I Take Off the Mask

  I saw that boy yet again sitting by the stairs near the street his little hand raised infront of me his clothes tattered his feet with no slippers his future bleak and beyond my reach   What can I do for you dear boy? I cannot give you work with which to eat Neither can I send you to school for my pay is just enough to meet my needs   What can I do for you dear boy? Can I give you a kiss and a hug Can I make you feel someone noticed you and that someone prays you find your way?   What would you rather that I do? What would I prefer I do for you?   No, today I have no bread No, today I care for you more to give you a few coins of mine I am so sorry little boy for today I plan to give you dignity and things like that can’t even buy you a single piece of bread    

We learn to love each other when we begin to realize how truly unique and wonderful each one of us is. Like seashells along the shore, no one is entirely alike, each is crafted with an imprint of God’s hand, each has something to share, and each has something to admire and long for in another. People often see me as I quiet person, one who rarely cracks a joke, one that can comfortably sit in a corner and have a good time reading a book or listening to good music. But that doesnt mean I couldn’t engage in good conversation. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t comfort a grieving soul. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t share the kind of happiness that comes from things the world hardly notices in its race towards unreachable dreams. I am the kind of person God has masterfully and lovingly made me to be. I am happy. I am beautiful. I am unique!

You hear her cries, you see her tears, and you wonder how on earth you’re going to wipe them all away.  You try to wipe them with your handkerchief, but then she cries again, and tears continue falling. Your heart breaks, and deep in your soul you don’t want to see her that way.  You get furious at those people who’ve hurt her like this, surely they have no right to do this to her.  But what could you do? You can’t turn back time, you can’t pull it back to that moment when she’s happy and her eyes filled with laughter.  No matter how much you wish, you can’t undo the evil that has been done. But you can stay beside her, and you can hold her hand.  And if you can’t pull her out of the darkness she’s in, you can join her where she is and let her know she is never  alone. You can wait with her until the storm passes.  You can remind her how beautiful she is and how you believe deep down in your heart she’s going to rise above it a...

Most people do not accomplish everything they are capable of doing because they have not come to the end of themselves and the beginning of their God-ordained destiny.

This is the secret of flying: When there is tremendous pressure all about you that you can do nothing but to rise above it all less be crushed underneath!

Have you ever come to a place of perfect peace where nothing, not even the very pangs of death could ever hurt you? When you reach that sacred place, you have not only come to a place of wholeness, you have also come to a place of great power! In that place where you seem to have nothing, you realize that all is yours, and you have everything!

I hid my uniqueness when I hid my scars, for the world only knew of smiles that know no tears.

“Be angry but do not sin.” anger is after all only an emotion that is neutral in itself we can sin while we are angry as we can sin while we are sad or even when we are happy maybe we just noticed that we only sin more when we are angry for anger is a powerful emotion that can overpower us if we do not know for why or how we should express it

    listen listen to the wind to the earth to the fire that growls from beneath your feet   what do you hear? what do you believe? will there ever be another sound another space another melody   no there will never be another you’ve heard it only once and no more maybe only once more the one that you can hear over and over again the one from within you the sound that clung to your very soul

  Sometimes I wonder how God with all His love and mercy did not show us all directly, clearly and astoundingly that there is indeed an afterlife, or a heaven and hell for that matter.   Why keep the veil upon his suffering people?   And why reveal it to a chosen few?   Does God not love us all?   Recalling however the parable of the weeds that grew with the good seed, maybe God does not want the good that would come out of it all by killing every weed that afflicts us in this life.   Maybe it is enough to have left a few rays of hope that we may believe and yet not waste what good this lfe may offer us all.

