Lessons from the Connecticut Shooting

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

 Last Saturday night, I saw a lot of pictures showing sympathy and condolences for the victims of the shooting incident at CT. I got a bit curious about it that is why I decided to Googled “Connecticut”. I was deeply shocked and overwhelmed with what I have read: 20 little kids raging from the age 6-7 and six adults were killed at an onslaught shooting rampage at the Sandy Hook Elementary school, Newtown, Connecticut. It was said that the gunman, Adam Lanza, killed his mother at their home before he went at the school and randomly killed 26 people. Upon his arrival at the school, he shot the entrance door that was locked as a part of the newly installed security system of the school. At the Hallway, he shot the school principal and school psychologist who were trying to confront him. He then went at the kindergarten and Grade One classrooms and killed 20 students and two teachers. 

As I was reading the articles, my heart was shattered into pieces. I am very fond of kids and they have a special place at my heart. 20 innocent lives were taken away through multiple gun shots – something that we should mourn for. But apparently, I have realized that in everything God is control. Perhaps, God is teaching us some lessons and reminding us that His sovereignty envelops the earth. We may not understand why things like this happen. No matter what situation we are facing right now, whether we are mourning, suffering, agonizing, feasting or celebrating, the eyes of the Lord are upon us. Proverbs 15:3 clearly states that the eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. Because of this incident, we have learned three things that we should keep in our hearts.

1. Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty in each circumstance in our lives. 

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

God never sleeps or slumbers. He knows everything that is happening in our lives. God is the Only Source of life and He has the power to give and take away. Whether it is good or bad, our hearts should choose to give thanks. Easier said than done, right? But we have to remember that as Christians, we can do all things through Christ Jesus. Whether it is about accepting the fact that we have lost someone whom we dearly love or forgiving the one who caused a lot of heartaches in our lives, we can overcome it because Jesus Christ will strengthen us. We are called to become victors in Christ. Yes, we can mourn for a while but we have to remember that life has to go on and we need to finish this race of life that the Lord God has prepared for us. Remember, “to live is for Christ and to die is gain” ~ Philippians 1:21

2. Acknowledge that only God can heal the pain that you are experiencing right now and no one can escape from God’s justice.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” ~ Psalm 147:3

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, "I will take revenge; I will pay them back," says the LORD. ~ Romans 12:19

Only God can heal the scars made by sad and painful memories. Nobody can save you from your own misery. Unless you acknowledge that Only God is the source of freedom and salvation, you cannot move on and start a brand new slate. We should never think about taking vengeance. Let God pay them back. Yes, it is very difficult but God wants us to love our enemies just like how we love ourselves. Remember, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We used to be enemies of God but since Jesus Christ died for us, we receive the forgiveness of our sins and the spirit of sonship. This is the reason why we can cry “Abba”. Forgive yourself, your transgressors, and receive the healing that Jesus Christ is offering.

3. Acknowledge that we have hope in Christ and trials of this life are blessings in this disguise.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” ~ Romans 8:18

“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” ~ Romans 5:2-5

As children of the light, we have hope in Jesus Christ. Our sufferings and trials enable us to exercise our faith and take a glimpse at God’s untarnished and unconditional love of each of us. Through His grace we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Someday, after all the trials and testing that we have encountered, we are going to see each of those things in a different perspective. Our eyes will be unveiled that the glory of the Lord that is to be revealed to us is worthier than the sufferings that we have experienced as of the moment.

To the families of the victims of the Connecticut Shooting Rampage, we pray that God may heal you from the pain that you have as of the moment. We are here for you. We are praying for you.


May Yahweh’s comfort and blessing be upon you.. Amein.

Note: Pictures in this article were taken from Google. Credits belong to its rightful owners.

Lizette’s Thank You Bucket

                I am writing this blog post to officially leave behind the bygones of my last semester.  It has been two days since my semester break had started. Still, I can feel the pain, hurt, and frustrations that I had encountered. So here am I.  I am writing this blog post to release all of the animosity that I feel for me to move on and start a brand new slate. To break free from my heartaches, I have decided to recall all the things that I have to thank for rather than to nag and complain. So my list starts here:

1. Before I thank this awesome and wonderful lady, I personally would like to apologize to my Mama Ces, my adviser if we did not pursue the storybook for our Mythology Class.

