeeze from him? They already made him like a fool but not a coward. Realize that what you maliciously do to a human being is on God's vengeance. It could be that since we turn our backs on God that he doesn't intercede until we seek his face for forgiveness and flee from all our iniquities and unrighteousness and wickedness. We have put more trust in men than God himself who made Heaven and Earth and who made us all in his own image. He also gave us his only begotten son, Jesus so we may never be in the lake of fire and in forever damnation. But we're callous and ungrateful in our ways. So how do you reconcile with him? John 3:16 (KJV)

"Truth Be Told..."

 Day 5 0f 2021

May this song minister to you...

"While Taking Down My Christmas Decorations..."

 

Day 4 0f 2021

There's an immense emotion of sadness whenever I take down my Christmas decorations which I think too many for the size of my house. I know that's overwhelming to some but for me during the Christmas season, there's no such thing as too many decorations. It is the most wonderful time of the year so you want your home to be festive up to the point where everything you see is red, green, and gold and your house smells like scented candles and baked cookies. 

My eyes are fascinated with watching people shop for Christmas gifts. The majority of my family ordered their Christmas gifts via amazon. The word is convenience. The package is delivered to your front door. You don't have to wrap it and no personal card attach to it. Just like that...Times are really changing astronomically. I can't hardly cope up but I gather that I need to be a part of these changes; otherwise, I'll remain feeling defeated and bored.

It dawned on me today that life is a cycle of seasons. It repeats itself. It's either an upgrade or a downgrade. And the choice is always our burden of truth. Taking my decorations down felt like a surge of uncertainty. Putting them down to their respective boxes or containers is like storing them for a season or two then open them back up again. Why can't we just keep them up the whole year, at least those are not so obvious ones? Because we live in season; out of season. You can find the expansion of that in the book of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 (KJV)

Oh, what is this Nation coming into? I was watching President Trump's rally at Dalton, Georgia tonight. I was amazed at how detailed and compelling his argument with the obvious fraudulence in the last presidential election. Why can't the news networks out there be credible and truthful in their reporting? I don't see how they have peace sleeping at night knowing their news reporting was arbitrarily biased? 

Who am I to say let's cast our votes again. But if that's what it takes, then, so be it. Oh, Father God, we only not seek your hand but also seek your face-- to expose those that were a part of injustice during the presidential election and that this country will always be under the influence of, "In God we trust." Have mercy on us Lord... May we never experience the ills and dominion of socialism, Marxism, atheism, and communism in America. 

A New Year's Resolution...Did You Make One?

Day 3 of 2021

 

Since I have been doing good with eating healthy and do exercise regularly, the things I want to improve on how to be more of a free-spirited soul like my sister in the picture who's always happy all the time.

I'm not bashful but I always maintain a degree of couthness. I don't know, I just don't see myself letting it all go...But if you ask me to give my input on a subject matter, then I wouldn't squirm a bit. Or if you ask me to say something to an open microphone then I can swing it and build up what's at stake.

Of course, I intend to read more not anything on social media but hardcover books, writer's magazines, and try to cook more food that I don't usually cook. Yup, another thing that I would like to do is to be better at praying for people who ask and do it right there and then and not wait for tonight or any other time to pray for someone. The same thing when you're doing a chore and all of a sudden the Spirit of the Lord just propels you to call someone and just ignored it or waited for a day or two to respond. 

I remember on one weekend of last year that God has prompted me to text or call a friend of mine. I even looked over our pictures during the 5 k's run, staff pictures, and when he had his first book signing event. For some reason, I waited for more confirmation, I guessed. Two days after that, one of our assistant principals called me and the other 4 staff members to her office. I know for sure that I wasn't in trouble. The assistant principal's face was forlorn of hope. In a muttering voice, she said that my friend that I was going to call committed suicide early morning on Tuesday. It didn't register in my brain how sad that was, the way he ended his life. Did I ever have an inkling that he was in deep depression? I'm not going to lie. I saw and felt that he wasn't himself sometimes and when he quit his teaching job and just did full-time writing without a solid income was a red flag for me.

Would my phone call make a difference at that time that he was in complete darkness? I will never know. But I do regret not doing especially when it was prompted in my gut. I do miss him. He was like my younger brother who was always listening to my impression of books we've both read. That was a bad call from me...I admit.

Well, I'm still making resolutions of which I only wish to learn how to live with hope and courage to give these resolutions many places to stay in my heart...