Seven Hours in Bed with Christian Grey

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I vowed never, ever to read this book, being turned off by a similarly too-much-hyped one that, only because of my sister's raving reviews over it, made me read it and spent the next two weeks stuck on page 5 of the first book in its trilogy. Twilight left such a lingering bad taste in my literary mouth that I haven't read any fiction for the past 5 years. Until last night.

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Supplied by The Source of All Good Things

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As requested by my friend Wendy from our Makati Feast community, I'm reposting here my write-up for the Feast Glorietta bulletin of January 20, 2013

Supplied by The Source of All Good Things

By Millicent Reyes

John Paul Getty, one of the richest American who ever lived, said this: “If you can count your money, then you don’t have a billion dollars”.

Well, in the last six months after I quit my high-paying job and my finances got almost depleted, my perspective on wealth has certainly changed a whole lot. I learned to count or value what is essential in my life and not what is impermanent. I thought that what I had lost was precious when in fact I had gained something that by God’s Grace has multiplied my abundance manifold: Humility. Humility has gained me more riches than ever: a better relationship with my Dad and his new family, more cordiality with my son’s father and his family, a career that lacked prestige but allowed me more time with my family and with more opportunities to serve in God’s Kingdom, and humility has even taught me to respect money by managing my finances to the very cent and living a simple life. Most of all, humility has taught me that all of my needs have been provided and will continue to be so by the Source of All Good Things who is the Heavenly Father.

Brother Randy Borromeo aptly began the first series of talks of the Makati Feast for this year entitled, Guaranteed: Three Things God Promises You; Talk 1: Supply with his favorite Bible verse from Philippians 4:19, “God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.” Many times, particularly when we are at our lowest, we fail to see the Hand of God working in our lives, providing what we actually need. We pray for a better job then get depressed when we don’t get it when actually God is teaching us to be better employees. We pray for freedom from debt yet we despair when our bills continue to pile up when God is actually teaching us to use money more wisely. We pray for better relationships and become hopeless when things don’t work out when God is teaching us to be more forgiving and loving. In all these scenarios God had already answered our prayers “according to His riches in glory” yet we fail to see it.

Do you think God doesn't hear your prayers, your dreams? Of course He does; He is the Architect of all dreams, the seeds of which He had planted within us! But aside from our eyes and hearts sometimes not open to the Goodness of the Lord, our current resources also do not match our dreams, delaying their fulfillment. Brother Randy shared that we must choose to either “downgrade” our dreams to match our resources or “upgrade” our resources to match our dreams. Whichever we choose, it would be God’s Perfect Will for His Will is solely for our goodness and nothing else.

So always, always remember your blessings since the adage “Count your blessings” seems an impossible feat now because after all, God’s Grace outnumbers all the billions of this world.

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The Lord Has Made Me Malleable!

It was another great start for the New Year with our return to our second family, the Makati Feast Legaspi which we haven't been to for so many months, even before the Christmas break.

Marti and I tagged along my nephew Asti whom the Feasters last saw when he was just a few months old and when they saw him already walking and in jeans, Asti's favorite Feasters Bro. Ed and Bro. Monty rushed to hug him. This is why I love coming here, you're always warmly welcomed, even warmer than attending a family reunion. Well, at least for me it feels that way. 

Tita Eva was there, with her bright smile and cozy hugs I always look forward to. Saw my Care Group (CG) mates Jen and Gail whom I haven't seen for awhile. Talked to Bro. Monty about the new CG of Separated Brothers and promised to compare notes later on how we could serve more brothers and sisters in our respective CGs.

Brother Randy's talk on "Solutions" was, as always, phenomenal. Let me share with you the notes of the talk I took down:

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"Our Hearts Are Broken"

Woke up to devastating news about another senseless massacre in the US where around 25 victims, mostly ages 5-10 years old were shot by a disturbed young man.

I saw President Obama's address to the nation about the recent tragedy in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and felt his pain and cried with him as he delivered the sad news to the country.

When President Obama said that these children were deprived of "birthdays, graduations, weddings and kids of their own", my heart began to break as he had said, "our hearts are broken today". Here I was so worried about not being able to give a fancy Christmas gift to my son this year due to my lack of finances when at that part of the world, those parents weren't even going to have a Christmas ever with their children who were taken away from them so suddenly.

At Marti's 4th birthday

As the President ended his speech saying that he would be going home that night and hugging his children a little tighter, I hugged my son Marti now 13 years old and thought of him when he was about the age of those victims, overwhelming me with gratitude to the Lord for all these years that I am able to hug Marti, celebrate every occasion with him and look forward to graduations, his wedding and to my grandchildren. 

Recent photo with my son Marti

I write this post for the victims, their family, as well as to the survivors and pray for their comfort and healing at this very sad and difficult time. 

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Mommyla and Ima: What I Inherited From My Grandmothers

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Was listening to one of Bro. Bo Sanchez's recorded preaching on "Know When To Quit", talking about path and purpose when I found myself thinking about my grandmothers Mommyla and Ima and the paths they have each taken in their lives.

