Showing posts with label story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label story. Show all posts
A sad news is never a good news. It is heartbreaking and tear-jerking news to receive early in the morning, and processing it entails wisdom, prayer, and surrendering to the LORD.
It is a truth that everyone will die. Each of us has a time destined to meet with our Creator, and also when and how He planned it to happen. But no matter how much truths are there in death, we as humans are not exempted from the fear and anxiety that comes with it.
These past few weeks have been filled with anxiety at home. We were all sick and have similar symptoms of CoVid. We had colds, coughs, lack of appetite, and everything we ate was tasteless. My mother had it the worst. She was weak and could no longer do the things she used to do at home during those moments. It was very hard for me to see her eating so little and being so weak that she ended up laying on the bed. My father and I tried our best to function at home and did the household chores my mother used to do for us. The whole situation took a toll on me that there were times that I just cried while looking at my mother, during webinars, or while doing paperwork. I even got angry at my sister because she acted like she did not care at all about the whole situation we were in as if we were not part of her life.
We tried taking over-the-counter medicines like paracetamol and expectorant, and multivitamins. They worked for me and my father, but not for my mother. Her fever and the persistent cough kept on pestering her for days. She could not even eat properly to nourish her body and give her strength.
My father was hesitant to bring my mother to the hospital due to the pandemic. We have this notion that if someone has symptoms similar to the CoVid there is a big chance to be admitted to the hospital and stay quarantined away from us. Hospital expenses are one thing to be concerned about, but I was more afraid that my mother had to stay in a hospital where nothing was certain and she was not with us. I was praying to God to heal my mother and never to go to a hospital, but He stayed silent and I never ceased praying and crying out to Him.
To be continued...
It is harvest time! At last, the time has finally come that I get to reap some fruits of our humble Calamansi Tree. I have been eyeing those little round green fruits for quite some time, maybe months. I thought I would never see our Calamansi tree bearing fruits again. Thoughts like it were just a one-time fruit-bearing tree flooded my mind, and that discouraged me from hoping I would ever see a single fruit in that little tree.
We bought the Calamansi tree from my mother's churchmate. Though I planned to gain a tree by planting seeds and that did not push through. Instead, we decided to grab the opportunity of buying a grown-up tree.
I was fascinated with the fruits it already had upon getting the plant and hopeful for a fruitful future for the Calamansi tree. There were only a few fruits when we acquired the tree, not more than 7 fruits I guess. After harvesting the initial fruits of the newly bought plant, months passed yet it did not show any sign of bearing fruits. I didn't see flowers. I kept on telling my concerns to my mother and father from time to time and the usual response I got was that it was not yet its season. I understood it but that didn't stop me from asking them when it was going to be its season. I was getting impatient which was not a good sign.
Days, weeks, and months passed by and I completely discarded my issue with the Calamansi tree, I got busy with other important things.
One time at school, I heard my colleagues discussing plants since it has been a trend during this time of the pandemic. Plantita and Plantito have been all over the places and the trend also gave opportunities for some to start a small business by selling plants.
I acquired some useful tips from their discussion about fertilizers. I am for organic fertilizers. One of my colleagues mentioned that she used tea as fertilizer. I thought that was perfect since we have and usually drink tea at home.
At home, I gathered all the used tea in a mesh I kept in the refrigerator and went upstairs where our plants are located. I was so oblivious as I confidently sowed the teabag on the soil. That was an easy job I thought.
But I did wrong. I realized that one time when my colleagues were having a small talk again about plants. Well, it had been a consistent topic among them for quite some time. I was supposed to remove the mesh and let the ground leaves dry. I should have not just throw them on the soil. I learned my lesson and removed the mesh when I got the chance to do it at home.
If my schedule permitted me, I watered the plants every morning, trimmed dried leaves or stems, and whispered some encouraging words to them, especially the Calamansi tree since I was looking forward to getting the fruits.
