Is your Mom your Leader?

“A parent is a leader. It’s the most important leader in the world.”

Reading this from Bro. Bo Sanchez’ message made my mind ask so many things to myself.

I have not been so “me” lately!  I’ve been physically weak, ‘been wanting to still do a lot of things the usual that I used to, but there is this stinging unexplained pain somewhere that makes me stop just to give my body the chance to recuperate.

Good thing though, every time I stop, I ignite myself to claim for God’s healing. Humbly it would bring me to sobs because no matter how strong I want to remain, God might have been giving me such leeway for me to have that “breathing space” which would also give my kids the chance to affirm now that God is giving them “their turn” to make visible — the things that they’ve learned from their mom.

Parent as I am, I then ask myself: “had I been a good leader to my kids?”; “did I accomplish a task having been sent as a mother to them?”; “would my leadership make our kids whom God wants them to be?”

Too early as of yet to get some answer maybe … but I may just represent all the other parents out there who strive to keep that SPARK the best we could, no matter how much sacrifice we have to overcome each day; yet, just as Jesus said to his disciples, we parents do cry out for this too:

“Whoever loves me will keep my word; Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.” — JN 14:23-29

So for YOUths out there, as much as your parents strive to kindle their light to lead your way to God’s wisdom, may you also strive to ignite your “heart” not only to hear your parents’ voice but most importantly to “listen” to that “inspiration” coming from their deepest intention to make you a Very Inspired Person who would in turn be regarded as Very Inspiring Persons to others too – because there within your HOME, you’ve met your very first VIPs: Very Inspired & Inspiring Parents!

And to us parents, WE MAY BE WEAK AT TIMES but so long as we never turn “that spark OFF” we will always be God’s follower and our kids’ influencer! #sunset

“Leadership is intentional influence.” — Michael McKinne

“What is That ONE THING Lacking in You?”

                                                        What is that “one thing” you need to stop and start doing?

Pls Read God’s Silent Message: MK 10:17-30 

How much joy would it be for parents to give everything to their kids,

yet, they worry that their children would still be

“LACKING IN ONE THING” …

THE BEST THEY COULD, Parents would even ENRICH THEIR MARRIAGE for the sake of RAISING the FAMILY whom God entrusted them, like these 17 Couples who successfully completed and were blessed by The Feast SM Sta. Rosa’s 1^st Lux Couples’ Retreat at Mornese, Center of Spirituality in Pansol, Calamba, Laguna last October 3-4, 2015.

                    Lux 1. Couples Retreat Participants: Making that Difference for their Families.

“Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house …

for my sake and for the sake of the gospel

who will not receive a hundred times more

now in this present age…” – Jesus

Over the years, despite those “emotional attractions” amidst differences, it is really some sort of sacrifice that Couples learned to GIVE UP protecting their own pride over some “earned pains” caused by their partners & other family members – for the intent of belonging to the remaining 38% men & 43% women [2014 4thQ SWS Survey, Philippines] who are against BROKEN MARRIAGES.

Not only for the DESIRE of “receiving a hundred times more” … but because we, parents — would want “to give more” – even to the point of wanting to be there for our children for the rest of their life because that’s what would give us fulfillment.

But come to think of it, we may also be that man running to Jesus in today’s gospel asking:

“Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Sometimes we’re just too emotional about what we have that we can give. But ‘guess what, upon deep reflection, I personally realized:

It’s not really what you can give while you’re still around that should indeed matter.

‘yong MAY NAIBIBIGAY KA PA DIN KAHIT WALA KA NA, YON YONG PINAKA-MAHALAGA!

Minsan kasi, napapagod ka din sa kakabigay ng kung ano ang meron ka.

Without us realizing, yong “tangible things and deeds” na kaya nating ibigay ngayon, mawawala din kapag sinabi na sa atin ni God na “your time is up na”.

What would actually give us eternal life is taking the many chances

that we have right now to make our children see

“that ONE THING that they are LACKING IN”.

There may be times when our kids would hate us if we would push them to opportunities and crossroads where they could be their “own interns” of decision-making and “self-management”. Our heart could only feel so much if we’ll sometimes witness “how things would be difficult for them” – yet, our WILL to train them to be “level-headed” will soon make a lot of difference.