                I know that we had caused you some pain for we chose to have the examination rather than extending our artistic skills in doing the storybook but thank you for being an understanding mother and for being our ever supportive adviser. Having a minimal amount of time and a lot of workloads is not an excuse. Thank you for understanding us and for being our number one cheerer. Though you did not say anything, I can feel that you were a bit sad.  Mama, if we ever let you feel that you were taken for granted, please forgive us. You know how special you are to us and how thankful we are because you are our adviser. Thank you for texting us whenever you need some help. That only shows how you value us and how dear we are to you. I really enjoyed the moments that I spent with you at the faculty room whenever you ask me to do some favors. I treasure those moments and I hope and I can still help you in the semesters to come. :-) I and my II-1 siblings hope that you are happy with our company. I am sorry because I have already lost the chance for the Latin honors. With or without the title, I shall continue to study hard and pursue excellence in my endeavors. I love you infinitely! You possess great amount of knowledge than Athena has and you are much stunning and gorgeous than Aphrodite, Malina, Izanami and Cleopatra.

2. Thank you Ma’am Claire, Ma’am Yen, and Sir Joey for being my mentors during my preparations for the essay writing contest.

                Ma’am Claire, thank you so much for being my coach at the Essay Writing Competition and adviser at Writer’s Circle. Thank you for believing in my potential though I cannot see it in myself. I never thought that my dream will come true. I have been dreaming to represent our college at the essay writing contest but I have never been in an essay writing competition before that’s why I thought it will never happen. Thank you Ma’am for being patient with me, I really appreciate your enthusiasm and determination to help me. Thanks for letting me read Ma’am Yen’s works. Since the day that you let me read those pieces, I became a fan. Hehehe.  Also, I would like to thank you for believing in me as the president of the Writer’s Circle. I promise that I will not leave my works behind. I hope you could be my professor in the future! May God bless you more and more! I’m happy because I was given the chance to know you more. I really enjoyed our conversations during our stay at the speech laboratory. :-)

                Ma’am Yen, you are a jewel and a true blood writer. I really love your works! I adore your style.  Every time that I read your works, it seems like I am being enthralled in a different world. I can feel your deepest emotions and the things that you tried to hide behind the magic of words. You are an inspiration Ma’am! I still kept the paper that you have critiqued. For me it is more precious than rubies for it was reviewed by someone like you.  I pray that someday, God will give you the chance to become an author. Please keep on writing Ma’am! I’m your fan. I have been reading your blog. I’ll definitely put a permalink on my blog to promote it! God bless you Ma’am Yen. :-) I wish to have a class with you too!

                Sir Joey, thank you for being my trainer. I really appreciate the things that you have shared with me. You are such an intelligent man. I learned a lot and I’m doing my best to apply it whenever I write essays. Thanks for reviewing my works, for letting me know the dos and don’ts and the points that I have to strengthen and enhance. I wish to have a poetry class with you Sir. I really adore your intelligence and mastery. Thank you for answering my questions and also for sharing some inputs to hone my writing skills. Blessings to thee!

3. Thank you Sir Ian and Sir Rolly for challenging us to bring out the best within us.

                Sir Ian, we know that this is your first time to teach at PUP. I really appreciate your efforts even though you started from scratch and there are times that I can feel that you were pressured, stressed, and burned – out. I was really challenged with IPA, most especially during the time that you asked us to help you in checking the IPA transcription of a short story! Well, I enjoyed it Sir. Thank you so much! Thank you for requiring us to have our speech choir. Geez! We almost lost our voices because of the practices. But I would like to thank you for this caused us to unite and to become one. We got to know each other more and we were able to discover our hidden talents.  God bless you Sir as you take your Masters at PNU! :-)

                Sir Rolly, you are one of the most amazing persons that I have ever met. :-)  Will I ever forget you? Definitely, not! I hyperventilated during our first day of oral recitations because of my anxiety. You remind me of my Geometry teacher during my high school. But these things were vanished because of your innate kindness and passion for teaching. I will miss our discussions which were always filled with laughter because of your stories. I will miss our academic debates during our recitations for you let us exercise our academic freedom. I will miss your mimics which did not fail to let us laugh out loudly. I will miss the moments that you answered our endless questions unceasingly and with fervor. You are my first professor in my Major subjects who happen to use a microphone, and I always get curious why your voice differ whenever you speak without it. :-) I will miss your side comments with Nikki’s Hair color and Steven’s Fashion statements. Thank you for motivating us and for opening our minds that after ABE, a career is waiting for us. God bless you Sir! I’m excited to see your future students. :-)

4.  Thank you Ma’am Paula for allowing me to have those Adobe Photoshop Tutorials.

                Hi Ma’am Paula! Thank you po for you allowed me to teach you the basics of Adobe. I never thought that I’m going to use it again. I really enjoyed the times that I have spent with you in front of your laptop. J  I hope we can still have those mini tutorials po. I really appreciate you po Ma’am! God bless you!
               

