Tatay's Love

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I think this is a late post in celebration of Father's Day last Sunday.  I have three men who are important in my life.  Well, actually four, including my husband. 

My Heavenly Father, who has known me since before birth.  My Dad, who has known me since birth. My Papa, who has known me since I started dating my husband, Joe.

I really thank God for creating fathers.  What comes to mind is this.

There's this one show where there was a little kid who was asked by the host if the man in the audience was his father. The kid said, "No."  But quickly he said,  "That's my dad!"

I guess the word Father sounds too formal.  The word Dad sounds more relaxed.  I don't know.  That's just my deep thought.

Let me end my writing by explaining the meaning of my title.  Tatay, is Tagalog for Dad.  I don't really use this word, but other Filipinos probably do.  To all Dads or Tatays, thank you for your never-ending love, guidance, and support!   Happy Blessed Father's Day!!!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for who You are.  Thank you for providing father figures in our lives.  I pray that we will always be mindful of expressing our appreciation for them.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Questions for reflection:

1) Did you express your love and appreciation to your Heavenly Father today?

2) Did you express your love and appreciation to your father today?

3)  Did you express your love and appreciation to your earthly father figures today?

Thank you, everybody, for listening to my Deep Thoughts!  Have a Blessed Day!  Remember to smile because Jesus loves you!

Chris Tomlin - Good Good Father ft. Pat Barrett

Psalm 103:13 ESV

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

1 Corinthians 8:6 ESV

Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

John 1:12 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Blind

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If one is blind, what does that mean? That means one does not see! Duh!

What comes to mind is this. There really are people out there, myself included, who don't see the goodness of God. Actually, thank God, because I do now. I didn't before. But now I do.

It's quite sad because there really are people who are blind and don't see our awesome God. They only see what they want to see. I know it sounds confusing, right? Let me elaborate.

I think of loved ones who have lost loved ones who have passed away. Death is a part of life. Death is a part of humanity. It wouldn't even be here if Adam and Eve had not messed it up!

So, blame them! Don't blame God for the death of your loved one. Get it now? That's what I mean when I talk about being blind!

Fun memory! Pause, break! I am remembering when I was around 14 years old. I was at the FC Mall with my friends. I remember I was excited to go to this one store. I was running to the door and hit my face and forehead on a closed glass door that was supposed to be open! I think it was closed for cleaning. I don't know. I forgot. That was more than 20 years ago. You really expect me to remember?! Anyway, back to my writing.

So, yeah, let me end my writing with this. I had a question for Joe regarding the previous owners of our condo. I said, "Anything?" Joe said, "Anything I can see or touch belongs to us." (Talking about the previous owner of our condo leaving stuff when they moved out.) So, that brought to mind that anything we can see or touch belongs to God! What can you see or touch that you are thankful for today?

Prayer and Reflection

Psalm 24:1 ESV 

A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

Deuteronomy 10:14 ESV

Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.

Exodus 19:5 ESV 

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;

Blind Man Sat by the Road by Divine Hymns

We are Hyporcrites

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First of all, well, I know that there are times I can be a hypocrite. Because I'm pretty sure I know all about myself. Actually, God is the one who knows the full me, even things about myself I don't even know. Now, when it comes to you guys being hypocrites, how do I know that? I don't! So, I plead the Fifth and am not going to say anything about you guys and hypocrisy. Thank you.

Now, let's go back to what I was saying about me being a hypocrite. Now it's not like I'm a hypocrite. Well, it is not like I'm a hypocrite 24/7! Maybe there are some people who cater to that kind of lifestyle. And that's just crazy talk! But, again, I repeat that is just not me!

Hypocrisy. Well, I know God doesn't like that. What comes to mind is this: people know that you are a Christian, and other people don't really know what that means. And your testimony is making God look bad. Now, if God looks bad, why would other people want a relationship with Him? Think about it. You tell people about what is found in the Word of God. You tell people about applying what you read to everyday life. You yourself don't practice what you preach. Stop doing that. God doesn't like you being a hypocrite.

Prayer and Reflection

1 John 4:20 ESV 

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

Matthew 7:5 ESV

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Matthew 6:1 ESV

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

James 1:26 ESV 

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

DC Talk - What if I Stumble?

50/50 Life

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I remember way back in college when I was in one of my Communications classes. It's weird. I remember the face of my professor. I remember this one assignment he wanted us to do.

It was so interesting. So interesting, I still remember what the assignment was more than 20 years later. It was something like this.