HINDI PURO PUSO at emosyon lang kapag nagmamahal. In life, para tayong bumubuo ng puzzle, iniipon natin bawat bahagi kahit nagkakahiwa-hiwalay at magkakaiba ang mga ito kasi gusto natin itong mabuo katulad ng pagsusumikap ng mga magulang na hind maging “broken family”. We need to be able to find the right piece each time and we’ve got to have the right attitude nang hindi nagmamadali. Katulad ng madalas kong sabihin sa aming 2 Gails [mga ate]: “You shouldn’t RUSH LOVE! You can never manage a relationship unless you learn to manage your SELF”!

‘yon siguro ‘yong eternity of our presence … that one thing lacking: ‘yong kaya na nilang buuhin ang sarili nilang puzzle using God’s strategy kasi ‘yon ‘yong ipinakita natin sa kanila kahit ‘di natin directly itinuro. #sunset

… what about you? what do you thing is ‘THAT ONE THING LACKING in you?

… better yet, what is that ONE THING YOU’VE GOT TO “STOP DOING” for you to inherit eternal joy in relationships?

Published in #TheFeastStaRosa Weekly Bulletin. Cor Dei 39. 28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Talk 1. Red Light: You Need to Choose Wisely. How To Avoid Jerks &Jerkettes Series

Stethoscope your Greatness

Cor Dei 35. 24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Pls Read God’s Silent Message: MK 8:27-35

                            Jesus’ “I AM” in SAM!

@SLMH, September 6, 2015.

She’s in that hospital bed – but with DevComTheories handouts, laptop & other “to divert stuff” with her on such bed. She was vomiting, but laughing all the way with Al-Dub’s organic-naturally “kilig-fun” magnetic stream.

And this, I found: “a stethoscope” of her own!  

— an instrument used for listening to sounds produced by the body. It is also used to listen to blood flow in peripheral vessels…

“She’s currently in pain — but she manages to smile; she’s been too brave to capture the procedures she had, and yes, with her own stethoscope, SHE LISTENS to her own blood flow to make herself ON-GUARD against any untoward clotting & misalignments.

“If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and follow in my steps.” — Jesus

It’s never easy denying any pain when you’re in the midst of battling for your NOW and for your future — but because our very own Sam Timbreza, one of our Youth Leaders here in The Feast SM Santa Rosa, has been all throughout affirming her personal answer to the question raised by Jesus in today’s gospel: “who do you say that I am?”, SHE IS even STRONGER at her weakest point!

Such greatness! — through the eyes of faith.

With the gifts of family & friendships and because she listens to what’s on the inside, SHE IS DETERMINED to be “that salt” that will fulfill her God-given mission not only until she gets well but even now that she’s still striving to get SAVED by all means with her OWN INITIATIVE TO BE WELL and with the most POSITIVE CLAIM that she will find a KIDNEY DONOR even before that time-framed transplant six months from now.

Hopefully “this makes us PINOY” our dear Brothers & Sisters – may we relate with Sam’s story & inspiration & may we be that instrument that would answer our prayer for Sam & for her family, specifically for a “kidney donor”! Let us share this Identity of love for one another as we ENTER God’s Kingdom down here! ©sunset

 posted in The Feast SM Santa Rosa Weekly Bulletin. Issue #35.13 September 2015.  Inspired by the #LightofJesus September Series T.G.I.F.: Thank God I’m Filipino. Talk 1: No ID, No Entry.

EGO TRIP

Journey Within

Pls Read God’s Silent Message: John 6: 1-15

QUICK SELF-TEST:

[1] Have you ever gotten THAT CHANCE “to look in the eyes of your child” when he/she tells you what he/she feels? – or

[2] have you even TRIED TO LISTEN – not to those spoken words but to such yearning HEART?

[3] What about giving those words of approval when your partner has been striving for something he/she loves doing? OR [4] have you ever had the initiative to say sorry when you’ve been weak to be slow in anger?

If your answer is a TRUTHFUL YES, God could surely be SMILING AT YOU right now because you’re SEEING YOURSELF IN OTHERS!

If on the otherhand, you give some “philosophical” EXCUSES which ACTUALLY give a “NO” answer, you might then be needing some BRAVE SOULS “to HELP YOU REALIZE some perpectives – and I am praying po that today’s gospel could be one FEARLESS avenue which I hope you’ll GRAB REFLECTING ON.

God sometimes throw questions to us to see what’s in our heart just as He did to Philip to TEST his generosity and to Andrew for his faith when he doubted how the 5 loaves & 2 fishes from that little boy could feed many?