Before March ended, I did not miss the opportunity to harvest the fruits of the Calamansi tree with joy and excitement. I only picked the ones that I thought were ready for this season.
I also learned another lesson from my father, he was happy when he saw the harvested fruits, yet he noticed that I cut some fresh sprout leaves which could have been another set of fruits for the next season. There are still some fruits left to ripe and grow a little bigger and rounder, so next time that it's their season to be harvested I'll be careful not to pluck any potential fruit-bearing leaves and stems. In total, we got almost a quarter of 1 kilogram. Not bad.
What I realized from this experience is that waiting isn't such a bad idea if done properly. Waiting isn't doing nothing. Waiting requires patient. And patient is long-suffering while you wait expectantly with joy, hope, and faith that everything will work together for good for those who love Him. Your waiting season is never wasted, so keep on moving towards Him.
The feeling of being not enough as a teacher is more intense now during the pandemic when modular and online distance learning is being implemented where a face-to-face class is not recommended. I am an adviser again for the school year 2020 to 2021 after two or three years of having none. I have 53 students and the last time I counted them, there are 7 students who do not want to continue schooling. The decision came from the students themselves or from their parents via phone calls I made with them or through the Messenger application.
The desire not to push through with their studies is a saddening reality I can relate to. In my adolescent years when everything confused and overwhelmed me was a time in my life when I kept telling to my parents that I no longer wanted to go to school or I desired to get out of the educational system and felt like it was not helping me or even not good to my humanity and sanity. There were a lot of fears going on inside me. The fear of facing my classmates and teachers or in anyone in that place or more like I just wanted to stay at home, buried myself in front of our secondhand and defective television, and watched anime. Sitting in front of the telly was actually my sanctuary, it was from the anime I watched I got comfort and satisfaction.
I was an honor student during my elementary days and it was a shock of my life when I realized that I could no longer keep up with the performances of my classmates, they appeared more confident than I was. The way they answered in the recitation I just could not match them. They were multi-talented: dancing, acting, singing, name it they knew it. As for myself, I was just a girl who hid and suppressed feelings: the positive and negative, the anger and pain I struggled with. I was just too proud to show them all even at such a young age. Probably, because at home we were not properly encouraged to express our emotions. I grew timider than I already was. I lost interest in my studies.
I used to blame my parents for my difficulties in expressing my emotions, but it is no longer the situation now after 15 years. Instead, I feel thankful towards them, despite their own struggle and challenges faced during those times they were able to never let go of me, never got tired of my tantrums, never held back to provide my needs the best way they could. I am most thankful for them teaching me about and believing in God and also for saying 'no' firmly when I cried and begged them that I wanted to stop schooling and I no longer desire to pursue an education.
Gratefulness is what I have towards my parents. They have never been perfect parents, but I am pretty sure that God gave them to me for they are the parents I need as I live my life here on earth. And as for my students, I still contact them from time to time. Aside from those 7 students, I think half of my class is not regularly submitting their outputs this second quarter, and it is such a letdown. Modules and tablets are provided, and I follow up on them from time to time, but I am positive that there are other reasons behind this situation. They may be having difficulties which are evident with the kind of setup we have right now. They maybe hating school, their teachers, classmates, parents, or even themselves, but I hope they do not give up on their education. It seems not easy right now, yet I know that their hard work will be rewarded. They may not receive the reward immediately, it may take years, decades, centuries, maybe even when we no longer dwell in the physical world.
But I would like to tell them this: Please believe in this child, you are where you are supposed to be. So don't give up on your education. Time will pass and before you knew it you already graduated and reminiscing the silly things you did. I will always be praying for you, sweet child of God.
There is a season for everything. There is a reason for everything. And all things happen for a purpose.
Before the day ends, she wonders if her life has any purpose, if she is living the life meaningful. She almost cries tonight with a thought of self-pity and insecurities of growing old alone and lonely. She does not want to blame others, it is her choice not to be in a relationship, and to wait patiently for God's best.
Sometimes she has wild thoughts and plans to make "walwal", to get drunk and run wild. She has this worldly idea that maybe just like others, she needs to go with the flow of this temporal world, to conform to ways of the world, so she can finally find the one.
Sometimes she wonders why people obsessed with being married and having children. Like it is the ultimate goal of life. Like it is a demise if someone would end up alone, unmarried, and without children or even a child.
"You complete me." How much she wishes to say those words to the one. But is it right to tell that to the other person? He might feel the burden and end up destroying her instead of completing her. Remember that humans are limited. The limitations sometimes prevent them to do what they want when they want. Sometimes the things they do not want to do, they do.
Humans are strange creatures, weird even, but they are beautiful. Created in the image of God, they are more than just a replica, they have Spirit, free will, and a purpose. They are not just for display. They live for a reason in every season.
She feels uneasy, though she knows the truth. The truth about her identity. She is more than just a girlfriend material or a wife material or a mother material. She is so much more than the label society gives to clueless human beings. She knows her identity and it is in Christ, a child of God. Forgiven. Saved. Adopted.
The world will never stop telling her lies about her identity. There are times she would believe them, but there are also times she steps on and crushes them under her feet. A victor against the lies of the enemy.
It gets melancholic sometimes yet she knows it is just temporary, that all things shall pass. The joy and the pain in the waiting season will surely come to pass and catapult her to the plans God has for her.
She is getting sleepy from all these thoughts inside her mind. She is an intelligent woman and always seeks Wisdom from God. Life will be good to her, as she journeys and becomes a woman of God, a woman of value, a woman of faith.
Tomorrow will take care of itself. She sleeps safe and sound holding firmly the truth in her heart.
"Life is good because He is good." She thought to herself as she let sleep dwell on her.
To be continued...
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt asked the lady cashier if F. Sionil Jose's books were all on sale. Her fascination with Jose's book urged her to buy his other works to complete The Rosales Saga novel series where The Pretenders belong to. So she went back to the bookshelf in one of the parallel bookshelves. As she returned to the counter to check the discounted price of F. Sionil Jose's book, she decided to double-check the official receipt from the lady cashier, and upon careful scrutiny, she noticed that one of the books she already paid for was scanned at its regular price of 475 pesos, that got the shock out of her. She thought she had the advantage, but it turned out that she was at the disadvantage.
She was cool about the mistake and thought that she still had a change. The lady cashier was a little panicky and apologetic as she tried to come with a solution for overcharging her customer. The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt was looking forward to the change, but it turned out that payment through debit or credit card was difficult to retrieve for some accounting reason, the accountant would be able to explain. Surprisingly, she was still calmed about the predicament of not getting back her excess payment.
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt waited for some moments for her concern to be resolved. She observed patiently as the lady cashier called for a back-up. Help came from another lady who appeared to be a store manager. She suggested that additional purchase could fix the problem, that the lady in a pink t-shirt would have to add books or other items from the book store to compensate her excess payment, and supposedly her change to be.
She did not want to cause trouble or inconvenience on the part of the lady cashier and store manager. Willingly, she accepted the suggested solution. She went back and forth from the counter to the shelves and vice versa in search of a book or books that would be equal to the change she was supposed to get. In finality, she went for 2 books from F. Sionil Jose and 2 refills of Dong-A color green sign pen for NBS to compensate for her unreturnable excess payment.
It was not a pleasant experience, more so the lady in a pink t-shirt and a knee-length maong skirt was surprised at herself for not losing her temper even though it took her long and 4 trips of back and forth from counter to bookshelves and bookshelves to counter just to find the right items to remunerate her overcharge payment. It was also getting late and she badly wanted to go home, but she was not overcome by annoyance or impatience toward the cashier or the situation and circumstance she was under.
When she was asked to fill out a small paper survey form, she gladly answered the needed information. It was a return and exchange survey form, she was not sure of some of the details needed in the form and for the assistance of the lady cashier. She got a response from the staff that they would be the ones to take care of it and submitted the form right away.
Everything did not go smoothly at NBS, yet she was satisfied with how the inconvenience turned into satisfaction. All by God's grace. The lesson learned is always to double-check your receipt before leaving the store, ask the cashier if the books you want to buy for so long are on sale because sometimes they miss putting a new price or sale tag, if possible be patient with everyone, and lastly, always be ready for the surprises in your life.
She was cool about the mistake and thought that she still had a change. The lady cashier was a little panicky and apologetic as she tried to come with a solution for overcharging her customer. The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt was looking forward to the change, but it turned out that payment through debit or credit card was difficult to retrieve for some accounting reason, the accountant would be able to explain. Surprisingly, she was still calmed about the predicament of not getting back her excess payment.
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt waited for some moments for her concern to be resolved. She observed patiently as the lady cashier called for a back-up. Help came from another lady who appeared to be a store manager. She suggested that additional purchase could fix the problem, that the lady in a pink t-shirt would have to add books or other items from the book store to compensate her excess payment, and supposedly her change to be.
She did not want to cause trouble or inconvenience on the part of the lady cashier and store manager. Willingly, she accepted the suggested solution. She went back and forth from the counter to the shelves and vice versa in search of a book or books that would be equal to the change she was supposed to get. In finality, she went for 2 books from F. Sionil Jose and 2 refills of Dong-A color green sign pen for NBS to compensate for her unreturnable excess payment.
It was not a pleasant experience, more so the lady in a pink t-shirt and a knee-length maong skirt was surprised at herself for not losing her temper even though it took her long and 4 trips of back and forth from counter to bookshelves and bookshelves to counter just to find the right items to remunerate her overcharge payment. It was also getting late and she badly wanted to go home, but she was not overcome by annoyance or impatience toward the cashier or the situation and circumstance she was under.
When she was asked to fill out a small paper survey form, she gladly answered the needed information. It was a return and exchange survey form, she was not sure of some of the details needed in the form and for the assistance of the lady cashier. She got a response from the staff that they would be the ones to take care of it and submitted the form right away.
Everything did not go smoothly at NBS, yet she was satisfied with how the inconvenience turned into satisfaction. All by God's grace. The lesson learned is always to double-check your receipt before leaving the store, ask the cashier if the books you want to buy for so long are on sale because sometimes they miss putting a new price or sale tag, if possible be patient with everyone, and lastly, always be ready for the surprises in your life.
This past week I participated in a week-long prayer and fasting. It is the third time I joined this prayer and fasting in the church I am attending since November 2019. This week-long event is held twice a year among the church members. For the first two times I participated in prayer and fasting with the church, I fasted with my social media and online browsing, but this time I chose partial fasting where I fasted one meal, originally I intended to two meals and I was successful on the first day, but for the days that allowed I decided to have it as one meal since work and other activities demanded that I ate at least two meals a day. I felt like a failure, so I prayed to God for forgiveness and understanding of my iniquities.
When I was young the only knowledge I had about fasting was people do this during Holy Week. In my young and ignorant mind, I tried to participate with the intention of pleasing God in my own little ways. I remembered that I even tried not to eat meat or any food that has meat during those days even though it was the only viand I would like to eat with rice back then, I did not want to eat fish and vegetables. I guess you could that I always failed. There was an idea implanted in me that meat is dirty and it pollutes and corrupts our body if eaten during Holy Week. I was young and with limited and confusing knowledge about faith and God. And It thought prayer was just a one-way communication with God, so I could tell Him my wants and needs.
Prayer and Fasting are spiritual disciplines we need and must practice in developing a personal and intimate relationship with God. That's how I see them.
Prayer has been my constant means of talking to God since I have come to know and experience Him on a personal level. There are moments that I cry while remembering His mercy and grace in my life, how His redemptive power gives hope and joy in my once bitter and angry life. God also answers in our prayer, though they are not verbal and some are not given right away, still, there is something miraculous in the way God responds in our prayer and sometimes it is really hard to explain, that it seems like it is beyond human comprehension. Christians coined it as Spirit-filled prayer for us to live a Spirit-filled life.
Here are definite answers I got from the booklet provided by the church about prayer and fasting:
This is the suggested pattern of prayer found in the booklet:
Every day there is an assigned Scripture for what we prayed for and I got to journal my thoughts on the soft copy of the booklet through the Write on PDF app on my android phone.
All by God's grace, I was able to attend and participate in the Prayer and Fasting week. We were reminded that prayer and fasting as a church or as an individual were not just one or two times event in a year, it could be a once-in-a-week routine, depending on your chosen day, and it was also suggested that it could be on Friday. I still have a long way to go and a lot to improve in the areas of spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting, and I praise God for guiding me and providing opportunities to be closer to Him, and as He always does, staying close to me. By His grace, may we always turn to Him in prayer, whether in joy or in pain. God bless our brave hearts!
After pondering for quite some time which book to get, she finally picked two hard bounds and one soft bound of contemporary fiction and hid them at the bottom shelf. She noted to buy them if her budget would permit them to be bought.
Only a few steps from that unpopulated corner, she made her way to the more exposed bookshelves which held more of the popular book category. It catered a bit more pricey books compared to what could be found in the corner where she just left off. There were paralleled shelves with a little space in between enough for just one person. Regardless of the book price in that area, she browsed with expectancy hoping to find books with sufficient discounts that would allow her to buy the books. A book by F. Sionil Jose always got her attention whenever she went to that area of the book store. She had an unusual fascination with classic Filipino authors ever since she came to realize that reading Filipino books was not a bad choice for her next reading escapade. That books written by classic Filipino authors were worth reading for.
She chose The Pretenders by F. Sionil Jose as her first book from his works. The title intrigued her and she wanted to know the pretenders in the story. But, that would take some time for her to discover the answers to her curiosity, and not too soon. She still had others waiting to be read on her bookshelves at home, and the first come first read policy was strictly implemented.
Upon entering the book store, there were tables with books on them in the middle aisle straight from the entrance, some with big discounts. They were huge discounts like from 365 pesos price of the book down to 25 pesos, and that was like 93% off. Wasn't that amazing for a thrift reader like her? She got two books about the healing powers of honey and vinegar, which were more on the category of an organic and healthy lifestyle.
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt made a mental note that she had enough. She reached the limit of her budget for book buying. She returned to the unpopulated corner and brought out the three books she hid at the bottom shelf. In total, she had six books, two hard bounds, and four soft bounds.
Her cash was not sufficient for the total amount of the books, but it was a relief that the lady cashier accepted the debit card mode of payment. As she waited for the cue, she had doubts and uncertainties if it was wise and practical to spend money on those 6 books. She stood there in the line feeling conflicted. She was next in line before a couple who bought a lot of office supplies with lots of long bond paper. The agony was taking a toll on her and she just needed a step to get away from the line and return the books on their respective shelves or stay on the line and let the cashier punch her purchase.
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt finally had her moment with the cashier. Carefully, she placed all her skeptically chosen six books on the counter. The lady cashier was nice as she joyfully scanned the books and announced to her that there were more discounts than she expected like those two books with a price tag of 50 pesos were actually 25 pesos from 365 pesos or 195 pesos was actually 156 pesos from 475 pesos. She thought the prices were already the final discounted price, but there was more. She felt giddy every time the lady cashier made an announcement of bigger discounts she could get. That genuine smile would never leave her face as she heard the good news.
to be continued...
The lady in a pink t-shirt partnered with her knee-length maong skirt strut her way as she walked across the paralleled department in one of the biggest malls in their town. She cat-walked as if no one was around her in that public place that was always populated with different people on any given day.
While carrying a paper bag full of wooden key chains she bought from a Christian book store, her next stop was the most reputable bookstore chain in the Philippines. She glanced at the sale signboard as she slowly passed by the floor to ceiling window panels. Salivating over those discount sales was an overstatement, but nevertheless, it was a sight to see a bookstore with 50% off signs.
The lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt was feeling giddy as she browsed a few selections of books on sale. Hardbound and softbound. Fiction and non-fiction. Local and international authors and publishers. There were a quite few selections of printed books in an industry that was dying little by little due to the emergence of the digital age in the publishing world.
Spectators said that e-book or electronic books would soon replace the existence of the printed books and people would no longer want and need to buy printed books in a physical book store. But the lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt begged to disagree.
Dropping by to an NBS branch was a routine for her whenever she went to a department store and always looked forward to discounted or bargained books. That day at NBS was like any ordinary day for her, except for health protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After filling out the contact tracing form, she swiftly entered the haven of any book lover. She browsed books like she normally would, reading the title and the author of the book, turning the book and glancing the price at the back, and pondering whether the book worth the price or wishing when it would go on sale. After some time of wishful thinking, she would return the to its original place, properly.
At one corner of the book store where no one seemed to notice that place, the lady in a pink t-shirt and knee-length maong skirt took an interest in surveying the corner. It had books she wanted to buy not so long ago.
to be continued...
It was morning and I was not feeling well. I felt cold and warm so I took a nap hoping the feeling would fade away. I prayed as I tried to get a little sleep to ease the cold and warmth I was feeling. It sounded ironic the way I put it, but if you are a normal human being this is exactly how you feel when you are about to get sick, you feel cold and hot. As I experienced this irony in my body, anxiety began to take over me about my plans for the first few days of 2021. I might put it behind and lose some finances due to my sickness.
Episodes just like this in my life remind me of my humanity, that there is a weakness in me, that I am limited in different aspects, yet I know that I am enough for the purpose He has entrusted me. God has supplied and will supply whatever I need. This is also a loving nudge from God that I must learn to let go of the things I can't control and fully trusting Him that all things will work together for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
The year 2021 is not an exemption to the war that has been occurring even before I existed here on earth. A spiritual war has been going on since Satan rebelled against God. And the battleground for this war is our mind, thus we should fill our minds with good thoughts and ideas that edify us towards the kingdom of God.
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ, ~2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ESV
Living a victorious life is never easy, surely there are times of failure and losses, but He is faithful and Christ is enough. He will bring comfort in our troubled times. He will be with us when we face tribulation in our life. He will not forsake us. The LORD is always with us.
I am in the process of knowing God more and seeking Him to have that personal and intimate relationship. There are times that I waver and neglect my time with Him so I tried to improve some of my habits that will help me in my journey to know and experience Him more. I listed down below some of the materials that help me with this spiritual journey with God:
1. Journal Notebook
Ever since I decided to become a writer I always tend or prefer to pen down my thoughts and feelings in a notebook, but I was never consistent. Most of the time I just brush off the chances of penning down those thoughts and feelings. But the year 2020 made the difference, I was more determined to utilize my journal notebook in talking my thoughts and feelings with God. Hopefully, 2021 will bring the same determination as I continue to seek more of God.
2. 365-Day / Everyday Devotional
Recently, I began reading the Bible from the beginning, the book of Genesis. I was having trust issues with what the church was telling about Jesus. This was a struggle I opened to my Discipleship Group leader and other members. They prayed for me and gave references for me to watch, read, and meditate upon. Aside from reading the Bible, I thought it would be nice to have this everyday devotional book by Max Lucado.
