On Father's Day, GIfts of Grace

But when he was still a great way off,
his father saw him and had compassion,
and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. - Luke 15:20

Today is Father's Day.

This being the first Father's Day without Ernie, I naturally woke up with a tinge of pain. In my heart was that sense of longing for my dear husband's presence again.

Images of him as a father floated into my memory one by one:

playing nosey-nosey with our children when they were babies,

running behind our children's kiddie bikes at the park when they were just learning how to ride one,

asleep on his favorite lounging chair in our living room, way beyond his bedtime, waiting for First Born son or Obedient One to arrive from a late night out with friends,

joyfully coming home with a big bag of flea market finds -- shirts, sports shorts, baseball caps, bags -- for each one of us,

whistling through the front door after a day at work with a bag of groceries...

always so giving, always thinking of how to serve us, of how to make life easier for us...

so many tender father memories.

The thoughts warmed my heart and reminded me of how beautiful Ernie's relationship with his children was.

Imperfect, but still, a good mirror of the Father heart of God to us His children.




God did create us for relationship. At Victory church this morning I couldn't keep back the tears as I listened to Pastor Joey Bonifacio talk about the father of the two prodigal sons.

He preached with such honesty, transparency and passion that my heart was moved to tears at many points. Such a beautiful picture of humility, this father! I never get tired of reading his story found in Luke 15:11-32.

Fatherhood is a relationship that we fathers live, not a function to perform.

This was what Pastor Joey kept repeating.

Again, the Word of God is another mirror of the Father heart of God.

I thanked God for being my Father. Even in the absence of an earthly father, I and my children, and all others who are fatherless like us, could never lose our true Father.

He is the One who called us into being, the One who gives us our true identity, the One who alone holds the destiny of our lives in His hands.

And even if Satan's aim was to shatter the mirror of the ultimate relationship that God has with His people - the marriage relationship, and even though many people in the world today have bought the lie of the enemy by opting for substitutes and short term fixes, the truth is that God's redemptive love still operates in every part of this planet!

The warmth of friendship is God's answer to the brokenness of this world.

Friends who care, friends who share, and reach out to you with their thoughtful gifts of grace, against such the Enemy has no power.

So today, on this post, I want to celebrate my blog friendships. In more ways than one, my blog friends have been used by God to add beauty and meaning to the word "friendship."


This lovely design was sent to me by Katie today. Katie, you don't know how much this means to me, that God moved your heart to send this gift to me today, Father's Day. Do you know how I saw this? It was a gift from God, and you were the obedient channel through which it was delivered! Thank you!

I wish you lived close by, but maybe the distance is where the beauty lies. We've never met face to face, and yet I can feel your love across the miles.

An original design done by Katie of Hope Is Calling

Another blog friendship I want to celebrate is my friendship with Andrea of A Parson's Wife. A few weeks ago, she gave a blog award, shown below.

Given by Andrea of A Parson's Wife

Thank you Andrea for such an encouragement to my heart!

Along with the award, the following words are to be passed on to bloggers who inspire and work hard to create a beautiful place for all who visit them.

The Uplifting Blogger Award goes to fellow bloggers who visit frequently and raise my spirits with their kind words of encouragement, their beautiful images and their wonderful outlook on life. They make blogging a positive experience and continue to make my life richer.

Each blog I have visited is beautiful, each blog author is inspiring in his or her own way.

But, it has taken me a long time to do this, and today I want to take time to pass on this blog award to some blog friends who have truly inspired me over the weeks and months that I've known them.


I pass on the Uplifting Blogger Award to the following:

Yolanda at http://yolanda-highergrounds.blogspot.com/

Katie at http://hopeiscalling.blogspot.com/

Beautiful Grace at http://beautifulgrace2008.blogspot.com/

Terry http://teresaannegolden.blogspot.com/

Julie at http://jewelsightings.blogspot.com/

Lisa at http://mypassionatepursuit-lisa.blogspot.com/

Andrea at http://arise2write.blogspot.com/

Saija at http://saija.blogspot.com/

Another blog award that I received recently is the Creative Blogger Award, given by Elsie of My Yarn Tales blog.

Given by Elsie of My Yarn Tales

Thank you dear Elsie for this special award that celebrates my creativity!

The rules that go with this award are to list 7 things you love that show your creativity, then link back to the person who gave you the award, and pass it along to 7 other bloggers.

Here are just seven of my "loves" that show my creativity (I actually have more!):

I love simple elegance, making my homes and gardens a beautiful place for my family and friends, making each meal time an occasion to celebrate God's love and goodness.

I love spending time with God in a special spot: in my Elim prayer room in my Bacolod home, at the lanai sun room in my Manila home, and in a beautiful spot where I sense His presence the most in other places.

I love reading and writing: journaling, writing down my spiritual insights and journeys, finding creative ways to deepen my relationship with God.

I love taking photographs, and want to develop this new love more in the coming months.

I love quilting and counted cross stitch.

I love ministering to the people God sends my way through the various spiritual gifts that He has given me.

I love my family and friends and am willing to go out of my way to let them know they are special!

Now, here are the other creative bloggers to whom I am passing on the Creative Blogger Award (can't help it, I have 8, not 7):



Andrea at http://aparsonswife.blogspot.com/

Amrita at http://yesugarden.blogspot.com/

Annie at http://callingtodeep.blogspot.com/

Cathy at http://scentedgeranium.blogspot.com/

Cindy at http://lettersfrommidlife.blogspot.com/

Felisol at http://felisol.blogspot.com/

Kat at http://godsheart-heart2heart.blogspot.com/

Sita at http://sitahenderson.blogspot.com/

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As I end this Father's Day post, I want to share another beautiful gift of grace that I received from my heavenly Father early this morning.

I awoke at about 5 a.m. to see a pinkish glow outside my bedroom window. When I looked outside, I saw this breathtaking scene! I quickly took a shot, but already the pinkish glow was disappearing, but fortunately, there was still enough of it to share with you all, my dear blog friends.

I was misty-eyed to realize that God was speaking to me in a real way through this lovely sunrise scene! What a precious Father's Day gift, straight from my heavenly Father's creative hands!

View from my bedroom window, taken at 5:12 a.m. on June 21, 2009

I Love the Philippines-5: Ruby Tuesday Signs

Signs of the Times, Philippine Style
A Ruby Tuesday post

Originated by Mary/The Teach at Work of the Poet




I've always been fascinated by the Ruby Tuesday posts of some of my blog friends, particularly the one's I've seen on Felisol's blog.

It brings out one's creativity and ingenuity.

So today, I decided to do my very first Ruby Tuesday post.

The idea is to post one or more pictures of something red on a Tuesday.


Here's the story behind the pictures:

Last Sunday, Obedient One and I went to Trinoma Mall after church. We had a delicious lunch of crispy fried spring chicken at Max's, then later in the afternoon we looked at some of the shops.

The number of red signs and many other interesting red objects caught my eye.

Two musicians were in the lobby playing Filipino classical music on the horn and guitar. I just had to take a photo of them when they began playing Ikaw, a Filipino love song that Ernie and I loved...

A fresh flower arrangement by the escalator is just so lovely in its simple elegance...

A cozy nook serving the best tasting coffee I've ever tried...

A pastry shop...

A number of bookstores, teen fashion boutiques, shoes, and tee shirt shops...

What an enjoyable day my daughter and I had together. Isn't it a beautiful thing when your daughter grows up to be your best friend!


Here are some of the shots that I took:





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Listen to Ikaw, a Filipino love song as sung by Regine Velasquez: