Our true calling ushers our diminishing as we cause Christ's uplifting.
Nika Diwa-Ihedigbo live at Karen's Kitchen
Trim
We manicure our lawns as designated stewards of lands.
We cut our hair to exercise grooming.
Our souls long for such attention.
Christ tends to our pruning beyond compare.
Media
The incredible blast of advertising looms over our heads. There seems to be no satiation for packaged produce.
Thus, we buy primarily due to the pull of some contrived orientation.
Interestingly, God never uses artificial machinations.
He purifies every word that comes from His mouth seven times before He declares it.
He does not sell.
He gives without trepidation.
Spin
The gravity of our fall pulls down our hopeful resolutions.
Only one hope remains to keep us afloat with bright confidence ...
The zealous engine of Christ's loyal love defies all our woes and carries us beyond our personal turbulence.
Blow
Birthday cakes are subliminal reminders of our shared terminal.
We are born.
We suffer.
We die.
But there's an exemption.
It is the lit grace of Christ's mercy.
Mystery
Marriage is depicted as mystery. It is a hidden reflection of something resplendent about the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.
I see this wonderfully articulated in the past 365 days of my daughter and son-in-grace's journey.
The Messiah has been redeeming their intertwined vow.
One Year. One Chapter. One Lifetime. One Lord.
Avalanche
My view from the deck spills a torrent of evidence that simply stuns my senses on Who my God is.
Busuanga Palawan Philippines / Front Veranda
Cling
Fellowship is a kindred affair.
We are roused to gravitate towards one another.
At the very center is the bequest of wonder.
Adobo
Filipino culinary evolved from a melting pot of cultural dips of foreign influence.
Through the years, the Lord of Nations marinaded our taste for succulent eats.
Broken yet redeemable, culture is transformed when yielded to the True Chef.
Adobo, anyone?
Wine
The endowment of fruit elicits gladness.
With good hands, we are beckoned to a stewardship of sobriety.
Water is turned to wine to signal the potency of Christ's deep joy.
Shine
Our shared vocation calls for a simple reflection.
We were given life to shine.
When darkness invades our privacy, we fall prey to the age-old lie that we have been abandoned.
Christ has come to give us blooming persons.
First
The Gospel ushers us to a vision of Marriage.
Marriage grants us a spectacle of the Gospel.
For a year now, my daughter and new son has shown the holy vigor of this beauteous contention.
The first marriage of Christ to His Bride, the Church, shows the way.
Baguio
He was a toddler when I had my initiation at the Baguio Seminary. I'd come for a visit and there he was ... just another cool kid running around in diapers showboating some new craze.
It's been almost four decades and the wings have recycled.
Christian Aaron just flew in to my previous ground to yield to Christ's commission.
Soar, young Eagle!
Flee
The command to resist the devil is accompanied by a weapon that is virtually beyond defense.
Prayerful obedience is best observed in the minute narrative of this wonderful lady.
She hails from the ravages yet she rises towards holy stages.
Satan flees from her concert.
Rocelyn / directing spiritual traffic
Company
My youngest daughter is flying with me to Asia for a brief sojourn.
It was just yesterday when she was merely fourteen months when we relocated to the US.
For this month's revisit, I intend to review with her the beginning steps .
Indeed, one can only seek to soar if roots are sought and recognized.
B Scene 📸Luke Pohlirom
Knocked
Cassius Clay shifted his identity to Muhammad Ali in response to what he deemed as a necessary revolt.
We all move points in our lives to reinforce some conviction.
We get born again to new names.
I have a name known only between me and my Redeemer.
It was etched on a white stone when I got knocked out from my previous fight.
Cinematography
The lure of television is malignant.
There is a stunning seduction that lurks its screen. We are pulled and fooled, it seems, to the features of breaking urgencies.
Netflix reigns while commercials are enthroned subliminally.
Before we think, we cash credit with unsuspecting zeal.
The escape for such temptress is active meditation through good reading.
Alas, books somehow lose to high definition.
Afterall, only few care to define life unabridged.
May we unsubscribe to lies and deception and cling to that which can truly anchor life at its roots.
Ad Fontis!
Spartan
I know a man whose optimum struggle looms deep in his soul.
He contends to pursue God's will through the challenging hurdles of life.
His family will quickly attest to the succulence of his incredible victories, just because ...
He claims Spartan Grace from His Savior.
Captain DC
Quantum
The realities of parenting are nuanced with distinction.
I had the joy of facilitating the wedding of Francis and Marie just a few years back.
Now, I behold the grant of joy: little miss Millie.
Through the journey, the silent yet steady hand of their Master keeps them steady.
No matter how stiff the learning curves, the Giver of life, knows what to teach.
Sinatra
I did it my way.
Five words that capture the human propensity to push the will to its limits.
Yet, it is this conviction that somehow reprimands our obnoxious arrogance.
Without Christ, there is no true work.
Either we sing our mantras to Himalayan pitches or we yield to the sweet lullaby of our Father who seeks to dwell in our lives through the incredible redemptive work of His Son ushered in the legato of the Holy Spirit.