3. Pens and Highlighters
I use Dong-A Fine Tech, they are more affordable than its other competitor. I get the quality I want at a much lower price. It is also refillable. For highlighters, I have ones from Stabilo Boss and Schneider Job collections. I just need the basics for penning down my thoughts and feelings, and sometimes my conversations with God. I also tried writing stories and poems on notebooks, but it appears to me that I am not making any progress right now.
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Happy new year! God bless everyone!
Through little ways... in Jesus's name!
It has been almost four months since the Community Quarantine was first imposed in the Philippines because of the pandemic COVID-19, and CQ has been called a lot of names during this period: lockdown, ECQ, MECQ, GCQ, MGCQ, and a lot more.
In this new normal, everyone is facing struggles on adjusting to the present setting of their lives. WFH or Work From Home is the new normal set up among some of the companies. Skeletal force is required to report physical in their workplace. All these adjustments are thanks to the blessing of technology. Before COVID-19, I thought advanced technology like wifi, smartphones, and others are doomed to destroy the lives of every human being because of the proliferation of pornography through these devices. Yet, during this time I realized that God has allowed the invention of these technologies to prepare us for what we have right now and also that good things can come out from the things God has allowed to happen.
Education has received a blow because of this pandemic. Due to viruses, we are limited to move and do what we normally do during enrolment and classes. Face to face classes with the students is still prohibited since the learners are considered vulnerable to COVID-19. The Philippine educational system did not even consider the option of canceling the school year 2020-2021 due to COVID-19. But instead, they devised plans and programs to make sure the education of every young Filipino continues under the program LCP or Learning Continuity Plan of the Department of Education.
The higher up have been exerting every effort to make education possible for every young Filipino in this time of pandemic and it goes the same way with the teachers. In little ways, teachers are doing their part to make sure they follow the direction of DepEd despite the uncertainties and anxieties brought by COVID-19. Teachers attend webinars, learn new strategies, techniques, and methods on how to deliver the teaching-learning process with the learners, while simultaneously complying with the paperwork and reports required by the school, division, region, or even from the national.
It is overwhelming and one may not be excused to experience quarantine fatigue. I thought staying at home or working from home will be a smooth sailing ship, and guess what I was wrong. Definitely wrong.
Paperworks and submission of reports arrive without a warning. They come on Saturday, Sunday, on weekends, at night, at midnight, and even during the dawn. It was a bit difficult at first, but DepEd is trying its best to prepare their teachers for the new normal by conducting webinars about mental health, psychosocial, and psychological support. I am glad that finally the department finally made this issue a priority not only for the learners but also for its personnel.
As one of the public teachers, I still struggle with this new normal. It was hard to imagine at first how the school year 2020-2021 will sail. Right now, at least I have a little glimpse of what could happen this school year during the teaching-learning process without the face to face learning modality. Our school head conducted a survey about the teachers' preferred mode of teaching in consideration of the learners' preferred learning delivery. I chose modular since my internet is not reliable (Ahem, Globe, baka naman), as of this moment I am waiting for a better internet connection through Converge. So, I'll see which is better, I want to remain with Globe, yet the need for a faster and better internet connection is a must to have an effective WFH arrangement.
Just today, I tried to create a digital presentation of a sample lessons for the LCP campaign of our school and also as a preparation for the new school year. I also made this because I had no choice but to choose to comply (hehe and because of Romans 13:1 NIV: "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.", to God be all the glory).
I am happy with the results of my journey in creating digital content. I was excited after seeing the finished product, because of my excitement I posted the video on my Youtube channel. I am content with my work, and accept that there is still room for improvement. I hope that through this kind of digital content school yeat 2020-2021 will come to pass, in Jesus's name!
Are you a teacher?
What is a teacher?
Hello! I am Teacher Arlene.