True as it is, we do not feel other’s yearnings when they are MOST IN NEED because of such an excuse: “we cannot give that much”. Even more, we’re entertaining that fact that they deserve what they’ve got and we’re making it a justification for us not to show affection no matter how difficult things are becoming for them.  Far BITTER, we don’t even spare them any of our glance so that we totally do not see how much CONCERN or even the LEAST CARE they’d even deserve to get from us since they’ve been serving us all the way.  Without us knowing, we’re already being so UNFAIR since despite our unaware INCONSIDERATIONS, GOD STILL ALWAYS PROVIDES even if we’re to that point of believing that we’re not directly asking after all  – which gives us the concept that everything that we have is because of our own effort.

Such concept is creating A LOUDER VOICE within us. Study reveals that if our voice is louder than the normal tone, that is an indication that we do not hear our self well. Not so big deal to worry about though; but being aware at that, yet we do not do anything to overcome, such state could eventually hinder us from hearing some voice of wisdom because we’ve allowed too much noise deep within us.

If we cannot see our “self” in others, we need to spend some TIME to JOURNEY INTO OUR OWN SELF; strive to discover some hidden issues to be settled, “let go” of our own hurts & guilt, pray & realize that the forgiveness that we should give to those persons na sabi natin ay “di natin mapapalagpas ang ginawa sa atin” should be that same forgiveness that we should give to your OWN SELF because several times in our life, we’ve also wanted to receive that forgiveness from those we’ve hurt.

Take time for this!

Dear Friends, “that chance that we never grabbed looking into a child’s eyes”, let’s GRAB IT FOR OUR SELF –for we should always be God’s CHILD each time we ACCEPT some “lessons to be learned”.

Life is short! Our days need not be numbered before we would realize NA DAPAT IWAS EMOTIONAL STRESS kasi even when we sleep, our heart gets tired kasi ayaw tanggapin ng pride natin ‘yong dapat nating matutunan. This doesn’t exempt me po, I’ve been talking to myself when I’m in silence, I’ve asked for forgiveness & been turned down several times because of misinterpretations; but lifting things up to God in humility makes me hope that the people God asked me to mission-out are A WORK IN PROGRESS. At dahil dyan, SMILE NA! Let’s keep life SIMPLE para MORE JOY! #sunset /@ProfGail67[twitter]/@gailmontero.47/blogs@trendingprof47.wordpress.com

==========================================================================

posted in The Feast SM Sta. Rosa Bulletin, “Ego Trip”. Issue#28. 26 July 2015.

SPARK A DREAM: PAY FORWARD!

Sometimes we just need to look somewhere deep within

— for us to see what there is to be thankful for.

” A lot of what we have right now” are not all because of our own effort alone; but many we’ve received because WE ARE LOVED!” — It is only when we realize this truth in all humility that we would eventually start striving to fulfil something for others too!

God have given us that much and He wants us to learn to be able to manage every bit of what we are receiving.  WHY? — because He wants us to LEAVE A LEGACY!

God’s love is like the rain — the amount of what we receive depends upon what we’re bringing to “go get some” of God’s blessings — but most importantly, WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT WE’RE GIVEN would matter a lot and would make a lot of difference!

SO, what am i actually insinuating? What are we doing with the little or the many that we are receiving? … GO, SPARK FOR A DREAM — THERE WITHIN YOUR HEART!

We determine the amount of love that we receive! When we start to give some, we will not be content with what we can still give — because WE FEEL that we want to FIND MEANING in LIFE!

We’re never too old not to grab as of yet this opportunity to dream! And so, since we are enrolled in this Course “School Plant and Property Management”, why not FIND MEANING and START BUILDING OUR LEGACY?

Years gone are but preparations which lead us to what we should do at the right time — how we respond now would be AN INSPIRATION IN SHAPING A FUTURE — all because we deep within us is that GRATITUDE that we want to GIVE BACK such LOVE!

Get some inspiration and learn the HOW,  through this LOVELY young lady’s blog: DreamBoard.

We surely would want to leave a legacy when people would eventually tell that God has been at the CORE of “our being” because we’ve responded to a certain God-given mission which is TO AFFECT HUMANITY and to STORE UP OUR WEALTH deep within somebody’s heart!

START DREAMING FOR YOUR OWN SCHOOL NOW! 

Blog Credits to: https://lovemcosio.wordpress.com/2015/07/12/dreamboard/

Credits to The Light of Jesus Family @ The Feast’s Talk Series: SIMPLIFY. Talk 1: Treasure

MISSION IN YOUR “CORE”!

