“What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?"

“What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?"

I did not understand the gospel until I read the first reading. We should seek the Kingdom of God because it is there where we will be able to achieve the growth that we seek.

In my 24 years of life, I have always been seeking knowledge and power. I was grateful that when I was 15, I have already found it and commited myself to God. But through the years, I have grown complacent in my faith to God. And during those times that I was complacent, I have found myself drifting away from God. That place was scary and I don't want to go back to that state again. I am very grateful that the Lord never gave up on me.

Lord, I am very grateful that You have taken time to save me from myself, from the complacency that I have experienced. I really don't want to go back to that state wherein I feel like I don't know You anymore. I am sorry that I let this happen to me.

I know that You know my heart. I may not say the things I want to say, but I trust that You know my heart and my unspoken prayer. Please always guide me Lord and always remind me taht I cannot do it without You and that being away from You is a scary place.

Amen.

Prayer Time

I had a fun night with the CODAL (Christian On Demand At Law) lyesterday. Before that, I was with my brothers and sisters at Alpha Phi Omega because we fetched one of our brother who is also a barrister. Yesterday was the last sunday of the Bar Exams.

Today's gospel said, "Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all. " 

As I reflect on the message of the gospel, I remembered all the happenings yesterday. Everyone wanted to come near Jesus because power emanated from him. Last night was a blessing because like most of the times over the past months, I found myself wavering in my decision to stop being in the fraternity and just pursue God. All the words that I said were like the words that I needed to hear to finally break free and let go of what was in the past. And today, I cling on to the Lord because I strongly believe that he has the power to restore me to the right track and to achieve the person that He destined me to be.

Lord, I pray for guidance. May You be always with me in all times. Also, I thank you for the gift of community inside PUP Law. I am very grateful that You are always assuring me that I can do all things because You are with me and that I will never be alone because You love me. Thank You Lord, I know that You know my heart. Amen.

Prayer Time Reflection Day 1

Since I cannot always voice out what I wanted to say during my prayer time. I would try to put my reflection in writing.

Today's gospel was about theUnderstanding the Time and Settle with Your Opponents from Luke 12:54-59. I am having a hard time digesting the real message of the gospel today so I read the first reading which came from Romans 7:18-25a. 

In the first reading, it talks about the sins of the world. As I reflect on it, I remembered yesterday's happenings. Yesterday, I went out with a male friend. We went to see Gravity, then ate at many places. But in between those things that we did. We talked about his lovelife. He is in love with his bestfriend, who happens to be also my friend. He said the feelings are mutual but then lately, he can sense that something has changed. To make the long story short, he is not sure anymore if the feelings are really mutual. And I asked him, "How can you say that IT is mutual?" Gradually, he revealed they were being intimate to each other. And I was appalled. And as the conversation went on, as I hear how sinful the friendship has been hapening to them, the only bugging question to me that I need to ask him is that "Does that please my God?" And he went on justifying their acts. And I caught him when he talked about Joshua Harris' I kissed Dating Goodbye when he said, "Intimacy is the reward of Commitment".

I cannot detail how complicated their relationship is now. But one thing is for sure, they are living in sin. 1. Because they are being intimate without the commitment of a romantic relationship, and 2. He is hanging and she's making him wait for nothing.

Often times, we hear the voice of the world telling us that it okay to be intimate with someone without the benefit of relationship. it's okay if that makes us happy. But, is it the RIGHT thing to do? Does that please our God?

No it is not okay. It is WRONG.

And I remembered that somewhere along the line, I have also fallen from this sin but I am grateful that God has made me realize these things so that I can be a living witness to others. I told my friend that right now, I know he knows the right thing to do but it is not what he wants to do because he is liking what is happening at the status quo, but he should do it. Because the time would come that he would feel the wrongness of their acts and it would be painful. And it would leave him in shame. Because from the start, he knows that what they allowed themselves to do without the commitment is wrong. And he would live in shame because he knows that he allowed himself and the the girl that he 'loves' live in sin. I told him to assert his right to know the truth. He should not be left hanging. I know he loves the girl but he does not deserve this. They both do not deserve to live in sin. I am telling this to them to save them from commiting and further sinful acts and to make the right choices.

