Power Tripped

Happy and sad do not always exist together on the same plane. Usually, it’s one or the other.  Last month, this mixed emotion was felt at the Saturday Feast Alabang (SFA) because of the change in leadership.

Sad because we said good-bye to Randy Borromeo, our first Feast Builder, who had been nurturing us for four months. We had “borrowed” him from Feast Makati while our Feast Builder was undergoing training.

Happy because our permanent Saturday Feast Builder, James Nicolas, was finally installed. He is also Feast Alabang’s Evangelism Pillar head and we had been happily serving under him and his wife, Jinky, since last year.

The excitement was high the first time Bro James was going to give the talk as SFA Builder. It was also the week-end of Feast Alabang’s third anniversary so there were many things going on.

A few minutes into Bro James’ talk, the power in Festival Mall suddenly went out. Everything was pitch black. Fortunately, or so we thought, it only lasted for a while. The lights went back on but the microphones remained silent.

I froze. I couldn’t even feel the panic any Events head should be going through at that moment. Our sound mixer (at least I think that’s what it’s called) had blown a fuse when the power went out. I could only look helplessly on as our Tech Ministry tried to fix it to no avail.

Four months of handling SFA Events did not prepare me for this. But God never puts us in a situation without providing for our needs.

Sis Myrna, Events Pillar head and a three-year veteran of countless stress-inducing glitches in the Sunday Feast, was there. So was Bro Dom who is a really dependable guy especially in stage management. They’re normally not around on Saturdays. They were just at the center preparing for the anniversary the next day.

They moved faster than the speed of light to have the portable sound system set up and to have a new fuse procured. In my catatonic state, I couldn’t think of doing those things.  All I could do to help was to shoo the choir off the riser where the mics for the portable sound system were kept.

There are things in life that we just have to learn so we can become better at what we do. Sometimes the experience is as painful as a scraped knee. I was blessed that God provided me that day with people who cushioned the blows of my learning experience.


Saturday Feast Alabang is held on Saturdays at 6:00 pm with anticipated mass at 7:30 pm.
Visit www.feastalabang.com for the complete schedule of the sessions (Wednesdays & Sundays) and Sunday masses. 

SFA Photo by Ysza Bianca Pineda

How to Reject Your One True Love

It’s been quite a while since I wrote a blog here. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been receiving regular doses of miracles that I should be thankful for. I was actually busy with a new blessing – my new blog, Happy Faith. Anyway, as I promised to complete the Love Someone Today series, here’s Lesson 2: God Loves You More Than You Can Imagine. 

Lesson 2 says: “God delights in you” and you don’t have to do anything to earn His love. Many people have a hard time believing this. Maybe because they “were raised by unloving parents or in broken homes.” Or maybe they grew up with different beliefs or mindsets that block out this truth.

God loves us so much that even if we sin, He still showers us with love. But sin acts like an umbrella that prevents that downpour of love from drenching us. This in effect becomes a rejection of the One who truly loves us and who should be our One True Love, Jesus. 

The umbrella analogy reminds me of someone who gave our community quite a big headache. When he came to us, everybody tried to love him as we do with all people who come through our doors. We were also quite impressed with the way he tries to better himself.

But he had a great neediness to be loved and accepted maybe because of his disability and a painful past. That neediness soon became an umbrella that prevented him from receiving the love God wanted to shower him with through our members.

When he didn’t get his way, he slandered the people he felt were responsible. He took offense at the most miniscule or even non-existent reason. He would text blast a barrage of insults and complaints. 

People began shying away for fear they would become the next target of his attacks. It also became too much for their blood pressures to handle him. He sabotaged the very same relationships that he craved like a real estate agent who priced his property too high as if he didn’t want to sell. 

If, like this person, you are in a situation where your hard-heartedness or hard-headedness is repelling God’s outpouring of love or if your umbrella of sin is causing you to reject God, close it. Come to Jesus as you are. Let His love wash you clean. Don't reject His love; instead let it soak you.