The Gospel yesterday was about the Prodigal Son.   During the sermon, the priest asked two very important questions: Was the younger son sincere in coming home to his father? Was the older son sincere in serving his father all those years?   The answer to both questions, according to the priest is – NO.   Both have other intentions other than sincerely loving their father.   Both wanted something else.   For the younger son, he realized it was the practical thing to do, to go back to his father rather than suffer starvation.   For the older son, his unhappiness about serving his father all those years proved his lack of a full and satisfying relationship with him.   He tried to do what was right, but his motivations for doing it seem not to include a genuine love and gratitude to his father.   I wondered how many Chritians today are actually doing the right thing for the right reasons.   Do we truly believe in the love of God?   Or are we merely looking for rewards?   Are we truly...

“For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, of love, and of a sound mind.” Yet how often do we find ourselves weak, hands hanging limp head bent down spirit drained and hopeless as though we were paupers and weaklings rather than sons and daughters of the Most High God? Being good is not being gutless and being kind is not being bereft of courage See yourself for who you really are someone with an eternal heritage redeemed and imbued with royalty, soaring and breaking through like the sunshine towards your divine destiny!

What do we look forward to? When we were kids, we looked forward to growing up when we were teenagers, we looked forward to finishing our studies when we were young adults, we looked forward to getting a job when we were finally stable, we looked forward to getting married, when we got married, we looked forward to having kids when we had kids, we looked forward to seeing them grow up and so the cycle goes…. but what if we stopped somewhere when we were adults thinking what life really means what a life that matters really is and what we’d really like to do will the cycle stop? shall we move on to another circle? after our soul searching the cycle may go on we marry we have kids we look forward to them growing up but then all the while that this happens a change within tells us things are finally different not because we’ve headed in a different direction but because we took the road with a new heart and a fresh new pair of eyes.

  If you ever got invited to watch a broadway musicale, all for free plane tickets and accommodations included, would you come?   How about a worldwide soccer championship match?   The coronation of a new king in England?   The Olympics?   And how about it if someone sends you a once in a lifetime guaranteed seat to heaven’s great feast at the end of time, would you come?   Surely you’d say all these are but silly questions.   For who would ever turn down such great opportunities?   In fact, you’d probably just answer me with another question – why not?   And yet my friend, silly as it may seem, that’s just what I might have just done.   Just a week ago, my good friend invited me to attend a celebration meant to be a tribute to a kind old man we both knew.   As I had no other plans for the scheduled date, I nodded saying unto myself, why not?   I mean, we both love the man, and for all the wonderful things he did, why not come and celebrate with others whos...

intense emotions can’t stand the pain parting farewells tears my soul apart how do you keep on hoping while holding the broken pieces of your heart? but you hope you hold on you take a deep breath and you are able to breathe alas hope is there in that very breath and you are able to wipe away your tears for a while tides recede for it is nature’s way it will rise again but so will you so will the broken pieces of your heart

I may not always be by your side, but my prayers will be with you. I may not always help you, but deep inside you know I want to. I may not always do what you like, but I will do the best I can. I may not always understand, but we can still walk hand in hand. I may not be the perfect friend, I may not be the best out there, but in spite and despite all these, you can be sure somebody cares!  😉   Just a simple poem on friendship.  Thanks for dropping by! More poems on friendship and other inspirational topics here!

 Hmm…. yummy! Coffee croissant sunshine friends inspiring words peace Ever had a good breakfast lately?  🙂

In today’s devotional, we reflect on a powerful teaching of Jesus found in Matthew 12:46-50. These verses challenge our understanding of family and invite us to see ourselves as part of a larger, spiritual family united by faith and obedience to God’s will. 46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.   48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”   49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!   50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.” “While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’ But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, ...

A cross a pebble a bookmark a pair of chopsticks How about you, what are your most treasured possessions?

  Do not pursue spectacular deeds.   What matters is the gift of your self, the degree of love that you put into each one of your actions.   When someone tells me that what the sisters do is irrelevant, that they limit themselves to things that are little less than ordinary, I reply that even if they helped only one person, that would be reason enough for their work.   Jesus would have died for one person, for one sinner.   He did not forsake his works of charity because the Pharisees and others rejected him and tried to spoil his Father’s work.   Suffering is nothing by itself.   But suffering shared with the passion of Christ is a wonderful gift, the most beautiful gift, a token of love.   Joy was the Virgin’s strength.   Only joy could give her the strength to walk without getting tired up to the hill country of Judea in order to carry out a servant’s work.   -Mother Teresa

Reflection on today’s Bible Reading (John 20:1-2, 11-18): 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Mag’dalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.   2 So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”   11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb;   12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.   13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”   14 Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.   15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you s...

Who can comprehend the mystery of love?  Love is more than joy, more than feelings, more than thought, more than we can ever imagine, much more than we can ever desire and be thankful for!

Last night, my good friend asked me one of the most difficult subjects I can ever reflect upon.   She asked me if I could ponder on the relevance of justice and love.   In my mind, it would’ve been easier had she asked about love and mercy, or love and grace, or love and forgiveness.   But love and justice?   Wasn’t it a question as old as whether God is either loving or just?   Or whether there is   a hell in the afterlife that will punish the wicked forever and ever into eternal fire?   How do I reconcile these things?   Can love and justice exist at the same time?   While I was pondering this, a blessed thought suddenly came upon me:   LOVE would never ever desire anything that is UNJUST, but LOVE can embrace even the UNJUST, and in its power bring forth JUSTICE in all things.   The first premise is clear.   Love is good and justice is good.   Love only desires that which is good, and justice is good indeed.   The second premise is harder but is still possible to be grasp...

Why does it seem so hard to be loved to be accepted for who you really are? I am sad I am lonely I am misunderstood Maybe times like these only the man in the cross can fathom my tears and honor them as though coming from a sacred fountain both sorrowful and divine.

Much had been said already urging us to discover our desires, pursue our interests, nourish our gifts, follow the passions God has given us.   Find your flow – that is the way to succeed and live a fulfilling life.   We then have a pretty picture in our minds of that day when we need not do our boring jobs anymore, and when we shall find abundance pouring in in ways we could never have imagined.   We feel the excitement pulsing in our veins, finally doing what we’re all supposed to do, living the glorious destiny to which we have been born into.   Then all of a sudden, we find ourselves living just the opposite life we dreamed.   We find ourselves in a rut, a deadend, or a yellow light that has kept us waiting longer than we have expected for us to realize the vision that has been given us.   What went wrong?   What sin have we committed for us to deserve this kind of punishment that has fallen upon us like a thief in the night stealing our dreams and the life that has been promi...

Meanwhile The rain is pouring The sky is dark There’ll be no hills to climb today There’ll be no seas to cross But I’ll sip my coffee and I will be cozy and enjoy the cool wind blowing by meanwhile. The land is plowed The seeds are planted Yet harvest time has not arrived But I’ll watch the sunset and my fields of gold and I’ll take a sweet little nap meanwhile. Yea for those who wait for their tomorrows let none then waste of their todays For all is well and all is fine for those who pray and smile meanwhile.  

Christianity, at its core, teaches love, kindness, and respect for others. The life and teachings of Jesus Christ emphasize compassion, forgiveness, and humility. However, it is not uncommon to encounter Christians who behave in ways that seem contrary to these principles, displaying rudeness or harshness towards others. This apparent contradiction can be puzzling and disheartening, both for believers and non-believers alike. To understand this phenomenon, it is essential to explore the various factors that might contribute to such behavior and how it contrasts with the fundamental teachings of Christianity. Misunderstanding or Misinterpreting Faith One of the primary reasons some Christians might behave rudely is a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of their faith. Christianity calls for spreading the message of the Gospel, but how this is done matters greatly. Some Christians may adopt an aggressive or confrontational approach, believing that they are defending their faith or ...