I will quote a passage in the Perks of Being a Wallflower, "We accept the love we think we deserve." I gave him the option of moving on and keep hanging on. I am glad that he knows that the right thing to do is to move on. It has a lot of consequences but those would only hurt temporarily and eventually they will move on. If he chooses to keep hanging on, they will just keep living in sin and the day would come that he will be angry with girl. Of course we do not know what will happen in the future. Only God knows. But for know, we should do the right things. The question "Does this please my God?" should always be answered in the affirmative and we can only hope that everything will go according to His great plan for us. God knows our heart's desires. And trust that God's plan is our deepest heart's desires.

Lord, I am thankful for eveything that I have experienced. I am very grateful that You did not allow me to live in sin and that You made me realize all these before it is too late. I am thankful that You have redeemed me and you have not given up on me. I cannot thank You enough for all these but I am very happy and contented at Your presence now. I pray that You always put me in Your loving embrace so that I may no longer daviate from Your ways. Allow me to always seek Your will. And I know, Lord, You know my heart. Amen.

FAVORITE SIMPLE JOY KO!:)

"Habang nageexam ako kanina, naiisip ko yung spaghetti ng mama ko.. *weird* Sana parang spaghetti ni mama din ang maging grade ko, FAVORITE SIMPLE JOY KO!:)" - status ko nung Sunday, pagkatapos magexam sa Credit Transaction.

KinaMonday-an, may grade na agad.. 3. K.

Until earlier this day, I still can't believe that I got a 3 on that subject. Ganon lang ba ang katumbas ng hirap ko sa subject na yun? Hay. I kept ranting about this to my close friends. They kept on telling me, "Buti nga pasado eh."

K.

As I was scanning my timeline, I read my status that Sunday after the exam. This struck me. "FAVORITE SIMPLE JOY KO!"

Often times, naooverlook natin yung blessings. Tulad nito. I forgot na ito pala ang dasal ng bawat law student, ang pumasa. Pumasa ako sa prof na sabi nila, No Mercy. Considering hindi ako nakapag-aral for finals at pinagpasa-Diyos ko nalang yung exam ko, malaking bagay na nga naman na pumasa ako.

PUMASA AKO! YUN ANG FAVORITE SIMPLE JOY KO!:) 

Pero hindi dapat makuntento sa pumapasa lang. Strive for excellence. My first step was to not have a failing grade this sem. Strive harder for excellent grades. :) 

Thank you Lord for all these blessings! If it weren't for you, I could not have done it. Thank you for guiding me and never giving up on me.

I'm not ready yet..

I think my heart stopped for 3 seconds when mama dropped the bomb.. Papa was hospitalized.. :((

Thank God, he's already home. But then, he's just lying there, in his room. I asked him how he's feeling. He said he can't feel anything, but good thing, he's responding. That's a good thing right? And I said, please hold on for a little longer, I'm not yet a lawyer.

In that moment, all I could think of was how grateful I am that my father survived. All my plans, all my what ifs, all my fears surfaced that very moment. I was scared that He would be gone without me reaching my dreams, without him seeing it all unfold.

Last Sunday, I overheard that Papa can no longer for even 10 meters without him already catching his breathe. Mama also told me that Papa is taking cabs in going to his workplace that's why our expenses got a little higher.

I blame myself for not trying harder in everything that's why Papa has to endure all the hardships in our family. I don't have a decent job. I always have a failing grade, every semester. What happened today was really a wake up call to me. I should try my hardest from today. I have to speed up. Time is running. Papa is already weak. 

Lord, please help our family. I don't want to lose Papa yet. I know death is inevitable, but please, we're not yet ready. Please give him strength to endure all this. Please let him live for more years.

Hazard!

Do you know this feeling wherein you feel so attracted to a guy, i mean, literally, sexually attracted to a guy. I get this a lot. Why? And right now, the temptation is so strong that I can think right. My thoughts are incoherent.

Recently, i had an indecent proposal from a guy friend. I have known him since 2010 and this is when my attraction started. Oh, maybe the Lord said, I cannot take this temptation that time so He took us apart, and I found myself in Law School where I learned that casual hook ups do exist and this is also where I fell in love where I am willing to give my virginity for a hopeless prick!

Anyway, this 2013, I swore that I would take chances. But this risk, I am not sure if I really want to take it. I am not so sure that I want to do it with him. I want to do it for academic purposes, like, having a knowledge of what it feels, how does it work and all that. I am so confused. I know that I shouldn't do it yet. I should do it inside marriage. 