5. Thank you ABE II-1, GS Friends, Ate Rosella and Writer’s Circle Friends.

                Thank you guys, for cheering me up whenever I am sad and blue. Thank you GS friends for the pizza bonding; those bonding were a breath of fresh air. Thank you Ate Rosella for being my big sister at all times. Thank you Writer’s Circle for being my inspiration to work hard for our group. Thank you II-1 for being my siblings, kakulitan, chit chat buddies and etc!

6. Thank you STAT1013!

                Thank you for being a part of my life Statistics. Though because of you I shed a lot of tears and lost my chance for the Latin Honors, still I learned a lot of life lessons. Thank you!

7. Thank you Father God!

                For being my Daddy, Bestfriend, King, Brother, Lord, and Savior. Thank you Father God for allowing me to be a PUPian. Thank you Father God for each trial that I had encountered and stress that I have overcome. I know that in everything, you have a purpose. Thank you for allowing this people to become a part of my life. Thank you so much the beauty of life and for your sufficient grace. In every success and failure, I bring back all the glory and praises to your name. AMEIN


                For the people who spent some time to read this, thank you so much! You don’t know how much it means to me. May God bless you continually and keep on dreaming. Someday you shall reap what you have sowed. Strive and pursue excellence! Never give up and keep on fighting. God has prepared the God fight for us. Let bygones be bygones and move on! As long as we live and as long as we breathing, we still have the hope to improve ourselves to become the person that God desires us to be. Blessings!

The What if Poem

What if life is but a box of chocolate?

Where everything is sweet and soft,

Where happiness is just a pinch away.

Would I find the real meaning of joy,

In such a simple box of chocolate?

What if life is just as pretty as a pair of stilettos?

Where everything is but of glam and fashion,

Where the flash of the cameras matters most.

I wonder, will these things last for a long time,

After the clock tick at twelve midnight?

What if life is but of smiles and celebration?

Where people do not need to shed a tear.

For pain and sadness are such taboos.

Will life be beautiful and smooth?

If people will be alienated from hurt and gloom?

I wonder what will happen to me,

If life is but of merry-making and vanity?

Will I be happy at all in such kind of life?

Or will be a wanderer in a deserted land?

Like a pariah of my selfishness and pride?

I guess I am such a wretch man,

For I thought about such kind of uselessness.

I am bought for a price, saved from damnation.

I am of more worth than diamonds and rubies.

For the Precious Son of God picked me up.

Forever, I am grateful and blessed.

For Christ saved and redeemed me.

That's why life becomes more meaningful.

That's why hope paints in my sky,

No matter how gray my atmosphere will be.

I guess that's the mystery of faith.

A quick update

Hi guys!

It's been quite some time since the time that I had posted my last entry. I'm planning to put some of the poems that I have written in the past few months. Most of them mirror my pain, frustrations, sadness, and loneliness. I used my pen and paper to release all of my deepest heartaches. So pardon me if you'll gonna read some poems that do not usually emanate my positive outlook. Those poems belong to my distant past. I pray that God will use it to impart some wisdom to you as you read some of the down moments of my life.


God bless!

A Poem of Random Thinking

Far above the clouds and sky,

Beyond the depths of oceans and seas,

Behind the highest peak on this earth,

I know that You look on me every moment.

Not even a glimpse can escape from You.

Every thought that this mind makes,

Are known to You and I can't hide.

Darkness and day dreaming can't conceal it.

Sometimes I think that I can surpass,

All the things that hinders me from You.

Will I ever see Your face someday?

Can I hug You and will You give me a smile?

I wonder how will I feel if I see you...

Musings of a Dreamer

There are times that I want to fly.

At times, I want to seize from my existence.

I want to break free from the challenges;

That's why I think about going to Heaven.

I wonder how will I look like at heaven.

Will I have a golden halo and white wings?

Shall I play the Lyra and sing?

Shall I dance unceasingly to give praise?

I wonder what will happen if I am not a human.

Shall I be a seed that sprouts to become a tree?

Shall I be a sparrow that flies on the sky?

Or shall I be a fish that swims beneath the seas?

Maybe, if I am not a human,

I am a stone from the mountains.

I won't feel anything for I do not live.

I am part of a cycle that's why I exist.

Will I be happy if I am not a human?

I guess, I won't be happy at all.

Only humans can give praise to God.

Only humans can think and feel with his heart.

Am I a fool for I think like this?

