It was Indeed a GOOD FRIDAY

In the past two weeks it seemed like all I was receiving was one bad news after the other.  A dear friend from college had requested prayer because her father was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer.  A brother-in-Christ was struggling with major health issues and was admitted into the hospital.  We received a call from my brother-in-law informing us that doctors could not find the heart beat of their baby girl (my sister-in-law was 8 months pregnant) and that they were in the process of inducing labor.  While we were still making sense of the news of our niece, I received yet another email of a sister-in-Christ who had just been told she has non-hodgkin lymphoma.

The chain that linked the prayer warriors was definitely hot all week - a text here and a text there as news spread to step up prayers for one another.  Throughout the week, as many of the saints bowed their hearts to pray, their heads remained lifted with eyes stayed on the One who gives us the victory.  And as we entered the end of the Holy Week, we dusted ourselves off and went to the Good Friday service to worship the One who brings us the victory.  In our respective churches, each heard the Good News that our tired spirit so longed to hear - Jesus loves us - He is the One who gives us the victory.

It may seem that the term Good Friday is an oxymoron because it seems like there was nothing good about that day over two thousand years ago.  There is good in it.  You see - the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) - and because of our sinful state, our destiny was eternal death - but it no longer has to be - Jesus stood in our place and all who accepts this gift of LIFE will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).  As we are reminded of all that Jesus had suffered - we are also reminded of the warning that Jesus gave to his disciples in the wee hours before He faced his bogus trial that lead Him down the road to Calvary.  The warning was to watch and pray so that we wont be tempted - so that we will be able to stand strong in the face of the enemy, in the trials of these last days for we are indeed in the last days.

So be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might
Put on all His armor and fight the good fight
In all of our weakness, He becomes so strong
And He gives us the power and the strength to carry on

More power to ya when you're standing on His Word
When you're trusting with your whole heart in the message you have heard
More power to ya when we're all in one accord
They that wait upon the Lord, they shall renew
They shall renew their strength (MORE POWER TO YA by PETRA)

That GOOD FRIDAY over two thousand years ago was bleak and dreary.  The disciples who stood by and watched at ground zero felt the devastation to the very core of their being - they were confused, lost, scared, sad (if the word sad could ever satisfy what they must have felt).  But what they didn't know then - we know now - that Sunday came - He rose from the dead.


He came, He saw, He conquered Death and Hell
He came, He saw, He is alive and well
He was, He is, And only He forgives
He died, He rose, He lives
He came, He saw, He conquered (He Came He Saw He Conquered by PETRA)

The road is still long and hard (not comparable to the Via Dolorosa but hard none the less)  - and it may seem that no message will take away the heartache of missing a love one or take away the despair one feels when your love one has just been diagnosed of a scary illness - But we hang on to the good news that He loves us and He lives.  That is our hope, our comfort - that this place is all temporary - although we our living our GOOD FRIDAY - SUNDAY IS COMING and in a little while we'll be home with Jesus (the One who gives us the victory.)


This blog is dedicated to my mom - We will see each other again.
Have a blessed Easter

Count Down to the Royal Wedding

About thirty years ago (yikes... I didn't realize it was that long ago), there was this great buzz about the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.  I was only twelve and had been waiting for the Love Boat special (okay those of you who are not from the 80s - this was a pretty popular show) - so I was irritated when it didn't come on - and that all three networks were covering the same thing - the Royal Wedding.  I didn't get it until the carriage brought the beautiful princess-to-be - she gracefully disembarked the glass carriage drawn by white horses.  She had a smile, a glow, and aura about her - and even this twelve year old could not take her eyes of the set.  I was riveted and I watched until she kissed her prince on the balcony.  Sigh... my imagination ran wild - it was like a fairy tale come true - so romantic.

I read every story, every article written on magazines.  When she gave birth to the young Prince William, I cut up all the pictures and articles.  My best friend and I even purchased stamps - we were fans.  And then the fairy tale turned sour - and I lost interest - sort of.  I still read the articles... hoping for that happy ending still.

