A heart
if at peace
gives life
to the *body

082216

Many crowns I once wore
I thought once;
Until my head got hit, several times.
More than a migraine of hopelessness,
More than those thick clouds
That blocks the sun today.

You have written Your Words into my heart
That I may not sin against You.
But somehow, I've forgotten You;
This pain of getting too many crowns,
I became a clown w/ so many frowns.

Your crown of thorns,
Isn't it my victory?
That You died for me
That Your love was so selfless
That You unfold my loss
So I could gain Your cause.

I'm on my knees
But still, You saw me in glittered tears.
And so I asked,
"How come You're still rescuing me?"
You saw me in my mess,
And told me, I'd passed the test;
In my brokenness, I long for You
In my weaknesses, I thirst for more of You.

Now I release everything;
Those crowns that I've kept so much,
Those crowns that I prayed for years.
Unto Your feet, I lay down defeats.
They're not for me, but You are for me
You call me by name,
You're my crowning glory.

"The Bible is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions."

032516

Buhay nami'y magkakaiba
Mapaba't mapamatanda.
Kami'y mga tupang naligaw
Ngayon, buhay taglay ay Ilaw.

Kami'y pinalaya ng pag-ibig ni Kristo
Siya'y nagparaya sa Krus ng Kalbaryo.
Kaya't kahit kami'y di perpekto,
Patuloy kaming *nagpapabago.

When Jesus rose again,
He didn’t look for the rich men;
He looked for his disciples —
To whom he made a promise.

There was no spirit of condemnation,
There were no words of:
“Why did you go back to your old life (fishing)
while you know I was gone for a while?
I even told you that I will be resurrected
And so here I am..”

He just asked them,
“Do you love me more than these?”
Jesus gave them a tricky question,
Since he already knew their answer
With their decision of fishing again.

It was again God’s love —
His grace for the world to be saved.
It was another chance for his disciples
To regain what was lost
And to restore them
From where Jesus led them to
Before dying in the Cross.

It’s like Jesus saying,
“Here I am and I have died for you to live;
And since I was resurrected back to life
And so are you —
You have a share of eternal life.

It’s like assuring them
That if they leave everything behind
For the cause of God’s mission,
The rest will follow; as their submission.

His disciples never knew
That their obedience “that time”
Was the reason why we know
What the Gospel is.
They never dreamed to be fishers of men;
They badly dreamed of simply surviving.

I had this conversation on the island,
One told me, “I’ve tried reading the Bible but it’s hard to comprehend.”
As I told her how to start it and encouraged her,
I felt what they actually need —
They need firm spiritual support.

I just woke up
And I love you **no more

090316

Pambungad Mo'y matatamis na mga ngiti
Habang bitbit ko ang mga sandaling nilisan ang pagbati.
Batid ng panlasa ang mapait na takipsilim,
Ang kahapong yumurak sa Iyong kariktan.

May iilang sumisirit ng kandilang bilang
Mayroon ding mga nagwawaldas ng dila;
May nagwawalis ng kalat at siyang binabasura,
Mayroon ding naglalakad ng nakaluhod.

Naging tigang ang lupaing napuno ng banyaga
Sa haplos ng mga nanlilisik na mga mangungusig.
Naging batas ang ideolohiyang makasarili,
Itatakwil ang Perlas na sinisid pa't buhat sa bahaghari.

Tila mga kandadong walang susi
Ang pagsaboy ng mga dikdikang tutuligsa sa Bayan.
Dalamhati sa mga Anak ni Juan
Mga bayaning umani ng nagniningas na rebolusyon.

Ramdam ko ang pluma ni Rizal
Sa kamandag nito'y henerasyon ay aahon.
Bulag, pipi't bingi'y aakma't aaklas ng panalangin
Bangon Pilipinas! Ikaw ang natatangi naming Perlas!

033124

The Joy within me is a flowing river
And I can’t deny the Source.

If I die young —
I’m sure He’ll remember me…
And every anthem of my soul
Shall weave the letters to portray His love.

I consider myself a dust —
One day, I’ll leave this shell
One day, I’m no longer a vessel
But a dust without His breath.

He holds the future I have never imagined,
My plans will always fail without Him
And I know that.
But my faith, it’s unending —
By grace, I shall live…

For today, I’m a vessel of His love,
Tomorrow, I’ll die too
I’ll die and be forgotten
But I hope they remember —
That Jesus lived within me
And that what matters the most
Then my purpose was done.

102516 #Manila

Ililiyad ko ang mga kamay
Pakanan at pakaliwa
At hindi ako mapapagod,
Hindi ako mangangalay.

Tangan ko ang sari't saring mga bagahe
Iba't iba ang sukat
Batay sa kapasidad ng bawat isa.
Pero sila rin ang pumili;
Kailanman, di ko sila diniktahan.
May ibang kaya nila, may ibang hindi
May ibang nang-iiwan,
Ikaw na raw ang bumitbit.

Lilipad ako, higit pa sa agila
Lilipad ako pero hindi ako kakampay.
May engkwentro sa ere,
May digmaan sa himpapawid.

At hindi ako paiihip
Kahit pa taliwas ang hangin.
Ako'y tutuloy lang --
Makalalapag din ako,
Kaya't hintayin mo sana.

"Your love, it knows no end."

I hope to be not the antagonist
There're stories untold
But I want mine to have happy endings
Just like the old days
When I used to believe in fairy tales.

I am Cinderella
I should be home every midnight
My job was wearing me out
Can't even buy myself
A new pair of shoes
I used to walk miles for years
In order to attain education.

With my eyes that are blind
I wanna see the world
To enjoy life to the fullest
But they who call me Beast
Had entrapped me with absolute darkness
I was the only one left
A survivor of the great fire in our compound
I got my face burnt
And the world has shuttered from vision.

I am her Knight
Not in shining armour
I love her since we were in High School
But she who was my princess not know
And whenever I'm near her
I can't even utter words
To show my feelings out.

They told me I have a lot of potentials
My Mom encouraged me to dream big
For she herself once didn't own one
She asked me to do this and that
Wishing I could be successful someday
But she was murdered by Cancer
All she ever told me
May never come true
For now, I'm simply the Jeanie in the bottle.

I went to the Land of Free
And undergo enhancement several times
I took so much pills
I hold on to myself and became disciplined
In order to achieve this great body
But why do the society keeps on judging?
I know I was manly
I just wanna be happy
Can't they see
The Sleeping Beauty inside of me?

The world is indeed in the dark
All wanna believe in fairy tales
For they seek happiness alone
To not be judged but be loved
To be accepted and have the reason to live.

We don't know the stories behind those lies
Behind the misconception of true beauty
The game became Hide and Seek
Just like how the Dark urges to defeat the Light.

We aren't the masters of our lives
We are characters of different stories
Strangers in the pages of others' journeys
The great Author knows every timeline.

One thing I'm sure is:
There's always a happy ending for us
For it was already written
We just have to believe and trust
The One who wrote ours.

"Deadlines are also finish lines."* - **XL