Maybe, if you read these writings,

You will conclude that I am crazy.

For I pen such kind of thinking.

You know what, one thing I realized,

I am indeed blessed for I am a human.

It is for the redemption of humanity,

That Christ came, died, and rose again.

Wistful thinking may occur to me at times.

But at the end of the day, I am thankful.

Though I am a sinner and I commit mistakes,

And crimson of blame clothes me,

YAHWEH Picked me up...

Because of my calloused mind, I am unworthy.

But Christ saved me from eternal damnation.

I am a carnal being for I always sin.

But Christ purify me from all my iniquities.

Someday when I come Home, I'll be perfect.

Because I am redeemed by Christ,

His perfectness will envelop me.

His righteousness will clothe me for Eternity.

While I am here on earth,

I will always be dependent on Him.

To finish the race of what we call "Life"

For someday after all these things:

I will meet my Maker and Daddy,

HE will wipe away all the tears that I've shed.

Together, we will watch everything that I did.

He will hug me and utter this line:  

"Well done, My Good and faithful servant."

Young Lady,You are made for a purpose

Dear young lady who hands this paper,

I want you to know that you are special.

God wonderfully and fearfully made you,

Even before He knitted you at your mom's womb.

At the Lord's eyes, you are a princess.

Not even a jerk can hid that fact.

You are an heiress, my dear lady.

You are the King's daughter and Beloved One.

Christ made the sweetest love letter for you.

Not even a milk chocolate can beat that.

Before you were created, He declared His love.

His blood was shed to purify you like a snow. 

Because He interceded, no one can separate you,

From the Love of the Father that is freely given,

To those who will accept His gift of life.

Neither Angels nor demons can hinder that.

Hey Young Lady, if you encounter a jerk,

Please guard your heart and pray earnestly.

God is handling the pen of your lovestory.

Do not settle at the pleasure of the moment.

Be hidden and soaked up at the Lord's love.

So that the man who will ask for your hand,

Will seek the Almighthy's blessing and favor,

Before he make a move for you to say "I do."

A World Outside My Chair

Out of my boredom during my Philippine Literature class, I was able to make a poem.

I am seated on my chair but my mind flounders.

A lot of thoughts run in my mind;

Moro and warriors have no room on it.

I want to fly and stop the tick of the clock.

I want to view things beyond their perspective.

I want to catch the wind and play with the rainbow.

I wonder how the water becomes a loud.

I wonder how a sprout becomes a tree.

Can I see how it all happened?

I want to to be free and enjoy my liberty.

I am created for a special purpose.

I have a specific role to play with.

Yet here am I, confined in a space.

While being forced to listen at epics.

Epics that they say reflect our identity.

History supports that it is a cultural validation.

But for me, these are just hearsay.

That was elaborated and elevated as a language.

Can I let my mind travel beyond what I see?

These are all meaningless... A chasing after the wind.

Unfolding of A New Chapter

As I lay on my bed and hand this pen,

It is You, My Daddy, My Precious Abba,

That I am thinking as I jot these words down.

I want to glorify You through this pen and paper.

Daddy, how many times I have left You?

Yet all the while, You never left me behind.

How many times that I've said "You don't care".

Yet all the while, You were there for me.

How many times that I've thought that I'm alone,

Yet You always knock at the door of my heart.

You didn't stop even if I didn't even heed.

Oh Daddy, how can I ever repay you?

Why, oh why, My Sweet Darling Savior?
You never let me feel that You hate me.

Rage,pain, anger and bitterness filled me,

Yet You still care and cleanse my scarlet heart.

Oh Daddy, not a million "I Love You",

Not even a billion "I'm Sorry",

Can ever give back the grace that I received.

Unto Thy feet, I bow down and cry.

Dearest Yahweh, I am captivated and muted.

By Your grace and mercy, I am hailed.

Only a fool will tell that you didn't even hear,

Our cry of anguish and whispers of help.

Awakened to Disillusionment

Goodbye to you my sweet daffodil;

Goodbye to you my precious pearl.

I have realized that I was cast on a spell.

A spell that held my heart in captivity.

Goodbye to you who lend me a pen;

Goodbye to you who gave me a paper.

I have pondered that I was hailed,

By an illusion that filled my mind.

Goodbye to you my mist;

Goodbye to you my thorn.

You are the reason behind each tears.

You have pierced my heart and make it bleed

Goodbye to you my make-believe prince;

Goodbye to the fantasy that I once cherished.

I am giving my whole heart to my Great Lover.

For I am His, and He is mine forever and ever.

December 31,2011 12:59AM