Dear Sir, I pray you’re dumb instead of twisted

An Open Letter to CJ Corona


Dear Sir,


I’m not a lawyer nor do I claim to have much knowledge of the law. I only had a couple of Business Law classes under you in Ateneo. What legal matters I know about your impeachment have been gleaned from my lawyer-father.


I’m writing this open letter to you because I am saddened about the images I have seen of you these past two weeks. I remember you to be a jolly person. Learning Business Law under you was quite fun. A terror professor you were not. 


I remember the last time I saw you was when my boss brought me on a client call to Combank to meet with you. You were still your jolly self even showing me that you kept your class record where my name was listed. And here’s what saddens me. You used to work in a bank so you can’t claim ignorance of the FCDU law. 


But if you misinterpreted that then I pray you truly didn’t know it rather than have you twist the law for your benefit. I believe the Lord looks more kindly on dumb people rather than on crooked ones.  


Now that the verdict has been handed down, I pray that you will find it in you to accept your fate gracefully for the benefit of our country. I believe this historic moment will start our nation in building up its moral integrity. Please don’t destroy it by having your team create a constitutional crisis with their legal maneuverings.


In Ateneo, we were taught to be a person for others. This is your chance to show how blue your blood is by doing something you have failed to do since you accepted your midnight appointment. Be a man for others. Leave your office with grace and dignity. Maybe, with your gesture, our country can start walking on the road to greatness. 


Sincerely,
Your student

Pampered by God (Part 2)

Blessing #2: Queen Margarette’s Asha Spa


Like I said in my last blog, our trip to Quezon was filled with blessings. Blessing #2 was our stay in Queen Margarette Hotel. What a luxury to be able to stay in Lucena’s finest. 


After lunch in Silangang Nayon, we went back to the hotel to relax. Belle and I discovered that the hotel serves a humongous halo-halo in their restaurants (Kimsuy and Emerald Garden Café) which was perfect merienda for a hot afternoon. Actually we also had it for dinner and lunch the next day. It was that good – even our kids enjoyed it.

Half  of the humongous halo-halo

My cousin, Edna Dy who owns Queen Margarette, had been inviting us to try out their new spa. So we (Belle, her daughter, my two boys & I) booked an appointment at 5:00 for some spa-mpering.


The lobby of Asha Spa was dripping with elegance – from the décor to the subdued lighting. After registering, the boys went on their way to the men’s section while we proceeded to the ladies’ changing room. It was another elegant room, so we couldn’t resist taking pictures even if we were already clad in the white robe and floral slippers they provided.

Elegant changing room

Actually we ran true to our Pinoy nature (you know that saying: whenever two or more Pinoys are gathered there’s picture-taking?) by having shots taken all over this stylish place to record our rejuvenating experience. 


We wanted to hang out awhile in the tempting waters of the jacuzzi but sadly we weren’t prepared and too modest to bare it all even if there were just the 3 of us. So off we went for our Royal Asha massage. 


After the 1hour massage that removed all the stress kinks from our muscles, we were ushered to the lounge for tea. We waited for quite a while – it’s a good thing the seats were so comfortable and the ambiance relaxing – because the boys took time to enjoy all the facilities (jacuzzi, steam bath and sauna) before their massage. 

Drinking tea in the comfortable lounge

Belle told me that she kept thanking God for this treat with every soothing stroke of the therapist’s hand. And I second the motion. It was God’s pampering for his tired servants. 

My blessing: Asha Gift Certificate No. 001

Pampered by God (Part 1)

May 6, 2012 


Blessing #1: Lunch in Silangang Nayon


The cool sea breeze and blue waters welcomed me like a  hug from God. It was an answer to my prayer for a vacation with my sons. We haven’t gone on a family outing for quite a long time and I prayed for this time together. 


It wasn’t even an official vacation.  We were going to apply for new passports in Lucena and thought we’d turn the trip into an outing. 


Orchestrating this wasn’t a snap. There were schedules that didn’t match (my community service, their work) and health concerns (my elder son had fever 2 days before). My cousin Belle and her family, who were coming with us, had the same scheduling and health problems. But with prayers, it all worked out and here we were in Quezon. 