I confess - I'm one of those who is looking forward to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.  I have it marked on my calendar... hehehe... I still enjoy a good romantic tale from time to time.  I think young and old alike still like the feel of a good fairy tale - when the princess meets her prince and they live happily ever after. 

from the SPCS Elementary School Hallway

With Good Friday just a week away, its hard to imagine mentioning the Royal Wedding as the two events don't seem to go together.  After all the final days of Jesus Christ here on Earth was far from being beautiful - He was betrayed by one of his close friend (Judas), He was condemned by the leaders of the church, One of his closest friend (Peter) denied he even knew Him, and the one who could of brought Him justice - didn't (Pilate) - no, nothing about it was glamorous.  The throngs of people who lined the streets did not long for the prince to glance their way - they jeered Him and cursed Him.  But all this had to happen so that the most incredible story ever in the history of man can unfold.... See it didn't end at the cross.  That was just the setting for a grander stage.  The grandest Royal Wedding Ever


 - ⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.   ⁷ Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. ⁸ Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.”(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)  ⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”(Revelation 19:6-9).




Exciting isn't it - when you put things into a different perspective.  When we celebrate Good Friday, we celebrate the preparation of THE Royal Wedding... the one we are invited to - invited by someone greater than the Queen of England - invited by the KING of KINGS.  Sigh - I'm definitely looking forward to counting down the days to that.

Not a very good scan but couldn't help sharing

In the Garden of Gethsemane

In a little over a week, we will be celebrating the most important day in the history of Christianity.  As Christians, we should make everyday a celebration of Easter – walking in the knowledge that Christ died for our sins so that all who believe in Him would have eternal life.  But even so, we mark Good Friday and Easter on our calendar to memorialize what Christ has done for us – it is a great time for us to reflect, to realign our walk with God, and to renew our commitment to Him.  So I decided to commemorate this time in history with a study of the last days of Jesus Christ.

The Catholic Church has marked the last days of Jesus Christ into fourteen highlighted moments and they call this the Stations of the Cross.  I’m not Catholic but I figure the Stations of the Cross is Biblical so why not take a closer view.  So I started my study at the first station, which is The Garden of Gethsemane.  But as I read Matthew 26, I decided to back track a little further to Matthew 24-25.  Here Jesus speaks of the End of the Age. 

In Matthew 24:4-8, ⁴ Jesus says, “WATCH OUT that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.  ~ The rest of Matthew 24 describes what the beginning of the end is to look like – wars and rumors of war.  But He reminds us To Be READY, To Be WATCHFUL, for we don’t know when the day will be.  But we can recognize its nearness by the signs of the time.  In verse 34, He also says that when these things start happening, that generation will not pass away until all of it has been completed.

So now I find myself once again in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26).  It starts out with Jesus completing His message on the "end of days."  In verse two He clearly states that He “will be handed over to be crucified.” Then in verse 36, Jesus goes to Gethsemane with His disciples.  He tells them He’s going to pray but He takes Peter, John, and James further with Him and He was clearly troubled and filled with sorrow ~ His disciples knew this without a doubt.  He even tells them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Stay here and keep WATCH with me.”  After praying, Jesus returns to His disciples and found them sleeping.  In Jesus’ desperate time, the ones who claim to love Him were found sleeping.  But Jesus in great concern for them says, “WATCH and PRAY so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

As we turn the corner into the Holy Week, I am reminded that the signs of the time is clear – we are near the end of days.  This generation may very well be the generation that will not pass away.  But the great message that Jesus gave just prior to Gethsemane and at Gethsemane is to WATCH and PRAY – our Master will be returning soon.  I don’t want to be found sleeping.

Check out these sleeping positions.

UPDATE:

Half way through week 6 into my running experience.  I've been taking small steps - but the main thing is that I'm still taking the steps.  I have set a goal - to be able to go on runs with my friends who have inspired me in the first place.  Right now I am walk/running 45 minutes.  Going average 2.58 miles.  In the 45 minutes, I'm able to job 8 minutes straight without stopping and have been able to do two other 6 minute steady jogs before ending the workout.  Goal for next week is to sustain a 10 minute jog.  Once I get here, I will work on running the entire 45 minutes.

Weight loss - 5lbs.  Not much but I am toning and so my clothes are fitting better.

