Three Ps...

...because it is best to be hopeful. 
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by PAM

I was worrying about going to Church today because I am staying at my sister's in Caldwell, ID, which is about 27 miles away from the Idaho capital, Boise. While it is lovely here, the drive from the airport to her house was filled with rolling hills and farmlands, and there were many churches, too, but I didn't see any Roman Catholic Church along the way. Luckily, my sister and my brother-in-law are very considerate people that they thought about my plight, and they readily suggested that I attend the service at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church, for which, of course, I am very thankful. 

As I know that this region in the US is not huge on Catholicism, I thought the church would be a small one in the heart of a small community. But, no, my imagination cannot be farther from reality because the church was huge, and it was almost full for that one Sunday service of 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. - to my pleasant surprise. 

"Lord, teach us to pray..."

My brother-in-law very kindly drove me to the Church, which was less than 10 minutes away; and so very kindly waited for me as well.  

The service was very good - short and sweet... and the singing of psalms was very good, too.  And yet, what was best about the whole experience was the Mass celebrant's sermon. The Gospel was on Luke 11:1-13... "Lord, teach us to pray... ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you" as we know, when one of Jesus's disciples asked him to teach them how to pray.  

The celebrant elaborated through what he called the "3 Ps": Prayer, Patience and Perseverance. He said that when we are setting out to fulfill a 'mission' that we believe is God's will, before taking the first step, it is best to seek God and his mercy - in prayer.  As we proceed, meeting obstacles along the way, forcing us sometimes to veer out of our path and lose our way, we can stay on track if we have patience - to enable ourselves to achieve balance and make good decisions as a result.  And, whenever we feel that the road we are taking is all uphill, and we experience weariness as we climb, it helps to stay focused on the mission in perseverance - knowing where we are headed, believing that we are pursuing God's will, and knowing that God is with us throughout the journey.          

It is always up to us to seek God in prayer, ask to be guided by his wisdom patiently, and knock in our hearts to be inspired by His love as we persevere to fulfill our mission. God is with us; we are in His heart, and He does love us so.  

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About the photos:  I took the photos at the Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in Caldwell, ID, USA.

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Hello, July!

Good to see you again!
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by PAM

My 'birthmonth' started out with a very promising endeavor, in which God blessed me with the incredible opportunity to lead the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in reaching a milestone.  On 01 July 2019 (East Coast time), our 'Team Engineering' submitted our Self-Study Reports (SSR) for our six Engineering Programs to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) of the United States of America (USA).  The UST Faculty of Engineering is the first Engineering School in the Philippines, and as such, it is a highly storied and historical School.  Therefore, it is incredibly special to be at the helm while the Faculty surpasses this milestone.

But that's work.  Yes, it does make the heart beat double time feeling God's love, and the soul sing with enormous gratitude, but it is still work.  So, let me talk about something else that made me want to sing praises to God because of the happiness that made my heart swell.  While the root from which these gems blossom from is still work, the joyful feeling that they invoke does not resemble the mere feeling of fulfillment from a job done well at work.

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Being their second Mom...

Let me talk about this instead... because I'd rather talk about this, actually...

"Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken

Your best friend always sticking up for you

Even when I know you're wrong?

Can you imagine no first dance, freeze-dried romance

Five-hour phone conversation

The best soy latte that you ever had, and me?"

I spent the last two days of the first week of my 'birthmonth' with 'my kids', and it was incredible!  The happiness was real... it was like being lifted up through the air to sit on the cottony softness of 'cloud 9' to watch the stars twinkle happily, and be overwhelmed by the awesomeness of it all.  It felt so good... so good that I just had to post something here - in this little corner of mine - to create a happy place to retreat to whenever life's challenges become too much to bear.  

Last July 5-6, my kids (thesis advisees and future business partners) and I went on Teambuilding/break/mini vacation at the Green Canyon Leisure Farms in Bamban, Tarlac, Philippines.  It was a celebration of the graduation from chemical engineering of five of them, the moving up to the next level towards graduation from the same Program of four of them, and the celebration of my 51st birthday.  The private atmosphere of the beautiful leisure farms was very apt for the bonding moment that we wish to have... to make good memories, and strengthen the bond of friendship and love that brought and hold us together.  The little memento of a video - a small compilation of photos and vide clips from our mini vacation - captured a fraction of the enjoyment and happiness that we felt while spending time together.  I just had to post it here for easy access whenever needed.

I may not have been lucky enough to be chosen by God to bear these kids in my own womb, to give life to them, and bring them into this world, but I feel fortunate that God entrusted them to me - all together - at a time when they are going through this critical transformation, enabling them to fulfill what God plans for them.  It is still very much less than being their mother, but it is enough to make my heart swell from true love.

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Video and songs credit:  I made the video. Thanks, YouTube, for providing the online platform for the video. Thanks, too, to Train and Simple Minds for the loan of the songs.

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