My professor wanted all of his students to pretend like we were gone, like we had passed away. And, he wanted us to think about what would be in our obituary. I know it sounds interesting, right?

Well, I remember I wrote that I was a down-to-earth woman with a contagious smile and a bubbly personality. More importantly, I am a daughter of God. Because of that, I was so happy because I knew where I would be going after I died. I know some people don't even like to hear or talk about that. I know! That is stupid because it is inevitable. Meaning, one day you will die. One day I will die.

The question you should be asking yourself is,-- are you assured that when you die, you will go to heaven? If not, did you know there is a way you can be assured? Let me summarize it for you in one Bible verse:

1 John 5:11-12 NIV

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Let me share this deep thought that my caregiver Jessica shared with me. She said that if you think of the horror of hell always you would always want to be in heaven when you die.

Prayer and Reflection

Michael W. Smith - In Christ Alone

Follow Jesus

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Before people accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, they usually have to give up something. So it's probably God in exchange for giving up drugs, adultery, pornography, or something else that is not good in the eyes of God. Personally, I gave up something, and it was the best decision of my life.

That is the thing. The exchange is pretty fundamental. And, like I said, for me, the acceptance of Jesus Christ coming into my life was the best decision I ever made. I decided to follow Jesus. Maybe you are at a time right now where you have to make this kind of exchange.

I have decided to follow Jesus - Lydia Walker

Matthew 19:21: "Then Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

Luke 9:23:
"And he said to all, “If any one desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Matthew 6:24:
"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Jesus Cries Too

Shout out to Jabari, our awesome waiter at B-dubs.

Thank you for accepting my card.  I pray you would be encouraged by my writing.

I bet you never thought of this. The very thought makes me sad. I'm sorry. You all are probably thinking, “What are you talking about Sam?”

Jesus crying. Am I correct? I know that is sad. Let me give you a Deep Thought. Jesus is 100% God, but also 100% human. Let's talk about Jesus' human side. Just like any human, Jesus also had feelings. He would laugh. He would smile. He would get mad. And yes, he would cry.

Now, I'm thinking about the death of loved ones. My cousin recently passed away. My friend whom I have known since I was fifteen passed away years ago. I could keep going with more loved ones that have passed away. And each time I've cried,and I was sad. That comes with being human.

Remember what I said earlier about Jesus being 100% human and 100% God? I know. I know. That might confuse you, but we don't have to understand it. But, we just have to believe it. I'm remembering what my recently deceased Pastor said. Pastor Yount’s famous saying was, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.”

Anyway, now back to my writing. It does say in the Bible, I think it was the only time written in scripture that Jesus Christ cried. It was when his friend Lazarus died. He loved him so much. He was one of his best friends. Yes, when Lazarus passed away, yes, even Jesus cried too.

Jesus Cries - Riley Clemmons

John 11:32-37

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Spanish Version

Pensamientos Profundos de Samantha

Apuesto a que nunca pensaste en esto. El solo pensamiento me entristece. Lo⁰

lamento. Probablemente todos estén pensando: "¿De qué estás hablando Sam?"

Jesús lloro. ¿Estoy en lo correcto? Sé que es triste. Déjame darte un

pensamiento profundo. Jesús es 100% Dios, pero también 100% humano.

Hablemos del lado humano de Jesús. Como cualquier ser humano, Jesús

también tenía sentimientos. Él se reiría. Él sonreiría. Se enojaría. Y sí, lloraría.

Ahora estoy pensando en la muerte de mis seres queridos. Mi prima falleció

recientemente. Mi amigo al que conozco desde que tenía quince años falleció

hace años. Podría seguir adelante con más seres queridos que han fallecido. Y

cada vez que lloré estaba triste. Eso viene con el ser humano.

¿Recuerdas lo que dije antes acerca de que Jesús es 100% humano y 100%

Dios? Lo sé. Lo sé. Eso podría confundirte, pero no tenemos por qué

entenderlo. Pero sólo tenemos que creerlo. Estoy recordando lo que dijo mi

Pastor que recientemente fallecio. El famoso dicho del pastor Yount’s fue:

“Dios lo dijo. Yo lo creo. Eso lo resuelve."

De todos modos, ahora volvamos a mi escrito. Lo dice en la Biblia. Creo que

fue la única vez escrita en las Escrituras que Jesucristo lloró. Fue cuando murió

su amigo Lázaro. Lo amaba tanto. Era uno de sus mejores amigos. Y sí, cuando

Lázaro falleció, sí, hasta Jesús también lloró.

Muchas Gracias, Shey Banda Segura! :) Te amo, mi hermana!