Mommyla

Mommyla and me at 4 months old

Mommyla is my mom's mother and my sister and other cousins grew up living with her in her house. We used to be so terrified of Mommyla, whose intense temper matched that lovely face! But as the years went by and hearing her story during the Japanese occupation of Manila in the 40s, I began to understand and love her more.

Mommyla comes from a brood of sisters, the 2nd to the oldest with their only brother dying as a young soldier during the war. My great grandfather died before the war broke out, leaving my great grandma, Lola Canora with six children the youngest being an infant. Their eldest, Auntie Toyang was studying to be a teacher and recently got married so the task of working for a living was passed on to Mommyla at the age of 15. Mommyla would sell in the marketplace everyday all sorts of food items, at the same time trying to ward off suitors. She even risked her life, working for the cause of the Filipino guerrillas by gathering empty shrapnel shells for them. And during the Japanese massacre, she and a male cousin had to transport their entire family by pushing them in a "kariton" (wooden cart) from Guadalupe to Antipolo, with Mommyla nursing a bayonet wound. Mommyla was the only one among her sisters who wasn't able to finish her studies, sacrificing her education to feed her family. But all of that paid off when after the war, she and my grandfather Daddylo lived a blessed, well-off life and she didn't have to work a single day thereafter. 

Mommyla's life is the living example of Matthew 6:33, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be given to you as well." Mommyla had a struggling early life and later on an emotionally-hounding one when she had to suffer the passing away of Daddylo, of her eldest Daddy Boy and then her youngest, my Mom. But all of these she endured with an ever intensifying faith in God. She raised all of us with a strong faith in the Lord, always reminding us that no matter how great the trial in your life, God will see you through it.  

Ima

Ima and Tatay

Ima was my Dad's mom and although I didn't spend that much time with her while I was growing up, we became closer during the last few years of her life especially when I became a mother myself. 

Ima was just as lovely as Mommyla but hers was more of a quiet beauty. Growing up, I knew her as being demure and submissive, very motherly which I think, in hindsight, characteristics my Mom chose to emulate as a mother and as a wife. 

Ima was a teacher who decided to become a full-time housewife like most of the married women in the time of the second World War. One time when my Dad was boasting as usual to me and my cousins that he was the favorite child, Ima told a story of how she braved a tornado after the war, 6-months pregnant and tugging along her eldest daughter Auntie Ising and my Dad who were both toddlers. Tatay was away so Ima had to save herself and her children and as they were running for shelter, my Dad was throwing a tantrum and crying really loud. Ima shouted, "tumigil ka kungdi iiwanan kita (stop it or I'll leave you here!)" My cousins and I laughed so hard as my Dad was put in his rightful place by his mother!

Ima and Tatay started a family with almost nothing, having newly moved to Manila from Tarlac. As Tatay worked as an electrician, it was Ima who had the entrepreneurial spirit and her chicharon was what made their family of six children get by. Before laundry services even became a popular business venture, Ima had already laundry contracts back in the early 80s with Vicks and Procter and Gamble when their production plants were still in Manila. 

I remembered when I became a solo parent, Ima would often tell me to get married someday, reminding me that I was not meant to live my life only as a mother. Was surprised with her advice, coming from someone who was known to be a dedicated mother. Ima explained that she didn't want me to end up like her older sister who became a widow at 24, never remarried and in her old age became estranged from her only son who lived abroad. I was touched by Ima's hopes for me that I would be with someone whom I love and be with me in old age. 

In the first few years after my Mom died and we had to move out of Mommyla's house, we spent our New Year's Eve at Tatay and Ima's house for the first time. I was so depressed back then, missing my Mom and fantastic New Year's celebrations at Mommyla's house, that I ended up with an intense flu, spending the entire evening in Ima's bedroom while the rest of the family celebrated outside the house. I pretended to sleep so that relatives would stop asking me if I were okay every five minutes but then I heard Ima come in and lie down beside me and stayed there, patting my back as if she was putting a baby to sleep. I don't think she knew because my back was turned to her but I was crying the whole time, feeling her love and understanding without words and with just a simple gesture. I may not have grown up close to Ima but she let me know how much she loved me in that last New Year we spent together. Ima passed away in May of the following year, barely 6 months after Tatay died.


Looking back and remembering the lives that these fascinating women led, can't help but think that I owe them both the traits which makes me a better person, better mother and better woman now: Mommyla's unwavering faith, Ima's unfailing love and both their fierce perseverance for their families. These are indeed the inheritance that no amount of money or jewelry could surpass. 

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God Knows

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While channel surfing, I caught the tail end of a Jimmy Stewart film entitled, The Mortal Storm, and heard this beautiful line: 

“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”

And he replied:

“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

So I went into the web to look for the complete text and found out it was from a poem by Minnie Louise Haskins, a noted British academic on sociology and economics.

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God's Grace Overcame My Crisis of Faith

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I never thought it would happen to me, but it did. I went through a crisis of faith for the past two weeks which left me physically weak and spiritually broken.

Just a few months ago, I had been courageous and optimistic about the turn of events in my life: quitting my 7-year desk job and ridding myself of unnecessary stress, becoming completely financially independent by going full-time on oDesk to

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