I know this is the impatient me talking. I really want to know everything about it. Please Lord, save me from this mess. I am literally on the verge of saying yes to this guy. I know You have created me with an open mind, but please, give me the right answer to this problem. I don't want to complicate things as how complicated they are now, but please, help me Lord. Take me out of this mess.

WHEN YOU FALL IN LOVE -BO SANCHEZ

This article isn’t for teenagers only.

Falling in love happens to the young and the not-so-young. (Did you see 42-year-old Tom Cruise jump up and down Oprah’s couch because of Katie?). It happens to everyone. Fat, thin, tall, short, intelligent, uneducated, holy, not so holy, dark, white, yellow, green… it doesn’t really matter. All of us fall in love. And we get stuck in myths that drive us absolutely crazy. My goal is to debunk these myths and convince you not to believe in them. Let’s begin…

MYTH 1: LOVE WILL CONQUER ALL.

Let me qualify. This is such a tricky myth. Because love, as defined by the Bible, will conquer all. But love, as defined by glazed-eyed lovers, will not. If you believe in this myth, you might do the following:You overlook major obstacles in your relationship. Everyone you know is wondering why you chose that creature from outer space as your boyfriend. Your bestfriends are telling you to get rid of him. Your family is telling you to throw him out of a running vehicle. Aling Rosa of the sari-sari store across the street is telling you to lace his drink with poison. But you won’t, because you’re in love. That’s why there are songs entitled, “You And Me Against The World.”

Your bestbuds comment, “but he’s been jobless for the past three years!”And you say, “He’s free-spirited. He feels boxed in when he’s in the office. (in other words, he’s undisciplined, lazy bum.)

Your officemates say, “He flirts with other women constantly!” and you say, “No, he’s just friendly.” (in other words, he’s a pervert).

Your cousins say, “He’s taking drugs, he’s got needle marks all over his arm.” And you say, “No, he’s into cross stitching.”

You overstay in toxic relationships, believing that your love will change him.

The wedding doesn’t transform anyone. Even if three Popes officiate the wedding. The person you’ll march with into the church will be the same person you’ll march with out of the church. He doesn’t change one bit. In fact, the marriage makes the hidden more obvious. If he was selfish before he got married, he will be even more selfish after the wedding. If he was hypercritical before he got married, he’ll even be more vile and prolific with his criticisms after the wedding. Here’s the truth: You need more than feelings of love to make a relationship work. You need mature character, total commitment and a minimum level of compatibility. Especially compatibility in the area of values and mission in life. I hear people say, “We’re compatible. Our names begin with the same letter J. My name is Julie and his name is Julio. We’re both born in July.” Wow. That’s so deep, I want to cry.

MYTH 2: WHEN IT’S TRUE LOVE, YOU WILL KNOW THE MOMENT YOU MEET THE OTHER PERSON.

I’m sure you’ve had this experience before. You are in a crowded room. You’re surrounded by boring, noisy chatter when, suddenly, this gorgeous guy enters the door. Your eyes meet. Instantly, time stands still. The universe grinds to a halt. Except for this attractive man in front of you, everything in your vision becomes a giant blur. The hubbub of the crowd becomes a soft muffle and, from out of nowhere, you hear gentle violin music from the background. One week later, he’s your boyfriend. A few weeks later, you discover that your boyfriend’s a pathological liar, buried in credit card debt, borrows money from all his girlfriends (you’re his eighth in six months). Your mind says, “Dump him!” Your heart says, “But it was love at first sight!” Here are the consequences…

You become so focused on the magical first moment, you become blind to the dark side of the relationship. Six out of seven days, you’re fighting with your boyfriend. But you can’t give him up because you met each other in such a magical moment. Your car keys fell and he picked it up, and then your eyes met, you smelled his deodorant, and you dropped your keys again… How can you not be meant for each other?

