Lower the Mat

"One, two, three, down!"


This must have been the words of the 4 men found in this passage:

 MARK 2 (NIV1984) Emphasis, mine
 ¹ A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by FOUR OF THEM. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, LOWERED THE MAT the paralyzed man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw THEIR FAITH, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 

Lower the mat.
"One, two, three, down!"


*  *  *  *  *


Just for a brief background, the Book of Mark portrays Jesus Christ as the Servant of God, and was written for Roman readers. The object in writing is to clearly tell certain facts about Jesus' deeds. This book was the first gospel written, in print, among the other 3 gospels, Matthew, Luke and John.


This account can also be found in Matthew 9:1-8 and Luke 5:17-26.


*  *  *  *  *


This account established the truth that it is Jesus' heart to heal. It is no question. It helped me have a firmer grasp of who Jesus is in this area. He is the Author and Healer of life and wants no other thing but to see His people have it and live it to the fullest. As a matter of fact, reading through, this account was 'sandwiched' by other different healing accounts ...


BEFORE. A man possessed by an evil spirit, Simon's mother-in-law, all the other sick and demon-possessed, a man with leprosy.


and AFTER. A dead girl, a sick woman, the blind, the mute, and the rest of the gospels tell more.


What an amazing, healing God!


Focusing the lens onto Jesus, I resonated on this: Compassion drives Jesus, but lack of faith, shuts him off. 


Lack of faith? It is a so-major-TURN OFF. It won't work. It is only by faith can we ever please God. That is why, no wonder, the entire Bible told, exhorted, taught so much about this word called F-A-I-T-H. Old and New Testament, in and out. Take your pick.


Lower the mat.
"One, two, three, down!" 


is the evident, active expression of faith of these 4 men, carrying the mat, and even by the paralytic himself. I believe that those men won't be carrying him (the paralytic) through the rooftops without his consent. Yes, he maybe paralyzed, but still he has a say as to what to do or not what to do with him. At least, to the carrying thing, they must agree.


They knew they can't just sit or stand still. They needed to do something. It was their faith --- active faith that stirred, moved, compelled and constrained them to do something to get into the feet of their Object of faith, Jesus.


"We just need you to get in there. By all means!"
For them, it is through the rooftop. They took the journey little by little by lowering the mat.


When Jesus saw their faith, THEIR FAITH. I needed to pause. THEIR FAITH. 


Got it? It is one thing to have faith, but to have others journey alongside with you, having the same faith is another.


Not just the faith of one man, but also the faith of the other men touched Jesus' heart.


Where there is faith, forgiveness and healing flourish.


The paralytic man got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, (v.12a)


The Lord be praised, indeed.


*  *  *  *  *


To my friend "M", what you're going through now is a not so easy thing. The past few weeks must have been much of sleepless nights lying on your mat. I am willing to carry and lower your mat at Jesus' feet. I will journey alongside with you and your faith. Listen as I count with the others,


"One, two, three, down."


We are not just 4... there are many others with me by the way.

Strikes for Streaks

This will all be pictures, I am telling you. So I am going to understand if you will just close the window and not look through. It is okay. But to those who will not, this is just a sort of history or evolution of my blog header, that you now see (way up)... as of today.

Note: This post is timeless. This will be updated from time to time as often as the blog header changes. :)

More there is to come --- maybe. :)

Simply O.C.

O. C.
Yes, you read it right. O. C.
People think I am, and I think so, too.


They say it is a disorder. But I claim the opposite thought. :)


Endless thinking, editing, posting, removing pictures and changing layouts for my blog got me hooked for the past days. The cycle goes on and on and on. I ended getting mad at myself: "When will I ever stop? When will I ever get satisfied with how my blog looks like?"


I just want it to appear simple, but nice.


Grrr. What's with me?
Comforting myself, I know I am having my moments again... my O. C. moments. But this one has to stop. It is time to be kind to myself. Okay. Fine. It is alright. So now, I 'think' I am done with the blog layout. This is final. I hope. :)


Since I already brought this one up, journey with some of my "O. C.-ness":

• I am a straight line fanatic --- die hard. So I bring a ruler with me. All the time. Can't live without it. Drawing lines, bars, graphs at school, at work and "church" is heaven if ruler comes in handy. I get so irritated if I don't do it straight. By whatever means... I have to get it straight.
• Are the books on my shelf arranged by height? by size? There you have it. I will not dare miss a centimeter.
• Clothesline. After a fulfilling laundry time, seeing my clothes hanged by color make it sweeter. All the reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, together. Rainbow bright! :)
• I always rearrange my room. I keep on moving things around... every other week. But if I am at the peak, I do it every week.
• And the list goes on... some things I find very minute and unnecessary. Needless to say.

