Some years ago I bought a book by Jerry Bridges entitled, “The Discipline of Grace.” What stuck in my mind in that book was the chapter or chapters where he discussed seven points which he learned from Romans 3:19-26. He called this passage as the “gospel in a nutshell.” I made it into a sermon and I shared it to some local congregations years ago where I was once served.
Yesterday, I was requested to preach and I decided to share this message again with the ReThink Community, my home church at this time, a local congregation of Grace Communion International in Santa Rosa, Laguna. Here’s the video of that message:
A week or so ago, we found out that my 87-year-old mother-in-law is seriously sick. The doctor told us it was a stage 5 Chronic Kidney disease. For a long time now, my wife has been taking care of her mother. It’s no easy task to take care of someone who is old and is on a wheelchair. She has been caregiving for her mom sometime now.
I took a short video of my wife as she brushed her mom’s hair yesterday. She’s the one personally taking care of her mom. She’s the caregiver for several months now.
Caregiving for her Dad
When her dad got sick and eventually died after some 8 months later in 2009, it was also my wife who was the main caregiver along with a helper. Such is life. People get sick and some of us just needs to help and take care of those who are in need of love and care. I really appreciate my wife for the unceasing loving tender care she has given to her dad and now, to her mom.
Movies seldom make me cry but sometimes it does. Four years ago, the movie, Les Miserables made me cry along with my wife and my daughter as we watched the movie on big screen cinema. I guess I’ve cried several times since that time but I don’t recall which movies and when that happened.
But I didn’t expect to cry because of movies two days in a row! That happened yesterday and today.
My wife and I watched The Shack (the movie) yesterday and we just felt the grief, anger and deep emotions going through deep inside the heart of Mackenzie over the tragic death of her daughter Missy. He felt abandoned and blamed God for not doing something. Although fiction, the author William Paul Young wonderfully portrayed who God really is — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — a loving and gracious Triune God who was specially fond of Mac. He portrayed the Triune God as as a loving God — not a legalistic God. It sure made me happy that the good news about who God really is as a Triune being is being shared by a great writer and author. I’m also at the same time saddened because some think of William P. Young as a heretic. To me, he is a great Trinitarian theologian and a great writer. Anyway, that movie yesterday made me and my wife cry as we watched it in the cinema.
But early this morning, I didn’t expect to cry again as I watched another movie. It was not my plan to watch again. I was actually reading Dr. Greg Williams’ article on “Introduction to ‘Place-Sharing'” which according to him was first promoted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and was recently elaborated by Dr. Andrew Root. I was interested in the topic which I first heard from Ted Johnston’s blog so I read the whole article down to the end. When I got to the end, Dr. Greg suggested the movie, Goodwill Hunting for “a visual demonstration of place-sharing relationships.” The name of the movie sounded familiar and I was surprised the cast were big name actors namely: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Robin Williams whom I blogged about when he committed suicide recently.
Well, to make a long story short, it was my first time to watch the movie. Thankfully I’m a subscriber to Iflix.com and the movie was available so I watched it at home in my laptop. And the movie made me cry again.
Two days in a row! I’d better not watch a movie again. Unless someone will recommend a movie again haha!
One wonderful thing about living in Santa Rosa, Laguna is that it is quite near Tagaytay City, one of the cool spots where people go for vacation or just spend a weekend there away from a busy work week in Metro Manila. Traffic is getting heavier than in previous years but still it’s a good place to go to on a weekend. It is where one can find the so-called smallest volcano in the world. But of course, some would say that the lake itself is the crater or the mouth of a big volcano. Whatever… but it’s a nice cool place to go to.
Most days when I go there it’s foggy and I can’t get a good shot of the volcano and the lake. But this afternooon, I got lucky. It’s a bright and sunny day today as I went home and passed by the volcano and lake. I finally got some good shots.
If you’re new here in my blog site, you will notice that I love photography as an art expression. I just love and appreciate the beauty of God’s creation.
You may copy and use my photos here but please ask permission first and if you’re using it for commercial uses, please consider sharing your blessings as well haha!
For many, it seems to me that Valentine’s Day is a special day. In my case, I have grown up without really making the day as something special. I spent the day on car tune up. It’s just me. No offense meant to those who love to make the day special.
Jokingly this morning, I posted in my Facebook account that I really don’t need a Valentine since I am a Valentine. My dad named me after my grandfather, Valentin. So, my wife has got a funny Valentine!
Mechanical Interest
One other interest that I have which I guess I have inherited from my dad was his love for engines and vehicles. As a young boy, I grew up in a home where the living room, the dining area and other parts of the house had vehicle parts all over. Our house back then sometimes was like an auto repair shop! Outside the house there were trucks, a pickup, a wrecker and a jeep. I used to run errands to buy motor vehicle parts when my dad and/or his mechanic were fixing or doing some repairs. I enjoyed watching them fixed or repair a vehicle. That ended when I was sent to Manila to get a college education. But I got interested in engines too because of that early exposure as a young boy from my dad.
Doing Car Tune Up Myself
Beginning sometime in 1987, it has become my habit to clean my car’s spark plugs and tune up the car myself. Of course, there are occasions when I go to a shop or hire a mechanic to do it for me but normally, I do the car tune up myself. I love to drive the car when I know the engine is in top shape. It’s been about 30 years now and thankfully, I’m still able to do it myself somewhat. But maybe in the coming years, I may have to ask someone to do it for me since I’m now a senior citizen. But for now, it’s a kind of hobby also aside from photography or biblical studies.
Learning from Expert Mechanics
I also owe my knowledge and experience with engines and vehicles to a dear friend, the late Capt. Jess Bahinting, a pilot and an aircraft mechanic. He was then a pastor in Cagayan de Oro and I was the associate pastor. I also learned from another dear friend, Tadeo “Boy” Almera, an expert mechanic. We were all together for some 5 years fixing a lot of vehicles. Jess and I bought vehicles for our pastors, sold vehicles, fixed, repaired, repainted vehicles with the help of Boy and others. It was like we were an automotive shop haha! We sort of “maintained” the church’s fleet vehicles in our area. Those were the days.