Cor Dei 27. 16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Pls Read God’s Silent Message: Mark 6:30-34

Can we not just LOVE and REACH OUT?

In our Last week’s Gospel, God told us that He is sending us to a mission but with the instruction to SIMPLIFY: take nothing for the journey but a walking stick!

If one day you’ll be face to face with God and He’ll ask you to report what you’ve done to fulfill such mission, what would you tell Him?

… would you brag that you did it all well, mission-accomplished?

… or would you complain that it was difficult, you’ve given up the mission?

… MINE WOULD BE these lines:

“Lord, IT HASN’T BEEN EASY po making others realize that there are certain things in their lives which they need to CUT OFF & CLEAN UP. Some of us have secured ourselves with position & possessions in life and authority that we find it demeaning to be humble to accept our mistake, not minding the harm that such pride is causing to some relationships. Some of us are not even cautious and reflective of the words that we say, the actuations that we show and the decisions that we abruptly make.

Lord, along the Mission, I did strive to be HAPPY – I always did! Despite some mis-interpretations from those you asked me to “mission-out”, at the end of each day, I would find every reason to write in my “thank you journal” my gratitude that i was able to triumph over the insults that I got because I chose to “lift up to YOU what I have no capacity to control at certain moments”.

Thank you so much Dear Lord for THE WALKING STICK that you allowed me to bring along this journey. Sometimes my eyes may not show some glow because I am struggling TO SIMPLIFY IN THE MIDST OF COMPLICATIONS but YOU KNOW that WITHIN MY HEART is the DEEP JOY because YOUR ASSURANCE of BEING IN MY LIFE is my REAL TREASURE which makes me STRIVE TO FULFILL A MISSION.

P.S. nga po pala Lord, Thank you SO MUCH for TRUSTING me on this opportunity – I CLAIM po that these persons you’ve assigned to me ARE ALREADY A WORK IN PROGRESS!” #end of my face-to-face talk with God!

 One day, BECAUSE GOD KNOWS how difficult it has been, He would tell us:

“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”

By then, the LEGACY of our sacrifices will be THE CORE of the persons we lovingly served because at the end of it all, they responded to MISSION-IN positive inner attitudes for themselves. #sunset

/@ProfGail67[twitter]/@gailmontero.47/blogs@trendingprof47.wordpress.com

*** Published in The Feast Bulletin, Issue #27.19 July 2015. SIMPLIFY Series. Talk 1: Treasure. MISSION-IN! by Gail S. Montero

Our Return of Investment!

Soon, we will also reap our “return of investment”

Kindness begets kindness!

Ang pagbibigay daw ng kabutihan, parang negosyo lang yan! Di mo alam kung may babalik na tubo!

Pero kapag “kabutihan ang puhunan natin sa negosyo”, there might be no assurance na hindi tayo malulugi– but we could be SO SURE that it will eventually make us GROW.

Why? … kasi ‘yong pinili nating maging puhunan gives us that sensation na hinding-hindi natin ikakalugi dahil it makes us feel great kapag nai-extend natin ito sa iba.

This is one secret pala which made Jesus a great Entrepreneur! At first He was just like a salesman whom nobody believed; but because He INVESTESTED ON PERSONAL THOUGHTFULNESS, soon He became that earnestly-sought sales-person who satisfies people’s needs just by His mere presence — without having to do much of “sales-talk” because His actions already demonstrated HOPE TO MANY!

At times we may feel insulted to give out kindness to some who would tend to doubt our intensions. Sometimes we may also feel “small” when people would carelessly demean the simple goodness that we extend — kaya in effect, we feel hesitant to pursue even that simple offer of friendship. But because we’re already aware that we should “run our business” in whatever type, persist still! — kasi this is Jesus’ sales-talk to us in today’s gospel:

“Do not be afraid; just have faith.” 

‘yong tubo, maaaring ‘di natin makita kaagad by now; pero sige lang, let’s just “keep on doing the right thing” kasi soon, we will also reap our “return of investment” – that is: when people eventually start “talking good about us!” because we modelled Jesus Entrepreneur’s example! #sunset

/@ProfGail67[twitter]/@gailmontero.47[instagram]/blogs@trendingprof47.wordpress.com

published @ The Feast SM Sta. Rosa’s Bulletin, Issue #24, 28 June 2015

Run Your Own Business! … no one WILL!

