Lifting Burdens

We cannot lift another unless we’re on higher ground.
As a human being, I sometimes find myself at the bottom of the pit and unable to write uplifting messages for this blog site. But there is one faithful reader among you who just won’t allow me to wallow in my mire of misery for a long [...]

Read Full Post »

The Gift of Presence

I witnessed last Sunday how being there for someone in times of need is sometimes all it takes to make them feel better. One does not even have to do anything, but listen.
The efforts to reach out and help those who have been affected by the storm continue. Some homes are still under water, families [...]

Read Full Post »

Love Unfeigned

(Photograph by Edwin Redrino)

They say you really love someone when you still love that person even when the person least deserves it.

There were times in the past when I’ve made mistakes and didn’t deserve to be loved by the people around me. Some of them judged me and walked away, but those who truly [...]

Read Full Post »

The Blessings of Friendship

(Photograph by Franco Advincula)

When I was a freshman in college, I met a friend whose good examples and strong testimony influenced me in a way that led me to learn more about what she believed in. She always had a bright smile on her face and a sunny disposition despite what was going on around [...]

Read Full Post »

On Being a Parent

I used to just read it in various books and magazines, but now it’s happening to me! My children are growing up and slowly having lives of their own that last night as I drove down the road after dropping my son off to his activity, I realized that sooner or later I will have [...]

Read Full Post »

Love Is Spoken Here

(Photograph by Edwin Redrino)
 
I was walking with my visiting teaching companion on our way home last night when I saw a familiar face standing outside the gate of their house. Our eyes locked so I waved, but the person looked away without waving back. L
 
I must admit I felt kind of sad about that, but [...]

Read Full Post »

Choice and Accountability

(Photograph by Edwin Redrino)
 
In one of our light moments the past weekend, my daughter came up with a brilliant realization about her soon becoming an official adult. She’s turning 18 in March. She said to me in jest:
 
“Mom, I realized that when I turn 18, I will be old enough to get married, be put [...]

Read Full Post »

A Different Perspective

(Photograph by Edwin Redrino)

On New Year’s Eve, we were privileged to have my mom’s brother and his wife for dinner. It was the first time that my uncle and aunt spent New Year’s Eve with us. I was very close to my uncle while growing up and have highly esteemed his counsels at various points [...]

Read Full Post »