My Little Big Artifact

Like ants in a sugar bowl, Proudly Filipina members swarmed around the registration table at the posh entrance of The Spa at the Fort. They each grabbed a token and tied it around their wrists. The less staid Ka-Pinays tied it around their ankles. Each component of the bracelet/anklet was a symbol of our race – a nacre sampaguita, pearls, coconut shell and carabao horn beads. All the lady guests wanted one including celebrity host Christine Bersola-Babao. I felt a pinch of pride. The trinket was something I spent several cross-eyed-from-lack-of-sleep nights crafting for our launch Spa-rty.

That was two years and many articles ago. I brought the bracelet to the writer’s workshop, “Write Now,” that I attended on Jan. 15, 2011, Rissa Singson-Kawpeng, our writing coach, asked us to bring an artifact. It was a tool we can use to introduce ourselves. Also a mental post-it to make the memory about the participants stick.

My artifact chronicles a short story. It tells how I like to make things with my hands – fashion accessories for one. It is also a memento of the first time I had the audacity to write for public consumption through the online magazine of Proudly Filipina.com. Inserted in its pages are the interesting and accomplished Filipinas I met, interviewed and wrote about.

This trinket also linked each chapter in my new profession. My two gifts that the bracelet represented – crafting and writing – were keys that opened the double-locked door to the world of writing for Insight Magazine and Didache. (I have blogged about how long I’ve wanted to write for Didache and how I met Rissa through my accessories.)

Because I wrote a reflection for Didache about an old blog, I was pushed (forced by embarrassment actually) to resurrect it before the reflection was due to come out. Didache readers might look for the blog and find articles as old and outmoded as last season’s fashion bling. I wanted them to read something new and sparkling.

From this blog, another link was created. An article I submitted to Bo Sanchez’s Facebook page was chosen Blog of the Week. It also caught the eye of Kerygma Magazine’s managing editor, Tess Atienza. At that time, she needed a testimony for their January issue. My story was exactly what she was looking for. A new chapter began when Tess asked me to be a contributing writer for Kerygma – another dream inscribed in my heart for many years.

These are the links so far in my story bracelet. Links that show big opportunities can come from little things. You never know where a blessing will start. It can begin from something as trivial as my trinket.

Creative House's Rissa Singson-Kawpeng, Arun & Lallaine Gogna (third to fifth from the left) with "Write Now" participants from Feast Alabang Osy Erica, Lella Santiago, Desi Tomas & Jo Ann Fauni

Thanks to Osy for this photo.

Chicharon & Japanese Mamon

A reward system is something I believe in. I used to implement this with my children when they were young. I also do this to myself to motivate me or to mark a special achievement.

Years ago, when I was struggling with my religious gifts business, money was really, really tight. Added to that was the fact that I was financially illiterate. There were times I had to borrow from my children’s savings to pay for their tuition. I was also borrowing from the following month’s budget to get by. When my partners agreed to give me a small salary because I was managing the store full time, the first thing I bought was a bag of chicharon. To others that was something they buy without thought. To me that’s extra expense I have to think twice before buying. So when I got my first salary, I celebrated with a bag of chicharon. It was a delight in simple pleasures that rich people do not have the privilege of enjoying.

In the mall where our store was then located was an upscale bakery, Bread Talk. They sold this Japanese mamon that cost around P300 at the time which my friend said was delicious. I vowed that I will only buy it when I have a steady income that is enough for me to afford this. When my mother learned about this, she told my father to buy it for me but I declined. I will buy it when I reach the right stage.

Fast forward to 2011 – I am now financially literate. I have learned through the years to budget and live within my means. In the beginning of my walk to financial literacy, I made a budget based on a historical record of past months. That put order in my finances but still did not leave enough for savings and tithes after I plugged in all my expenses. It was just a list of sources and uses of funds.

Then I made progress. After reading books and researching on the topic, I learned to prioritize tithes and savings before dividing the rest for my living expenses. Amazingly, I was able to balance my budget even with those two items at the top of the list. Of course, there were a lot of things I still had to do without. I still could not buy the Japanese mamon.

Yesterday, about 6 years from the time I made that vow, I was updating my financial record. I realized there was something new in my notebook. Aside from sources of funds, budget allocation and my daily expense record, I now have entries for my savings and investments. This new section I have added enables me to plan my investments. I have just given my friend/financial consultant a check for additional placement in their mutual fund. I have also just finished reading Bo Sanchez’s “My Maid Invests in the Stock Market” so I’m considering his suggestions too.

I guess it is now time for me to go to Bread Talk to see if they still make the Japanese mamon. And if it still costs P300 after all these years.

Minda’s Joie de Vivre

I will never forget the attire that won for her the Best Costume award at the 2009 Light of Jesus Servants’ Christmas party. She came as a Christmas tree. So did I and a couple of others, but hers was more outrageous. While I only had a small metal tree that I used as a head piece and Christmas ball earrings, she was decked out as the whole tree. She had poinsettias and glittery balls pinned on her shirt, a pointy hat with a big star on top, small wreaths for earrings and a scarf of fairy lights. Come judging time for the finalists, she had her lights plugged into the socket. She blew away the competition.

She was that game. She was lovably kooky. She had such a joy for life. It was fun to be with her during our Music Ministry practices, during our service for the Feast and in the Kerygma Conference. But she also had her serious side. There were times when she shared nuggets of wisdom with us as we waited for performances to start.

Minda Obatay will be dearly remembered as a helpful person. Her Caring Group mates shared that she always helped set up or clean up wherever their meetings were held like it was her own home. She was the same in our practices – making sure we all have something to eat during break times and raiding the kitchen when the food is short.

She helped even if she was not a member of the ministry tasked to do something. When we used to set-up the stage as part of our duties for the Creatives Ministry, she’d be setting up the backdrop even before the members arrived. She didn’t even belong to Creatives but helped out anyway just because she was there.

Last night, we said good-bye to this wonderful person at a community mass. All that time she was serving with us she had cancer. But you wouldn’t have noticed because of the energy she exerted in the things she did.

Cancer may have stricken her body but left her generous heart untouched. To the very end her thoughts were of giving. One of her last instructions to her husband was to find the tithes she had prepared before she was hospitalized and to give it to the community.

At the honoring, one of her sons said she was a good mother who never spanked them. At the back of the room, two of my community sisters and I wondered what our children would say about us. We can only hope they would have glowing praises as Minda’s son had for her.

Minda unabashedly praised the Lord. During worship her voice would ring out above the rest to honor and exalt Him. She must have delighted Jesus so much He wanted her in heaven already so she can sing Him praises before His throne.

Sadly, I only knew Minda for a short time, maybe two or three years. And I only served closely with her in the last year. But the little that I know of her has blessed me and infected me with joy. At a time when I am experiencing service fatigue, her life is a timely reminder for me to serve the Lord with gladness.

Happy Something New Year!

Last Sunday at the Feast Alabang, we greeted the New Year with a bang. Not with firecrackers that blow fingers and other body parts to smithereens. The whole Feast was a blast – from the Showtime-caliber dance presentation, to the rousing worship, to the enlightening talk on “Something New” by Bro Arun Gogna in his shimmery shirt that echoed the festive spirit.

Bro Arun said if you want 2011 to be an amazingly successful year, do something new.

And so I start my year with new things. The dance presentation for one. It was the Events Pillar’s entry for the supposed contest at the Feast Alabang Servants’ Christmas Party. We were asked to present it again to set the celebratory mood and greet the attendees a Happy New Year. Dance at the Feast. That’s new for me. I’ve done many things at the Feast – sing, emcee, write, decorate the stage among them. I got to do another thing I love doing –dancing.

This year ushers in another first for me. Late last year, I was asked to write for Kerygma Magazine. It was something I had been wishing for. The January 2011 issue features an article I wrote about my dreams coming true. And it has a huge picture of me – photo shopped I think, as I requested the photographer. I pray it’s the first of many articles I will write for this magazine. (I’ve submitted another one about the Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force.)

