Triplebration!

          This is a BIG week for me and my family.  Last Wednesday began the 40 day Lent in preparation for the commemoration of the Holy Week, remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The next day, Thursday was my VALentine's birthDay.  This is a week of triple celebration!

          Speaking of Lent, in the past, I haven't really immersed myself into the 40-day contemplation and preparation for the culmination of the celebration of Jesus' ressurection for man's salvation.  (Whew, that's a lot of "tion").  Anyways, this week, as I was listening to Midday Connection at Moody radio last Wednesday, where the women were talking about Creative Journaling for and stuff you give up during Lent, I was compelled to examine my life and what I can give up to prepare my heart for the Holy Week.  I pondered on the thought and the next day, Valentine's day, in my daily devotion, I was led to John 17:19 where Jesus said: "And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them, so they can be made holy by Your truth."  I want to share the thoughts and reflections I had on that day:

Sacrifice.

What did Jesus give up when He came down to earth?

• the magnificence of heaven
• the holiness of the presence of God
• the praise and adoration on the heavenly hosts
• and a lot more that are unfathomable by our humanity!!! HE IS GOD!!!

Why did He do it? For what? the "so", the purpose of His sacrifice (purposeful sacrifice)

• for those who will believe to be made holy by the truth (Jesus Himself is the truth) just as He is holy 

Personal Application:

• What in my life can I give up SO that it will impact the life of other people to be reconciled to God?

          As I contemplated on this question, a couple of things came into mind, like fasting from dessert, or give up one meal a day until Easter.  But one thing stood out. Time. Give up time wasters in my life (e.g. unmindful surfing/online shopping {though I'm not really buying}, too much playing on iPad, to name a couple)  . Be wise in using my time. Be mindful of my activities.  I want to use my time with people, sharing the love of God, showing the love of God, being the hands and feet of Jesus. People I love. People around me. People to celebrate life. People in need. People desperate for someone who will listen. People in need of love, the love that is everlasting, eternal, infinite, endless.  In my finite time lies infinite truth that can translate into a life transformed, translated into eternity.  What a wonderful revelation on a Valentine's day!!!

         So for real life application, to spend time with the dearest people in my life,  in celebration of my VALentine's birthDay, we went "real eagle" watching at Fox River in Batavia, Illinois, since Val and Gideon love nature and bird watching.  We had an awesome time together looking at how the bald eagles soar up high with their magnificent wings!  A triplebration indeed!!!

Taking the Baton

         I felt a weird sense of urgency lately. I'm not getting any younger. I just turned 40 last September and I felt like being halfway through my journey. I'm witnessing the older generation ahead of me slowly reaching their own destinations. My uncle who just recently went home to be with the Lord was the one God used for our family to know Jesus. His passion for the souls with the love of God, following Christ's great commission to go and make disciples reached us out and we are the fruits of his labor in God's kingdom. We are a part of the legacy he left. And this is the timeless message God wants us to continue on. It's my turn to take the baton. I feel like a bridge between two generations. The wisdom of the one ahead of me is now in my hand to pass on to the ones following me. I am reminded of what the psalmist penned in Psalm 71:18b: Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.

         There's too much information this generation is bombarded with, too fast to fully grasp and really get them rooted inside. Too much, too fast. When I look at how life is in my son's time, it makes my mind twirl and spin in the speed it goes. In just one click on his iPad, he can go anywhere in the world! The cyber world seems limitless. If we don't watch, they will surf into everything this world offers. There are too many voices and noises. Too much facts and opinions. Good, bad. Information overload.

          I consider myself privileged to grow up so provincial and unsophisticated in an unprogressive town in the Philippines. I experienced life with no electricity because during that time in the 70's, the town I grew up in had no electricity yet. I lived from the province to the city and now to a super power country. I've witnessed the progression of life from simplicity to too stuffy, too busy, too whiny, too fast. As a mom, I have to learn the language of this generation and at the same time retell my own story to my child. I bring him back to the time other than his. I introduce to him the people who shaped my life, my history, his history. It enriches him, reconnects him with the past generation and learn the wisdom of old. Just like the psalmist, I share with him the goodness and the power of God in circumstances in my past, the joys, the sorrows, the adventures, the silence, the noises, the smell, the sight, the taste, all my senses can remember! I have to integrate the truth of God's Word in the way the culture is evolving without compromising the message of God. The truth of God's Word is timeless. It spans through all generations. The responsibility of handing down the Way, the Truth and the Life, the love of God for this world, for all time, for all generations is on me. I'm taking the baton.

Deutronomy 6:5:-10

          See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it.  Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”  What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?  And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

          Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.  Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”