You become a love-at-first-sight junkie that you could miss out on the “real thing”. One intelligent woman told me, “Bo, there’s this guy who’s courting me. He’s okay. He’s kind, he’s responsible, he has a good job…” I could hear a ‘but’ coming ,” I said. “but there are no sparks!” she bit her lip. “No violin music playing in the background, huh! None. When I see him, the background music I hear is lululalu-lalulalulalei…” Listen. You don’t need a magical first moment to meet our potential husband. The important things are mature character, financial responsibility, ability for commitment, compatible mission and values. I actually met this girl again on her wedding, and before she marched down the aisle, she whispered to me, “Do you hear the violin music, Bo? It’s loud and clear.” It doesn’t have to be love at first sight. In fact, marriages with the least adjustments are those between friends who’ve known each other for years before they realize that they’re good marriage material. What is love at first sight? Many times, it’s lust at first sight. Or infatuation at first sight. Don’t give it too much weight. Here’s the truth: it takes a moment to experience infatuation but true love takes a lifetime.

MYTH 3: IF IT IS TRUE LOVE, YOU WILL FEEL THIS WAY FOR EACH OTHER FOREVER.

No, you won’t. Here are the consequences for believing this myth :

You panic when the feelings wane, and wonder whether the marriage is over and whether you really loved one another in the first place. Imagine the night of your honeymoon. Your new bride is sleeping. The cotton curtains are gently swaying in the cool breeze. You gaze at her lovely face. You study her soft cheeks. Her long eyelashes, her beautiful nose, her parted red lips. And all of a sudden, she snores.”Ngggggggooork!!” How do you react? Because it’s your honeymoon, you say, “How cute!” Six months down the road, the same scene transpires. Your wife is sleeping. And the same cotton curtains are gently swaying in the cool breeze. And you hear her snore.”Ngggggoork!” What do you say? “Ssssssheeeesh, Honey! You sound like a boat!” What has happened? The feelings have gone. Let me say this: That’s normal. It happens to everyone. But it doesn’t mean your love is gone so don’t panic! You can make a decision to love the snoring boat.

You start blaming your partner for the loss of love. This is nutty. But many people do it: when we don’t feel in love, we think it’s the faultof the other person. And so we fight him. Again, we fall out of love because we’re human beings. It’s nobody’s fault. The moment you fall out of love, the real work begins . Let me explain. This is the most important point I’m going to make. (I got this from Scott Peck in his bestseller book, The Road Less Traveled).

Falling in love isn’t love. Here’s why. When you fall in love…

• No decision is required. Falling in love just happens.
• No effort is required. Falling in love is like…. well, falling.
• No hard work is required. Falling in love is being bitten by the love bug.

On the other hand, true love requires all three : Decision, effort and lots of hard work. In the Bible, love is a command. You make it happen. Sure true love can only happen after you’ve fallen out of love. When you begin choosing to love, even if you don’t feel like doing it — that’s true love. And that’s the foundation of a lasting marriage.

MYTH 4: YOUR PARTNER WILL FULFILL YOU COMPLETELY.

Again because falling in love satisfied you completely, you want the same satisfaction to last. No it won’t. Consequence? You might fail to recognize a good relationship because your partner isn’t fulfilling the needs you should be fulfilling yourself. Here’s the truth: the right partner will fulfill many of your needs but not all of them. There are just some things your husband can’t give you: Your self-worth. Your spirituality. Your inner happiness. These are things you have to work on your own. I’ve met lots of people who think they’re dissatisfied with their marriage. In reality, they’re dissatisfied with themselves. I’ve met lots of people who think they’re bored with their marriages. And they complain to the high heavens how boring their husband or wife is, when in truth, they’re really bored with life. Meet your own needs. Find your happiness in God. Find your niche, your calling, your destiny. And then share your joy with your spouse.

MYTH 5: IF IT’S TRUE LOVE, YOU WON’T BE ATTRACTED TO ANYONE ELSE.

If you believe in this myth, you panic when you get attracted to someone else, questioning the authenticity of your love for your spouse. One man told me, “Bo, I love my wife. Or I thought I did. But then I met this woman at work. She has nice make-up. She smells nice. She wears a pencil-cut skirt. When I go home, my wife is wearing a drab rag. Her hair is undone. She smells of vinegar. Gosh I am attracted to this girl atwork.” Being attracted to someone is normal, even if you have a happy marriage. But being attracted doesn’t mean falling into adultery. Every time you think of the other woman, discipline your heart and say, “Home, boy… home!” and escort your heart back to your wife. Because if you feed your attraction with fantasies and constantly think about the other woman, it grows . But if you starve your attraction, it dies a natural death.