I would like to share a wonderful site by Craig J. Phillips at http://www.secondchancetolive.wordpress.com/ Craig shares: Per my traumatic brain injury, at the age of 10, I was in a motor vehicle accident. Upon impact — the Cadillac hitting our VW Beetle — I was thrown forward from where I sat, behind my father who was driving. On my way forward, I snapped my left femur on my Dad’s bucket seat and then hit the windshield. When my head hit the windshield, I sustained an open skull fracture. The injury to my brain resulted in my remaining in a coma for 3 weeks. Upon waking from what I thought was a bad dream, I found my left leg elevated and in traction. Slowly, it became apparent that I was not merely in a bad dream. Although I am unable to remember much from that time in my life, one memory stands out. The right side of my forehead — where the fracture occurred — was depressed inward like a shallow bowl. I later learned that my right frontal lobe had been d...

Today is the day I have decided to part with my beloved cup of coffee.  I almost couldn’t believe it myself!  🙁  Coffee has served me well in the past, kept me cozy in rainy days, given me a boost in my thinking and helped me in moments I desired inspiration so I can write.  Sad to say, even the most beautiful things must come to an end at times to give way to more beautiful things. I am looking forward to days where I won’t need to depend on it anymore just so I could think well. I am looking forward to early mornings I can rise early and easily, revitalized and without a bit of drowsiness that would require me to drink cup after cup of java from day to day. I am looking forward to deep slumber and vivid dreams when caffeine would no longer interfere me in my sleep. I am looking forward to gaining balance and wholeness, of more stable moods and less outbursts of temper. I am looking forward to more calcium being absorbed by my body. I am looking forward to less heart palpi...

  There is morning and there is evening, yet there is only time; there is toil and there is rest, yet there is only life there is sorrow and there is happiness, yet there is only beauty; there is pain and there is laughter yet there is only peace there is body and there is spirit yet there is only man there is holding on and there is letting go yet there is only lovewhat seasons come and what seasons go shall we take one and not the other or shall we know both and shall we know them true to know that there is but one good that makes up everything God has created Tell me now my friend, how many times have we deserted the more important things because we were not willing to embrace the crosses that comes along with our glory? How many times have we preferred to abandon life because of its sorrows, love because of its pains. It is no womder then that we often find ourselves left with nothing, without joy, without peace, and without the beauty that comes along with the pureness of our tear...

Having just celebrated my birthday, I would like to take down some of the things I’ve learned in life. 1. I learned that growth is a continuous process, and that the process usually means undergoing some sort of struggle, pain or difficulty. 2. I learned that though the process of growing is usually difficult and involves some kind of sorrow or pruning, the result is always towards greater happiness and empowerment. 3. I learned that one of man’s greatest need is to be loved, and one of the greatest hindrance to being loved is our inability or lack of willingness to understand one another. 4. I learned that many times, it really doesn’t take much to make people happy. A single rose could make someone’s day just as much as a million dollars can. 5. I learned that the greatest enemy we should conquer is our very selves. If we can face our shadows and our fears, we can face everything else. 6. I learned that however happy we are in the life we’re living, we sh...

I was at the door, sort of mumuring something and in deep concentration. It was a very hot afternoon and my sister kinda suspected I’m up to something weird again. I told her I’m praying for rain, and I invited her to pray for the same. She laughed and said that if she would be praying for something, she’d pray for something else, not for something as hard as that. She said it’s like we’d already be asking for a miracle, for it was indeed very hot, and there was not even a cloud in sight.In my heart though, I thought it wouldn’t really be that impossible. Rain is a very natural phenomena, and it’s been known to rain even in the middle of a hot summer day. It’s not like walking over water or multiplying bread to feed thousands. Rain can come and go anytime, so why can’t it be summoned in prayer? For the record, Jesus even made the storm stop and taught his disciples the meaning of faith. He taught us that we can do things greater than...