Another new thing I’m trying out is a different method to manage my time. I’ve been frustrated with my old way of micro-managing it. I read somewhere that to be successful, you have to treat each hour like an employee. Assign a task for that hour and gauge your efficiency on the things accomplished by each hour.

So I don’t miss doing something at its assigned time I have been maniacal about setting alarms to my sons’ irritation. Sometimes when they’re in deep slumber, they’d be disturbed by my alarm on snooze. Time to dress up, time to check emails, time to make the grocery list, etc., etc. I even had meals and bath times penciled in. I ended up irritated when people would ask me to do things I hadn’t included in my planner.

Well, that just didn’t work out well. So I’m trying something new. I’ll tell you about it next year if my something new is the success I’m hoping it will be.

Have a Blessed Year ahead and may you see miracles everyday!

My Best Christmas Gifts

I remember that advertisement where the song slows down to a drone as if the cassette player was losing power. That’s exactly how I felt the last few days before Christmas – “Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la…la…la….la…..la……la” with the last few “las” sung in the Bass 2 range before fade out.

It wasn’t a jolly time at all with my fever, clogged nose and a cough that rivaled our neighbor’s yapping dog. I only felt fit enough to go shopping for my family’s Christmas gifts on the morning of the 24th. I thank God for the hypermart right outside our village gates. They had everything in my list. It also helped that I already knew what my family wanted or needed. Come Christmas Eve, they were pretty happy with what they got.

As for me, in spite of feeling awful because I was sick, it was a happy and blessed Christmas. I got the nicest gifts from my sons.

A few months ago, I had the same illness and I felt miserable. Not only was I sick, I couldn’t be sick. We had no house help so I was cooking and cleaning through my illness. My elder son was down in the dumps – he had a little of the bug I had plus he had no job. Sick and sad, he only managed to buy me my medicine. The younger one was struggling through his thesis. No help there either.

This time, my elder son was solicitous. He made me lie down when he found out I had fever. He brought me dinner and my medicine. Also set his phone alarm for the time I had to drink medicine again. Such bliss to be cared for when one is sick. TLC was my best Christmas gift number one.

Because he is now employed, he had gifts for the whole family. A shirt for his younger brother, a cap for Papa and a cookbook for Mama. And I got what I had been longing for – a Harry Potter CD (yes, my taste is juvenile). My collection is almost complete. Best Christmas gift number two.

My younger son didn’t have a material gift for us but what we got from him was thrilling and heartwarming. His award-winning thesis was shown on Knowledge Channel on Christmas day. The whole family was so proud to actually watch his work on TV. When the credits were rolling at the end, we got our Christmas gift from him. It said SPECIAL THANKS TO: me, his brother and my parents.

He is not an expressive person. You can only guess at what he feels. But that acknowledgment expressed the love that he doesn’t say out loud. It was my best Christmas gift number three.

I praise God for the paradox of Christmas. We celebrate our Lord’s birthday and yet He is the one who showers us with such wonderful gifts.

Black Sock, White Sock: A Family Christmas Guide

Picture a black sock and a white sock. This is my new Christmas icon. A reminder of what a family Christmas should be all about. I’m not talking about the socks that you hang on the wall for Santa to fill with Christmas treats. This was a totally mismatched pair that my son wore to mass last night.

I had come from an exhausting day of serving in my community. It was at the end of a totally tiring two weeks of frenzied activity. Interview for an article, beat writing deadlines, put together a bulletin, practice with the choir, multi-task for a concert (emcee, usher/bouncer, waitress), co-direct an energetic presentation and dance as well, co-lead the worship for our Christmas party. Sandwich into that: wrap my son’s and father’s gifts for their colleagues, cook some meals and do what little household chores I could manage. I was actually huffing and puffing while changing my sons’ bed linens when he walked in to show me his socks.