But, there's a catch. As human as I am, I have not also been a full-pledged O. C. I mess up at times. So there's really nothing to boast. The O. C. level varies with my 'hormones'... if it has really something to do with that. But if I mess up, I know something is wrong, and am burdened to put it right. It's hard sometimes, seeing that I walk through extremes.

It just makes me smile to think that this O. C. lady is accepted and embraced by the ONE who created her. HE cheered me at my best O. C. days, and stood by me at my worst messed up days. But I am so secured with the fact that HE loves me despite of the extremes. Oh, my, HE bore so much of me already. HE's just too patient. 

The bottom line is this, changing things will never stop. We will always see something new to change each day. It means that things can always be done better, finer, brighter, and all the other 'ERs' we can possibly think of. At least it is a good mark of not settling for anything less, a mark of upholding perfection and excellence in progress.


By the way, I am not the only O. C. in existence. There are lots out there... walking around.


Oh, see? :)

6 Squeezed in 2

How do you write about something indescribable?
How do you blog your thoughts when 'words aren't just enough'?
How do you compress a length of time that took years then write about it?


No need to answer. It's just me talking to myself. :)


Just a few hours from now, my sister will be taking the licensure examination for Civil Engineers. This is it. Soon she will be sitting in a chair that would house her for 2 days as she pours out what the course would demand from her:


speed,
accuracy,
mastery,
sharp memory,


to name a few.


And not discounting the incalculable sacrifices invested into this...


time,
money,
energy,
sleepless nights,
limited social life.


6 YEARS OF STUDY
SQUEEZED IN 2 DAYS (How can that be?)
then --- charan! there you have a CIVIL ENGINEER!


Karen: "Ate, wala nang atrasan 'to."


Shine on, Karen. The Lord who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. He is with you and will never leave you. 


And I will always be here to clap for you. :)

A Boy Named Jim

We were clueless of his visit. No herald was sent. None of us stood at the gate to meet ahead

A boy named Jim.

He just came softly in the office, as he held hands with a social worker one quiet midday. I stopped typing. I stopped working as I tried to gaze at his face. When I saw him, it dawned to me, 'I know those eyes'. It belonged to

A boy named Jim.

It was the story of this young boy that has tear-filled the eyes, swept off the feet, stirred & moved the hearts of the urban crowd. Now, just within an arm's reach here stands precious Jim. I wonder what he is thinking and feeling with a few people around intently looking at him.

* * * * *

Born in a garbage dump. Abandoned by his mother.

Left with his father, who also abandoned him later.

Picked up by a neighbor-turned-proud-babysitter

Saying I'll take care of him, but I needed to be paid, remember.

Cigarette burns, skin irritations and malnutrition,

the boy suffered more, these are but a few of his condition.

Tears and blood flow from his eye that was pierced.

I imagine how he must have cried! That's just too fierce!

* * * * *

And the Lord came to the rescue. The Father to the fatherless. The Strength of the weak. A Refuge for the oppressed, the One who heard the cries and saw the pain and fears of

A boy named Jim.

Jim was finally taken out from the dump, sent to rehabilitation and will be opened for adoption. 


He has gained weight, can now stand & walk on his own but loses balance at times. Though you can still see marks of the painful past he had endured, his face shines and glows like no other, as if saying, 

"Look at what my Lord, my Father has done for me!" 

We were silenced in his presence, taking captive every thought of how the Lord loved and cared for the boy. It was a kairos moment. 


We saw little Jim smiled. We smiled, holding back our tears.


Jim waved us good-bye as he exits to meet our other colleagues. Having a heartfelt meeting with Jim again needs a point of release. As for me, I just have written a brief blog that I can go back and read any time entitled,

A BOY NAMED JIM.

The Grace to Stay & the Grace to Go

Last night, while thinking on a sleepless bed, I plainly said,

"Lord, I am afraid."

That was all I have to say to the One who sees me behind closed doors. When everything has been said & done, come & gone, it has always been Him. Always have, always will. Many or few are the words, I know He listens. That's my perpetual assurance.


To face and stand in a major road fork will really cause you to call out to the heavens. But the kind of fear that goes with it is just goes to acknowledge and prove that we can't do anything without God. I desire to fulfill God's purposes for me, nothing more, nothing less.


Stay ashore, or go and set the sail?

THE GRACE TO STAY

"If your Presence does not go with [me], do not send [me] up from here." Exodus 33:15, personalized

Aware of what's  happening, the Lord met me where I was. He knows well that that kind of crossroad scares me. But comforted me yet again of the His grace. I was silenced. 