Always, I had an eerie feeling before whenever someone calls me Teacher Arlene outside school. I didn't like it because of the system and the duties and responsibilities entangled with it, they're huge, overwhelming, and some should be done by a different set of personnel most of the times. Thus, I wanted to get away from it. I have tried many times but God is not yet done with me being a teacher. He has put me for a reason and a season. I don't know until when I am going to be a teacher in the system I am in right now, only Him knows.
In the present setting, the new normal is very challenging for everyone else including teachers, learners, and parents. That's why my prayer is that may we all find the endurance, strength, and wisdom to thrive in these trying times through Him and in Him.
Let's go back to my question, so what really is a teacher?
It isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires students to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows. ~Edda, The Witch of Portabello by Paulo Coelho
I pray that you will be able to find you're true calling in these trying times. Pray for me too. 😄🙌🙏
Who is God?
I did not know who God is.
Do I know Him?
I did not know the real Him.
Do I have that intimate relationship with Him?
I thought He hated me because I kept on sinning--and I still do. I thought He did not want anything to do with a sinner like me.
But I was wrong.
I am weak in the human flesh. So weak... But that did not and never cause Him to love me less, instead, He loves me more, more than I can imagine.
You might be thinking how do I know that He loves me no matter what. How do I know that He will never love me less? How can I be sure that despite my weakness or in its plural form I am loved and protected?
In any human relationship, we must have an intimate relationship with a person to know them better and the truths about him or her. We spend time with that person and talk to them on a regular basis. And just like in human relationships, to have an intimate relationship with God, we also need to spend time with Him like attending Sunday worship, having quiet time with Him, being part of a small group or Bible study, talking and listening to Him through prayers.
By spending time with Him through my quiet time, I am knowing more about Him and putting my trust in Him as a grow and live my life with Him. His promises to you and me, I hold them, dear, to my heart because I know Him, I know His truest character and He never fails.
Psalm 62 CEV is the Scripture during my quiet time with Him last Sunday, June 14. It is only now that God is allowing me to post this blog entry. This chapter says:
God Is Powerful and Kind
1 Only God can save me,
and I calmly wait for[a] him.
2 God alone is the mighty rock[b]
that keeps me safe
and the fortress
where I am secure.
3 I feel like a shaky fence
or a sagging wall.
How long will all of you
attack and assault me?
4 You want to bring me down
from my place of honor.
You love to tell lies,
and when your words are kind,
hatred hides in your heart.
5 Only God gives inward peace,
and I depend on him.
6 God alone is the mighty rock
that keeps me safe,
and he is the fortress
where I feel secure.
7 God saves me and honors me.
He is that mighty rock
where I find safety.
8 Trust God, my friends,
and always tell him
each one of your concerns.
God is our place of safety.
9 We humans are only a breath;
none of us are truly great.
All of us together weigh less
than a puff of air.
10 Don’t trust in violence
or depend on dishonesty
or rely on great wealth.
11 I heard God say two things:
“I am powerful,
12 and I am very kind.”
The Lord rewards each of us
according to what we do.
I am not an expert in Bible verses but these are the truths about God that are revealed through His word on Psalm 62:
1. He is the only one who can save me no one else (Psalm 62:1).
1 John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life.
2. He, alone, keeps me safe (Psalm 62:2).
Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my protector; he is my strong fortress. My God is my protection, and with him I am safe. He protects me like a shield; he defends me and keeps me safe.
3. Only He can give me inward peace (Psalm 62:5).
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
4. God honors me because He loves me (Psalm 62:7).
Isaiah 41:10 ESV Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
5. God is a trusted friend, my confidant (Psalm 62:8).
John 15:15 ESV No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
6. God is powerful and very kind (Psalm 62:11-12).
Psalm 147:5 ESV Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
7. He is a rewarder (Psalm 62:12).
Hebrews 11:6 KJV But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Reboot your life and start your journey with Him now!
Know God more! Be intimate with Him! Have that intimate relationship with Him!
Need someone to talk to? In need of prayers? Message me, I'm willing to listen and pray for you. May God bless us all!☺
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