I haven’t had time to keep the newly laundered clothes and he didn’t know where to find them. So he went to church with one black sock and one white sock. Seeing his mismatched pair made me realize that I had spent too much time on work and community service. It’s a few days before Christmas and I’m not ready. I haven’t bought a single gift for my family. I haven’t attended a single Misa de Gallo. My family and my Lord, whose birth is about to be celebrated have been sidelined.

The image of my son’s mismatched socks made me stop and think. How can a family spend a meaningful Christmas in the midst of all the frenzy?

Put Christ in the center of your celebration and preparation

We know that Jesus’ birth is what it’s all about but every year the story repeats itself. We spend all our non-work time buying gifts, preparing for parties, practicing for presentations and a thousand and one other things we “must” do. Oh, a lot do make it to the dawn masses but do they really all go for the right reason. Young people go to see and be seen by their crushes, spend time with friends and significant others. Older ones aim to finish the nine days to get wishes granted. I hope many go the dawn masses as a sacrifice for the One who sacrificed His life, as a purification of their souls before the big day arrives. As for the gifts we give, let us focus more on giving gifts of love and kindness more than the material things we buy. .

Set aside family time

I have very close friends, a couple who belong to my community that I look up to because of the time they give to their family. At the end of each year, they set aside about three days for a family retreat. They go out of town to be far away from all the distractions. It may be to a faraway place or just someplace near like Tagaytay. But wherever it is, that time is sacred. No one can make them postpone, re-schedule and definitely not cancel their plans. Their celebration of Christmas is made more special because of this family time.

Watch your health

As I write this I’m running a 38.2 ° fever. All those late night practices (dance and choir) for the Christmas party have taken its toll. I have not been able to squeeze in time to go to the gym. All those dance moves did make me lose a few pounds but it also lowered my resistance. It’s important to maintain your health this season not just for yourself but for your family. Time spent recuperating is also time away from family activities.

Shepherd your finances

‘Tis the season for bonuses. We can get giddy with the extra cash and splurge on gifts and things we’ve been longing to buy for ourselves. But as a family person, it’s important to be very conscious about expenses. You may spend a joyful Christmas with all the material things but come bills payment time run short on funds for the important things – tuition, utilities, other basic necessities for instance. I know a couple who had a big fight after Christmas because the wife did not set aside money to pay their loans. Keep peace in the family by keeping a budget. And don’t forget that part of shepherding your resources is giving back a portion of your bounty to the Lord.

It’s about time

What this all boils down to is priorities. It’s about allocating time for the more important things this season – the Lord and your family. For years I have been planning to do my Christmas shopping in September. Come crush time, I would have the gifts out of the way and concentrate on the more important things. But that’s easier said than done unless I really put my mind to it. Next year, I vow to have a big red mark on Sept. 1 saying: “It’s now or never.” I will also put another mark on Feb. 1 that says: “Saving for Christmas gifts starts now.” Why February? Because with my messed up schedule this year, I’ll probably still be buying Christmas gifts in January.

A Blessed Christmas everyone! I’m off to salvage the rest of the Christmas season.

A Personal Worship

It was casually mentioned on our way home from the Kerygma Conference last Sunday that Belle, Josie and I were going to lead the worship for our Feast Alabang Servants’ Christmas party. I thought it was a big joke. “Hmmm,” I said to myself, “Cercado Sisters* minus 1, tander version. "Tander as in matanda, get it? Better yet, translate that to the more politically correct term – “mature”.

Although being a worship leader has been flitting around the fringes of my dreams, it was not something that really called me with a passion. Unlike Niko, our youngest worship leader, who clearly heard God’s promise that he will lead worship in the Feast, there was not even a whisper to me.

Besides, I was afraid I wouldn’t be porous enough for the Spirit to fill me. I have observed the really good worship leaders to be so soaked in the Holy Spirit that it just radiates from them to the whole congregation. As for me, I can be hard-hearted and hard-headed at times.

Then I remembered the prayer I say before I write anything – for my blog or for Didache or for Halo-Halong Hālo: “Lord, let me be a straw through which your blessings or message will flow to the people who need it today.” A straw is not porous. It just needs an entry and an exit point. My entry point is my mind which God enlightens and fills with wisdom. My exit points are my hands that write. All I do is open myself up for the Holy Spirit to use me as a channel – hard head and hard heart pushed to the sides to clear the flow.