What’s wrong with being lukewarm? Isn’t being somewhere in the middle the right place to be? The safest place to be? I mean, who would ever complain of people trudging silently and patiently along, never bothering anyone? Why did the Bible deem it better to be cold instead of being lukewarm? Is being bad better than being not good enough? I used to ponder about this when I was a lot younger, because I just couldn’t believe how being lukewarm can be very much like a sin for one to be reprimanded for. It was only later though that I realized the true gravity of the condition of people being referred to as such. What is being lukewarm anyway? To begin with, we should make a clear distinction between being lukewarm and being average. Being lukewarm does not refer to one’s status or capacity in life, but in one’s state of inner consciousness and aliveness in spirit. Being lukewarm is a state of passivity, of being totally crippled to move either forward or backw...

In our search for truth, we oftentimes dissect it as a flower is dissected into its many parts. We peel the petals one by one, we examine the stamen and the pollen grains, the pistil and the ovary. But in so doing, we see not the flower anymore, and we have destroyed with our own hands and curiosity the very thing that delighted our eyes and gave inexplicable joy to our hearts. In the end, we are able to know everything but the flower itself. We are able to know all things but that which is priceless, that which is pure and true and beautiful.

What do I look forward to if my beloved isn’t here what do I live for what do I strive for whom do I cheer for along the way?How do I drag my feet to move each day that I won’t see her face How do I smile without seeing her kind face smiling back at me? How do I listen to songs now that all music had been a dirge How do I find the courage to stand without someone who needed me to without someone who yearned to be close to me without someone who’d lean on me Long have I wallowed in my emptiness long have I travelled in the darkness that spurred from my misery Yet the more I dwelt upon those shadows, and the more I cursed my breath and the warm blood that runs upon my veins, yea the more I chased death the more I did not find her and the farther away she seemed to be For my beloved is not in darkness nor she in my bitterest grief My beloved dwells not upon the empty chasm in my soul nor in the nightmares that torment me in my sleep my beloved is light and my beloved is j...

Is there nothing beautiful in this world anymore? Is there nothing at all that can delight us and give us hope? How many times have we felt we’ve seen it all, and there is nothing more that can inspire us the way things have inspired us before? How many times have we felt there is nothing more that can move us, that there is nothing more that can touch our hearts and bring our eyes to tears? Were the people of old merely more sentimental, and we more practical in our thoughts and ways? Were the folks that have lived before us merely too unfortunate to have fewer things with which to content themselves, or have we found too many things that overwhelm us, and we have lost sight of those things that can truly make us happy? What has changed? What has passed? Whatever faded that the more we grew and learned, the more we saw the shadows, the more our eyes longed for the beauty that faded through the passing of the years? Was it really something that left us, never ever to return? The c...

Do you have a hiding place? Do you have a hiding place? A special spot where you can just pour your heart out and call on to the God who loves you? A sacred little corner you can run to whenever you feel you’ve had enough? My bestfriend and I has such a place. It’s a little corner near the stairs of our office where you can view the city skyline and feel like heaven is just within your reach. Whenever the pressure from work would seem overwhelming, I would ask my friend to pray with me there. We’d just sit there, close our eyes and feel the presence of God in our midst. Indeed, it is true that that when two or three are gathered in His Name, there He is in the midst of them. For many times, even before words were actually uttered, I’d feel as though I were on holy ground. I’d feel how unworthy I am to be there before Him, and I would ask Him to cleanse me and forgive me of my sins. I’d feel how good and merciful God is, and how much He really cares fo...

HEALING Why won’t God give me what I ask? Why won’t he answer my prayer? – Job 6:8 TEV In trouble like this I need loyal friends. – Job 6:14 TEV You have gone far enough. Stop being unjust. Don’t condemn me. I’m in the right. – Job 6:29 TEV Month after month I have nothing to live for; night after night brings me grief. – Job 7:3 Job TEV My days pass by without hope… – Job 7:6 TEV No! I can’t be quiet! I am angry and bitter. I have to speak. – Job 7:11 TEV After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you did not speak the truth about me, the way my servant Job did…” – Job 42:7 TEV …the Lord made him prosperous once again and gave him twice as much as he had had before. – Job 42:10 TEV The Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life even more than he had blessed the first. – Job 42:12 TEV In the past I ...