When I first came to Silangang Nayon about 2 years ago, I wished I could bring my children to this seaside park and restaurant. It’s a treat we city folks don’t often get: enjoying delicious native cuisine like sizzling scallops as we lazed in a “bamboo” cottage perched above the sea on the side of a cliff. 

While waiting for our order, we went down to the bridge connecting to the huts in the middle of the sea. I showed my niece, Angeli, the small plane on cable that brought food to the guests who preferred to dine over the water. After lunch we relaxed and enjoyed a bit more of the scenery. 


What a blessing it was for us to unwind from the rigors of work and community service in this place. More blessings were in store for us later in the afternoon and the next day including a hassle-free time (no appointment, shorter lines) applying for our passports. 


I can’t thank the Lord enough for this treat.

Love Someone Today Lesson 1

God Has a Great Purpose for Your Life

I spent the better part of my morning rummaging through old issues of Kerygma Magazine. There’s this story about a disabled girl I was looking for. 


I can’t recall what her disability was. All I remember is that she can’t move around like a normal person does. What was remarkable about her was that she blesses so many people from her bed. She is a prayer warrior. People text her their petitions and she prays for them. That’s what she spends most of her waking time on.


I wasn’t able to find the article. It’s a good thing this month’s (May 2012) issue of Kerygma featured another amazing girl with a disability, Jessica Cox. Jessica was born without any arms but she can do everything a person with hands can do. More than that, she plays the piano, has 2 black belts in Taekwondo and is listed in Guinness as the first armless person to get a pilot’s certification.  (I have two hands and forearms and triceps and biceps and I can’t do any of that.)


In the KMag article by Tess Atienza, Jessica admitted she did go through times when she questioned God and pitied herself. If I remember right, the other girl did too. But they did not waste their time whining about their lot, throwing tantrums when they can’t have their way (read in the article how Jessica dealt creatively with her desire to have a TV) and cursing the womb that bore them. Instead they rose above their disabilities to serve as inspiration to others.


Lesson 1 of Bo Sanchez’s book Love Someone Today is “God Has a Great Purpose for Your Life.” God has a plan for you no matter what shape or form or color or status you were brought into this world. Just look at these two girls. 


Bo said: “I believe your most important purpose is to be one with God – because from your oneness with God, you’ll be able to share His love to the world through the gifts and talents He has given you.” No matter how physically, economically, emotionally challenged you are, YOU HAVE A GIFT AND A PURPOSE. 


Some friends and I faced a challenge this week via a barrage of text messages. I’ve said it before and I say it again: God uses ingenious ways (yes, even exasperation) to inspire my blogs. These are some thoughts He prodded me to write:

The acceptance of your disability, character flaw or misfortune in life is the start of accepting yourself. Once you learn to accept yourself, you can start “fulfilling God’s design for your life.” The feeling of rejection comes from focusing on your neediness for other people’s acceptance. 

When you look beyond yourself and serve others with joy, other people will naturally gravitate to you. A person who exudes love for others is easy to like and difficult to reject. Looking outward (what can I do to make other people happy) instead of looking inward (what should other people do to make me happy) is the key to acceptance and the antidote to rejection. 

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For my cyber-friends to whom I dedicate this LST series to, let me share this tip from the book: “As you begin your relationship with Jesus, start with J.O.Y.


Join a weekly Prayer Meeting (such as The Feast) and Small Groups for personal discipleship.


Obey God’s Word by reading the Bible every day. You may use the assigned Mass Readings of the day or read 3 chapters of the Bible daily.


Yield to the Holy Spirit so you can share Jesus to others.”

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By the way, thank you Jennet (one of the cyber-friends I mentioned in my last blog) . I made this Strawberry Cheesecake with the luscious strawberries you sent.

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Postscript:


I found the KMag article (April 2007) I was looking for thanks to Tess who also wrote it. The  differently-abled girl's name is Ann Martha Padilla and she has cerebral palsy. She is “a prayer warrior of the Regina Rosarii Contemplative Association.” 


Like Jessica, she uses her toes to do things particularly texting her advice to the many people who send her messages. She said, “I would ask God what he wanted me to do given my condition.” Through her disability, she is performing God’s great purpose for her life – to “offer encouragement and prayer for His troubled people.”



Photo of Jessica from Jessica Cox Motivational Services http://rightfooted.com/photos/