THE GRACE TO GO

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:2-3 (NIV1984)

I know the Lord will just ask one thing of me,

"Trust Me."

The Lord speaks, doesn't He? He has His own ways of making His voice heard. Then I was gradually led to this poem, penned by an anonymous author:

** THE WILL OF GOD **

The will of God will never take you,

Where the grace of God cannot keep you.

Where the arms of God cannot support you,

Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,

Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you,

Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,

Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,

Where the army of God cannot protect you,

Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you,

Where the love of God cannot enfold you,

Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,

Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,

Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you,

Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,

Where the Word of God cannot feed you,

Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,

Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

No greater amount of comfort can out stand that that night. If it will take a 'rhema' Word or a poem to send me to sleep, He'll do it. I do and will trust the Lord, for my hope is built on nothing less. :)

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Today is the 23rd of July 2012. Stumbling upon this song made me remember this post. I felt the need and urge to post it here. Funny thing, as I posted this that has something to do with water ~ staying ashore & setting the sail, this video does the same thing ~ Walking On The Water as title. Isn't that neat? :)

May I Have This Dance?

It was actually and originally,

Oh, by the way, my post already turned one! At 'di ko pa nasasayaw. :) I posted it for myself and had no idea friends would take time to read through. :)


Let me break this down - backwards:

This dance.

It is because of a particular song that has struck me so strongly (which I am listening to right now), where parts speak of a testimony that marked my life so far... where I could have turned out a mess if not for God's love and grace. I have been wanting to dance to this song. But don't ask me what song it is for I am not going to tell --- yet.

When the time is right.

I have no idea what particular event would have this particular theme. And I don't know, too if opportunity will ever come for this to fit. I am not in a haste though, for I want to dance to this 'fit and right'. This is a dance in progress. I am so willing to invest or give whatever it will demand from me. (Oh, by the way, this blogger is not a dancer as the world labeled it). 

Lord.

Will He approve? Will He let me do this? I dance for Him so, it is but right to ask for His consent. Just like a child asking permission,

"When the time is right, LORD, MAY I HAVE 'THIS DANCE'?"

If it will happen to be an epic request, it's fine. I am willing to wait until He says, "Yes."

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Okay, today is the 6th of July 2012. After reading this post again (after 8 months), I think and feel this is a good time to spill the beans. So, here is the song:

A Sneak Peek of the Streak

"It will be Streaks of Penned Thoughts..." 

said I, as I swiveled gently on the office chair. The heart of beginning a blog took me like forever. Naming it, barely a minute. It was so sudden and may appear thoughtless, but it was a product of my 'thinking years'. 


Although I wanted to keep mum about delving into blogging, there's something in me that wants to know if it's going to make sense or not. So I thought of asking my sister.

So, I did.

SMS: "Writing. Parang thought-to-hand writing. Parang as u read the writen form, it also alows u to think or folow d thought dynamics of d writer. Parang kung pano ung thought trail nung writer, ung dynamics and substance ng thoughts nya un ang mababasa mo. Ang effect e parang as u read, u think as d writer did as he was thinking while he writes his thoughts and their dynamics." (Sentence construction, spelling & format retained)

On the other side of town, as I was writing the draft of this post, my other sister, the bubbly one, was trying to peek in what's keeping me busy. Well, in her subtle persistence, she succeeded reading the blog name. 

Streaks of Penned Thoughts??? 


 "Aha! I knew it!  It's you! You named your blog after you. Sounds so much how I call you, PEN-DOTS! Streaks of Pendots!" 


How I laughed! 


So I found her, patting herself, delighted of her decoding achievement. Hehe. She 'might' have guessed the Penned Thoughts, but still has left Streaks behind.


But I did not realize that. She got me there. :)


There you have my sisters. Streaks of Penned Thoughts, in their understanding and 'hearing'.


*   *   *


So, what's with the name? Simple. Nothing spectacular.


Penned Thoughts


Being much of a thinker than a talker, the blogger leans on directing her thoughts into strokes than making thoughts audible. But sometimes, her thoughts run in a speed of light, even before her hands scribble. Not wanting to take those vast, spur of the moment thoughts about her life & faith into waste, she set her hand to motion. Write it down. Mark it down. Pen it down. 


As thoughts make its way, from thought-to-hand writing, or blogging should I say, may its form come forth gracefully, in dashes, smears, in band of colors like


Streaks, and not just blurts.


A novice, creative writer in her own right, this blogger's utmost desire is to give glory to her Lord, the One who has given her the heart to capture the thoughts, and hands to do the work. 

"And to Him I dedicate this blog." :)