I know your time Is standing still I know your eyes Are full of tears But hold on Love’s on our side Though for now We’ll say goodbye I know we’re going our separate ways So give me now a sweet embrace never let go I need you so I love you Never let me go Never let me go Hold on Hold on

You’re the one who keeps me hoping You’re the one who gives me life You’re the reason why I go on You’re the reason I surviveYou mean much more than the world You’re everything I need Oh please help me be like you Be my friend eternally Chorus: Take me Lord to your heart Shower me with your love Take away all I have But don’t take me away from You You’re the one who clears my mind When confusion takes its place You’re the one who wash my sins Which alone I can’t erase And as I walk through the road of life I know You are with me Oh please help me, make me strong Take me where I do belong poem+religious song+religious

Sometimes I feel so troubled I don’t know what to do There are many things that bother me There are many things I know Which are hard to reach Just too far to reach Or just so hard to understand But then I know there’s someone Who’d always stand by me There won’t be nights that are too cold There won’t be days that are too far from the sun Though the rest of the world may walk away I will never be alone The stars will shine above me And the earth will keep me close To you Each day is filled with purpose Heaven’s smiling down on me There isn’t a thing that I can’t do As long as you’re with me Heaven’s sweet embrace shall keep me here Wash away the tears Calm away the fears Bring the sun into my life Again Hmm…hmmm…

I. The road seem to have ended, but God will make a way The rain will soon stop fallin’ the night will turn to day The flowers that have withered I know will live again And my heart that has been broken up will soon be fixed againCHORUS: Cause I saw a light piercing through the night Yes I saw a light bright’ning up the sky And I heard a voice giving words of hope- Believe in me and you’ll be free I will take you home II. My tears seem to be many but soon I know they’ll change They’ll change from pain to happiness that will never end The moans will turn to music the black will turn to white And the courage that has left my soul will come with all its might song+religious

You’ve come so far from where you wanna go and you reached the dreams you’ve made some time ago as you walk along the shore seems you couldn’t ask for more yet the restless sea is calling you to go and dream once more Chorus: What lies ahead what lies across that restless sea is there something that my heart should find or someone waiting just for me oh how would I know I’ll never know unless I try I’ll never know unless I dream again with you Lord by my side You’ve wished upon a star sometime ago yet there are millions more just waiting for your call as you walk beneath the moon someone waits to see you soon and you know that you can even dance as you build your dreams once more poem+dream

Let go of your tears, and you will see the light. Let go of your worries, for tomorrow is alright. Let go of your troubles, or you might lose your peace. Let go of your fears, and you will find your dreams! You will find your life, is more meaningful to live. You will find your burden, getting lighter like your soul. You will find happiness, always waiting on your way. You will find heaven,getting nearer each day!

AT THE END OF THE DAY At the end of the day, after all the work is done; At the end of the day, as we watch the setting sun; After all the trials, and after all the pain; After all the struggles, to make it through the day; I thank God for peace and rest, and for little smiles from you; I thank God for rising stars, and for little hugs from you; For there is no blessing, such as this I found so true: It’s such a pleasure just walking home at the end of the day with you!

Hold my hand in friendship, while I am still alive. Come take my hand and walk with me, along the road of life. For I don’t want your whispers, when my ears can no longer hear, Nor your embrace, when I can no longer feel. Let me know you need me, while I can still extend my hand; Lest I let the Savior take me, to a far and blessed land…

This may not be a time for dances, but this is a time for prayer. This may not be a time for clapping, but this is a time for songs. This may not be a time for merriment, but this is a time for awakening. This may not be a time for running, but this is a time for rest. This may not be a time for kisses, but this is a time for hugs. This may not be a time for laughter, but this is a time for smiles. This may not be a time for parties, this may not be a time for noise, But this is a time for healing, and this is a time for joy!