TOMATOES TOMATOES

I've always loved tomatoes - and now we grow them.  The farm project started out as a means to cut cooling cost - by growing plants on the rooftop, it provides shade and thus lessen the impact the sun places on the roof.  But then the crop was plentiful and what we couldn't eat - we sold.  Needless to say, we've been eating a lot of tomatoes.

Tomatoes have been notarized for its source of lycopene - an antioxidant that protects cells from damage, prevents several types of cancer, and reduces the risk of heart diseases.  So I figure its cool that we are eating so much.  But I've also grown curious to its ability to slow the hands of time.

A few weeks ago, my sister asked me to check if she had white hair and to pull it out if I see any.  I was expecting to see about 7-8 white hair (she's a lot younger than me) as that has been the number I have been pulling for the past year - and she usually asks me to check every month.  I found none this time around - none at all.  The last time I checked her hair was in January - and although I usually check it once a month, we were unusually busy this year.  But the thing is I found none.  She said the only thing she could think of is that she ate tomatoes every night with her dinner.  Hmmmmm.

She continued to share that she loved the tomatoes but that it was making her eat more - she would be so full at dinner time.  Interesting thing though - she looks thinner now than she did in December.  Her skin looked healthier.  Double hmmmmm.  I'm not making any claims but I figure I've been growing the fruit - and I haven't been eating it as much as my brothers and sisters have been because I tend to eat out more than they do.  But after this curiosity though, I think its time to eat more of what I grow.  So I started keeping a baggy of tomatoes in my purse so that I can eat it with my dinner wherever I find myself.  Last night, I was at Denny's - I had fried rice, longaneesa, and eggs over easy.  I popped out my bag of tomatoes.  I ate only a fourth of my order - I shared my meal with my three girls - but felt like I eat three servings.  I was full - no - I was satisfied.

I don't know if I will find less white hair on my head - cuz I have tons.  I don't know if it will improve the health and complexion of my skin.  I don't know if I will drop the weight.  But studies have shown that there are many other health benefits to eating tomatoes.... and so if you see me pull out my baggy in a restaurant.... you know its just my tomatoes.

We must have eaten and sold over 100 lbs of tomatoes since we started harvesting.  Now all of it turned out fit for eating.  Below are pictures of me and my brothers & sisters poking fun of tomatoes - check it out.

Hmm - double cheek tomato

Holy tomatoes!!!

Earthquake tomato

Wanna-be Roma - super small size.

Nike swoosh Tomato

Easter Egg tomatoes

The Marching Band Tomatoes

Chili not-hot-at-all tomatoes

The ornamental tomatoes - fit for prom night

I Wanna Be Like Moses

A few years back, a Gatorade commercial made the phrase "I wanna be like Mike" pretty popular.  The Mike they spoke of was Michael Jordan - the world re-known NBA basketball player who revolutionize the sport.  He was extraordinary - a giant of his time.  Well, I have my heroes too.  For me, I wanna be like Moses.


In Exodus 33, God spells out His relationship with Moses.  Verse 11 says, The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.  But at this time, God was displeased with Israel and He had instructed Moses to bring the people to the promise land but that He (God) was not gonna go with them.  And this is where the depth of Moses' relationship with God shines... check it out:


(12) Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. (Here Moses is reacting to God saying He was just going to send an angel. God was no longer going to escort them into the promise land.)


You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me. If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”  (In the earlier passage, Moses relationship with God is described as a friend - yet here, Moses desires more - he desired a deeper walk.)



The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”


Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Moses knew that nothing had worth apart from God - John 15:5)


And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”


Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” (Moses wasn't satisfied with his relationship with God - he wanted more - he desired God - he panteth after God as a deep panteth for the waters. Psalm 42:1)


And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”  

Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”  (And God grants Moses' request)

Moses was an extraordinary man.  He knew his God; he loved his God; he desired his God.  And I... well, I wanna be like Moses.  Kind of lofty huh.  Well 

I will keep my eyes on the prize and continue to take two steps forward.  

I wanna walk with God and hear Him say "I am pleased with you."  With the world in crisis mode, wars and rumors of wars - a lot of unrest.  It's very easy to see the sign plainly, that we are near the end of time.  But we don't know when the day will be - so in the mean time - I will strive to obtain the relationship Jesus paved for me when He died on the cross for my sins.  What better way to finish strong than to strive to be like Moses.