Walking Alone

You enlarged my path under me,

So my feet did not slip.
- Psalm 18:36

And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
-Genesis 5:24

Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
- Isaiah 40:30-31




Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

- Amos 3:3

Blessed is the man who walks 

not in counsel of the ungodly,

nor stands in the path of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord

and in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree

planted by rivers of water,

that brings forth its fruit in its season,

whose leaf also shall not wither,

and whatever he does shall prosper.

- Psalm 1:1-3

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

- Psalm 119:105

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord

and he delights in His way.

- Psalm 37:23

And they said one to another, 

"Did not our heart burn within us,

while he talked with us by the way,

and while he opened to us the scriptures?"

- Luke 24:32

T he end of May is just around the corner. I welcome another opportunity for me to write about some of the beautiful things that took place within the past four weeks. 

First Born Son's birthday

First on the list is First Born Son's birthday.

Our family marked this special day by eating lunch together at a restaurant. My two other children could not join us, but here is a beautiful photo of my dear family taken that day:

First Born, God-given, grandson Forerunner, me, Chosen One, and grandson Full of Hope

My first born son 34 years ago, three days after his birth

First born son and me on his 34th birthday

More birthday photos of First Born and his family:

To my precious First Born son: I will always treasure you in my heart. I always lift you up before God's throne, thanking Him for the wonderful privilege of being your mother. Truly you have gone a long way. You are determined, and you achieve the goals you set for yourself. I am proud of you, and I believe in the best you can be.

Mother's Day  

Mother's Day called for a special celebration. Worshiper woke up very early to buy flowers for me and for his wife Chosen One. He also went to the fresh market to buy a lot of seafood and prepared a special breakfast for us. 

At church, Dean Gamboa gave a beautiful sermon in honor of motherhood. Then our family went to Vito and Sue's home (Ernie's sister and brother in law) for a special Mother's Day lunch with their whole family. Tisha, Sue's daughter gave each of us mothers in the family a lovely bouquet of flowers. I forgot to take photos of that celebration, but it was truly a meaningful day. My heart was concerned for my daughter in law God-given had not been feeling well the past days. After the meal, Pastor Ernie, one of the guests, prayed for God's healing presence to surround her. 

The significance of this day means so much to me. I thank God for my own mother, for the beautiful example of wise financial stewardship, and untiring servanthood. I thank God for the woman who carried me and my sister in her womb, brought us out into this world, and nurtured us. I thank God for the dreams she dreamed for us, for the way she equipped us, to be ready to live life not always in comfort, but even in difficult times. She was industrious, never left a task half done. And she was a beautiful woman, with a joyful heart. I still miss her but her love for us will always be remembered. Together with my father, Mama lived out this verse in the way she lived: "I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need." (Philippians 4:12)

Boy and Sue's 47th Wedding Anniversary

The third important event that we celebrated this month was the wedding anniversary of my sister- in-law Sue and her husband Vito; it's their 47th year of marriage.

A sumptuous lunch was prepared with much thought and care at their farmhouse, two hours away from the city. We enjoyed the warm presence of family and friends as we feasted on food, laughter, the idyllic pastoral setting, gentle breezes, and the presence of God in our midst.

Below are a few photos I took of the special day.

The gang's all here!

Serenity

refreshing young coconut drink

piaya - a native delicacy of flaky flatbread with chewy organic sugar filling

halo-halo, a delightful concoction of milk and crushed ice topped with caramelized local fruit

relaxing after a delicious lunch

me, Miriam, Amor, Violeta, and Nelly

Celebrating Friendship
Our dear friend Menchu Jalandoni was in town this month... a beautiful excuse for us to get together as friends!

Back in Manila
I am back in Manila to be with my daughter for a few weeks. Looking forward also to spending some time with dear friends.

A belated Mother's Day lunch with Obedient One at Mom and Tina's last Sunday

It was a month of celebrating many special events, each one of them being truly significant for me. But behind the scenes, these past days I have been pensive about many things.

Certain circumstances have led me to take a closer look at what God is doing. There is a stirring in my heart to pay attention to the moves of the Holy Spirit.

It is not that I have not been paying attention. But I am being alerted to be more intentional about my walk. Abba Father is seeking for true worshipers and intercessors, watchmen who will stand in the ramparts. It is a high calling, and the requirements are stiff.



To be intentional means I am asking the right questions about the spiritual journey I am on:

Am I correctly aligned? 

