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"Get out of the safe zone and step into the faith zone"

"As i walking through a valley, my declaration was God is on the Throne, and my impossible became possible through Jesus Christ."

NESTOR SARMIENTO

I prayed that we will be in each other's lives as long as we are on this earth - sharing stories above unli rice, sharing laughters above balot penoy, and a soul connection until the sun comes up.

NESTOR SARMIENTO

Thank you for coming into my life. Thank you for making me smile like crazy. Thank you for making me happy.

NESTOR SARMIENTO

Naaalala kita sa bawat librong nababasa ko. Sa bawat tauhan ng kuwento, iniisip kong ikaw iyon. Sa pagtitimpla ko ng kape. Sa bawat paglubog ng araw. Maniwala ka, naaalala kita araw-araw. Sa lahat ng bagay. Sa bawat paghinga - at wala akong balak na magpahinga na alalahanin ka.

UNWELCOMED SURPRISES

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.

-Isaiah 30:18

The world is full of surprises – some of which are not welcomed. A position opens up in your company, and you express an interest in it. But when your boss interviews you, he says management has decided to no longer fill that position, but to eliminate your job as well!

Your phone rings one evening after you have retired. “Who could be calling at this hour?” you wonder. It is a friend telling of a death in the family.

How do you handle unwelcomed surprises? Psychologists call it “Coping.” Others say with resignation, “That’s life!” When unexpected surprises come our way, we fight them and become bitter, or we reach out for the grace of God and become better because of what we have endured.

What is this gift called “grace?” It is God’s help that enables you to cope with unwelcomed surprises of life.

Long ago, the Apostle Paul faced many unwanted surprises, yet he welcomed them. In responding to what he called “A thorn in the flesh” Paul said, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).

When unwelcomed surprises confront you, learn about God’s grace and you will also find strength to cope. It’s worth discovering.

GROWING OLD GRACIOUSLY

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom

-Psalm 90:12

“Dear Dr.Sala, would you have any suggestions to help people who have reached their 80s and feel very useless at times? I am 82, in a wheelchair and have little energy.”

One: Come to grips with the fact that you are here by the will of God. God makes no mistakes, “In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.” –Ephesians 1:11

Two: Realize that your true value as a person is dependent on your character and not your productivity. As we age, we tend to think that we are worth little unless we are producing. The Bible tells us that you are valuable not because of what you do, but because of what you are. Paintings and fine books become more valuable with age, and so it is with people.

Three: Accept your lessening strength with grace. “I greet each day as a gift,” says Beatrice Cole, at age 90. She says that the last decade, from age 80 to 90, has been the best gift of her life although she has been alone most of the time.

Four: Force yourself to get out and mix with people. “After I lost Ethel,” says Frank Emery, “I forced myself to get out, to travel, to play golf, to be with people. It was the only way I could beat the loneliness.”

Five: Refuse to accept defeat at your own hand. Loneliness never leaves us where it finds us. We either greet it as a friend or as an enemy. As a friend, loneliness can cause us to reach out and make new friendships and enrich our lives.

WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS

“Keep your lives free from the love of money because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

-Hebrews 13:5

Long ago, Jesus said, “Do not store up yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

It seems to me that our generation has its value system upside down. We aren’t willing to wait for anything tomorrow; it must be ours today. So much of our time is spent in the pursuit of “things” that we have lost sight of what really counts. It often takes a tragedy to understand this.

When a friend and I were finishing on the end of a pier, we noticed smoke coming out of a nearby house. We raced for the humble little cottage but it was too late. Flames were coming out the doors and had turned into a raging inferno. We learned that an oil furnace had exploded, and the house had almost instantly been enveloped in fire.

Outside stood the young father and mother and a little girl of about seven. The mother was crying and the dad was wringing his hands as in anguish he cried, “My God, all is lost.” The little girl reached up and took her daddy’s hand saying, “All’s not lost, Daddy, you got Mommy and Me!”

Houses can be rebuilt, but relationships endure long after the taste of material success has turned to ashes. What’s gone wrong that causes us to place greater value on things than people; that considers gold and glitter more important than love and friendship?

Jesus said, “Lay up treasures in heaven for where your treasure is your heart will be also.” The treasures that really count can’t be measured in gold and silver. Think about it.