Sometimes we tend to be so terrified!

Sometimes too, we keep on worrying a lot!

And  there are even times when we feel too cluttered and toxic – to the max!

— and so because of that, we have the tendency to complicate things which even lead us to number of difficulties — and worse, life doesn’t have the choice but allow us to experience series of unfortunate events.

Going through Life is just like encountering tides and thunder amidst the sea. All throughout, God has been with us; but several times, God would ask us:

“Why are you terrified? … Do you not yet have faith?”

True enough, we tend to be demanding because we thought that God and the people whom He sent to love us “doesn’t really care!” We point our fingers to others “for the blame” – yet we hardly realize that we should be the very person “running our own business”!

Good that we still have TODAY: an opportunity to overcome those “toxic & over-to-the-max reactions” which we should STRIVE TO ELIMINATE for IF WE WON’T, God’s original MAJOR BUSINESS PLAN IN us wouldn’t be seriously MANAGED. #sunset

What is Your “Piece of Peace”?

#Master of Arts in Educational Management 
#Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education

Can we not strive for this?

You are beautiful! You are unique! YOU are YOU!

YET, you might have forgotten to ASERT YOURSELF because you might have had so little confidence in your self.

Over some period of time, there might have been some incidences of feeling neglected and it gave you enough justification  to shy away from the world, from other people; shy away from yourself until you’ve just been contented hoping to just blend into the background.

Could you ever imagine when was “that time” you begun feeling worthless?

When was it that you started changing yourself, hoping to just impress the thoughts of others?

Without you realizing, you are actually harming yourself because you’re hoping to improve … when in fact, you’re doubting your very self because you no longer feel that confident to VOICE OUT amidst those times when your thoughts and actions have just been rejected & by-passed. In effect, it gave you the only choice to just close your eyes and shrug your shoulders because you allowed yourself to feel helpless.

You no longer feel great just the way you are because you’ve already forgotten WHO YOU REALLY ARE!

You believed it when people say you’re not worthy; you stopped giving yourself the chance to gain credits despite the many striving times you’ve exerted. You’ve pressured yourself too much because you’ve allowed those chaotic, abrupt-changing systems to disturb your “simple piece of peace”.

You were supposedly to work giving out your BEST for God’s glory in an imperfect world; yet, you keep on justifying that you are “not perfect” — that is why, you’re also justifying “not being able to give your BEST” in every little thing that you do because of what you believe in.

“You can never be perfect?” What does it say about your “self esteem”?

Could you imagine what will happen to “that thing called Tadhana” if everyone of us would take care of this kind of mindset? Destiny — as a predetermined course of events may be conceived as a predetermined future.  What lies in the future would always depend upon WHAT WE DO TODAY!

Many of us would tend to complain about several “turn out of situations which doesn’t give us any choice!” — that is why we keep on “piercing our heart” with that arrow which we keep on pointing to other direction other than our own SELF!

If there should be some "PIECE OF PEACE" that we should bring to our future not only as a teacher but as a Child of God, 
what do you think would that be?

Try visiting these links for progression:

http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Teacher

http://www.principals.org/Content.aspx?topic=61219

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/09/11/03mindset_ep.h33.html

Uso pa ba ang “Film Developing”?

A Negative Film.

It is processed in a so called dark room. The film is soaked in chemical, then soon, images appear more beautifully from negative to positive.

May mga pictures na minsan ipinipilit na ibigay sa atin pero minsan tinatanggihan natin kahit na sa totoo lang ay maganda naman ang ipinapakita nito.

Sometimes we want to live our own life and we want people to leave us alone, kasi we are annoyed by those who are there, offering the best that they have exerted their effort to.

We neglect them, we reject their offers, we mis-interpret their intentions until such times  when our reactions would put us to a test.

“I don’t need your service!, It doesn’t mean a thing to me!

You do not understand me at all, sayang lang time ko!

‘wag na lang kasi akong pakikialaman!”

These are our usual lines.   Without us being aware,  we are actually  resisting positive efforts which may not make us feel good just like being in that “dark room” — but if only we would allow ourselves to “enjoy the experience of being loved” just like that negative film soaked into chemical, we would soon become that beautifully printed picture ever captured because we responded “in cooperation” with that goal to “bring out the BEST in US”!

From negative to positive … Film Developing is Living Life to the Fullest!

#OMGinspired.11feb2015airtime