Am I rightly connected? 

Who am I allowing to speak into my life? 

Who are my traveling companions? 

Am I walking in love and humility?

If I am serious about being a watchman, for my family, and for those God has put under my spiritual care, then it goes without saying that I need to be careful about the people I walk with, and the activities I allow myself to be involved in.

I truly appreciate my friends at the Family Foundations International, and the Negros Island House of Prayer. I have also greatly benefited from the Bible studies given by Lyndon every Monday at Vito and Sue's home. In this season, it is crucial that I walk with fellow travelers who are traveling in the same direction that God is leading.

These days I am aware that Abba Father is calling me to be re-aligned with His kingdoms purposes, and it is inevitable that I separate myself from those who will hinder me from doing so. I realize that there are times when I may have to walk alone, if need be.




There have been a number of dear family members and friends needing prayers these days. Jing's dad just recently passed away after battling a series of medical concerns, and I know just how painful this is for their whole family. Yesterday, a dear friend Moses underwent a 16 hour surgery to remove a deeply entrenched thyroid cancerous tumor, and now we are storming heaven for his full recovery from such a delicate procedure. These past weeks I have had dreams of friends in difficult situations and I had awakened with a sense of urgency to pray for them. Loved ones needing God's intervention in their marriages... to be set free from the prison of unforgiveness... healing in broken relationships.

My heart breaks for all of them. Mainly because I understand their pain, and I can't do very much. Maybe a shoulder to cry on, yes. Or offer a listening ear. And be a friend who will gladly stay by your side, and try to understand. Even cry with you.

And of course, to pray and intercede. Yes, storm heaven's gates for the need that is so deep.

But looking inside to take a spiritual inventory, I am painfully aware of some inconsistencies in my heart. I feel so inadequate.

More adjustments need to be made.

I want to grow some more...

And to overflow...

Today I asked the Holy Spirit for fresh manna... for a fresh outpouring of His anointing on my prayer life. Abba Father is telling me I need to bring an empty cup before Him that He may fill it to overflowing.

Walking alone with God is very much on my heart these days, as the month is coming to an end.

To stay as close as possible to the source of living water, the well that never runs dry.

Enoch is a beautiful example of a man who walked with God. They walked together for 300 years, and during that time, a beautiful relationship must surely have developed between them.

Amos 3:3 asks, Can two walk together unless they are agreed?

Walking with my Abba Father means we have the same kingdom mindset, and that our hearts burn for the same reasons.

We cannot agree to disagree. I have to be passionate for the same things that God is passionate about.

I have been grateful for what Pastor Edgar preached at Victory Church last Sunday. He said, Christ has come to secure our identity, our destiny, and our victory. Are we walking in His purposes?" A timely word indeed.

The Sunday worship at Victory is always among the high points of my visits to Manila. Pastor Edgar Gorre's preaching is low-key, not high-powered. But it is anointed and relevant and meaningful. Always. This man of God is humble, and preaches without a personal agenda. I thank God for men like him.

This has been a month of evaluating my priorities, my commitments, and the people I allow to speak into my life.


I end this post with this beautiful quote from A. W. Tozer:

"The man who has passed on into the divine Presence in actual inner experience will not find many who understand him. A certain amount of social fellowship will of course be his as he mingles with religious persons in the regular activities of the church, but true spiritual fellowship will be hard to find. But he should not expect things to be otherwise. After all, he is a stranger and a pilgrim, and the journey he takes is not on his feet but in his heart. He walks with God in the garden of his own soul and who but God can walk there with him?... 

"He searches for friends upon whose garments he can detect the smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces, and finding few or none he, like Mary of old, keeps these things in his heart.

"It is this very loneliness that throws him back upon God. His inability to find human companionship drives him to seek in God what he can find nowhere else." (The Saint Must Walk Alone)

My name for the month of May is: Walking Alone.

God's blessings follow you and await you at every turn:
   when you don't follow the advice of those who delight in wicked    schemes,
   when you avoid sin's highway,
   when judgment and sarcasm beckon you, but you refuse.

For you, the Eternal's Word is your happiness,
   It is your focus -- from dusk to dawn.

You are like a tree,
    planted by flowing, cool streams of water that never run dry.
Your fruit ripens in its time;
   your leaves never fade or curl in the summer sun.
No matter what you do, you prosper.

- Psalm 1:1-3 (The Voice Bible)




As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

-Psalm 17:15