Reminiscing Truths ⚓

      I will be honest. I went through last week without daily log of reads. I read and watched, yes, but I couldn't remember which ones I've read on what day. My bad. But one of the books that I've read just last week was William Philip's Why We Pray . It's a rather short read--just 103 pages--but it is ever full. of. beneficial. things. I do think that one of the reasons that I couldn't come up with my usual weekly reading list is because I've been too engaged with this one. I was able to read the book because I've subscribed to Scribd's premium membership (yes, the 1-month Freemium was totally effective on me). I shared my takeaways from the book during our department meeting yesterday, and I thought it's truly worth sharing. So instead of my usual, here are some snippets from the book "Why We Pray" for my reading recommendation. :)      When we think about how we pray, there are two things that the heart is tempted to feel: dep

     Luzon's ECQ Week 4 coincided with the 2020 Holy Week. Originally, the school calendar indicated Wednesday - Saturday of this week to have no classes. Since the quarantine, however, our principal announced that we would have the entire week off work and encouraged us to have our personal retreat and more time for family prayer. Have I told you how much I'm grateful for this school I work in? No? Let me say it then. I'm truly grateful for MGCNL community, in so many areas.  So I was able to spend more time reading (and watching) more materials this week. At this point, though, I'd like to highlight first how I've been selecting which materials to read/watch.         I understand that in a world where new knowledge would be only a few clicks away, many could be intoxicated, so to speak, with the "power" to know more. But knowledge puffs up. The same authors who have helped countless believers to arrive at a deeper, personal, and experiential learning

      Another week of ECQ flew by. It's funny how, during the first week, the hours seemed to stretch on forever despite the countless things I needed to do for work--online classes, conversion of regular classroom teaching materials to online class-friendly ones, etc. As the ECQ stretches on, however, I realized that my adjustment to this abnormal situation is not as drastic as the others'. Once I've come to think of my stay-at-home days as a replay of my homeschooling days (except for the fact that I'm the teacher now), things are easier to get used to. I've reverted to the same routine, and now we're "getting the hang of it." We also started having more Zoom watch parties, which of course are featured in this week's snippets. :) March 29, Sunday - Day 15       We watched this Sunday night, after our worship service, when the Youngles had a Zoom watch party. The American Gospel: Christ Alone is a documentary film that examines in det

          I started week 2 of ECQ (that rhymes!) with a mental bargain. Or more like, brace-yourself-if-this-happens kind of thought process. If the cases rise to a thousand at week 2, I told myself I need to prepare for the possibility that this enhanced community quarantine would stretch for more than just. a month. Needless to say, there is already in me a heart that is almost ready to throw the towel and give up even before the real situation comes. As of today, PH's COVID-19 cases have gone up to 1546. And statistics predict that so far, this trend is only going upward. I'm bracing myself that this extremely abnormal, immensely uncomfortable, and, in many ways, painful situation will stretch on indefinitely.        And indeed, when one focuses on all the things that seem wrong and out of place, the heart suddenly has a wide space for complaints and grumblings. On the other hand, if we truly tune in our hearts to the word of God and actively ponder upon all the bless

      So, it happened. Three months into just hearing about the much-dreaded COVID-19, it finally reached Philippine shores and, just a few days ago, has been declared as a locally transmitted disease. This announcement means that it's not only those who had travel history overseas could acquire the virus. It could now be anyone  in the local community. The government's response? Community quarantine. Only people with work and official business must be seen out of their cities. And as the number of positive cases continues to rise (230 cases as of March 20, 12NN), this community quarantine is even made stricter. Now with the whole of Luzon under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), no one had been able to get out of their houses. Cities are locked down, and no one goes in or out aside from the food and essential services providers and medical workers.         My first seven days being "stuck" at my parents' place sure felt like at least thrice as long. I h