That worship leader thing was just the joke that I thought it was after all. An idea miscommunicated along the way. But God woke me up at 5:00 a.m. that following Monday (it’s a holiday, Lord!!!) prodding me to write my worship. So here’s a writer’s personal worship – written not spoken, read not heard:

To end this year, I want to praise and thank God for the many blessings He has given me, my family and my Feast Alabang family.

When I started serving at the South Feast, my life was going nowhere. You know that saying, “When God closes a door, He opens a window”? I could not relate. My prayers were unanswered for so many years. I felt that after all the doors closed there was very little light coming in – only slivers of light from under a closed door or a glow at the very far end of a tunnel.

But I kept serving through harassments and financially lean times. When I was asked to join the igive.club, I jokingly said to Becky, “Pwede ba recibo na lang ng gastos ko sa Feast ang ilagay sa envelop?” (“Can I put receipts for expenses I incurred for the Feast inside the envelop instead?")

But God is a God who cannot be out-given. This year He has thrown open many doors and windows all at the same time:

This year my elder son graduated from college and got a job.

This year my younger son’s thesis won multiple awards (yup, he just won another award for his category in Animahenasyon, the Philippine Animation Festival, and was even in contention for the grand prize).

This year my father survived a medical emergency. This year both my parents celebrated their 80th birthdays.

This year my calling as a writer began to bear fruit: I now have a blog, My B.A.G. of Miracles. I was named feature editor of the magazine I write for, I became a Didache writer. And just last month, I was also asked to write for Kerygma Magazine. As a matter of fact, the January 2011 issue features an article I wrote.

This year the Feast Alabang Center was built blessing around 1,400 people each week. We have our own place. A place we call home.

This year the number of servants grew from the twenty-four that started South Feast to almost two hundred. We now know more people to love and to be loved by.

I, personally, and we as the Feast Alabang family have many, many things to thank God for. No one deserves all our praises more than You, Jesus. Lord, receive the honor that You’re due. Receive my offering of worship.

The sun cannot compare

To the glory of Your love

There is no shadow in Your presence

No mortal man would dare

To stand before Your throne

Before the Holy One of heaven

It's only by Your blood

And it's only through Your mercy

Lord I come

I bring an offering of worship to my King

No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing

Jesus may You receive the honor that You're due

O Lord I bring an offering to You

O Lord I bring an offering to You

– Offering , Paul Baloche

To my fellow servants, I exhort you to pursue your dreams. But keep serving the Lord and see the surprises He has in store for you because He is a loving, wonderful God. He is magnificent and glorious.

Who compares to You?

Who set the stars in their place?

You who calmed the raging seas

That came crashing over me

Who compares to You?

You who bring the morning light

The hope of all the earth

Is rest assured in Your great love

When the evening fades

You call forth songs of joy

As the morning wakes

We Your children give You praise

You are magnificent, eternally

Wonderful, glorious, Jesus

No one ever will compare to You Jesus

– Magnificent, Hillsong

You O Lord are truly wonderful and glorious and you deserve all the praises because You are our king, You are our savior, You are Emmanuel, You are God who is with us. And we praise you and we glorify you.

Here I am, I've come to thank You

Here I am, a life You've changed

Because You gave Your life for me, You were crucified for me

How can I do anything but praise, I praise

You, You are God, You are Lord

You are all I'm living for

You are King of everything

I want my life to praise You

You are God, You are Lord

You are all I'm living for

You are King of everything

I want my life to praise You

– You, You are God

Thank you for this year Lord and thank you for the avalanche of blessings that are coming next year. I worship you my God.

*The Cercado Sisters are talented young women who won 16 gold medals in the 10th World Championship of Performing Arts in 2006. The sisters shared their touching story and talent at the recently concluded Kerygma Conference. If I’m not mistaken they serve with the Feast Quezon City.