My Daily Nourishment

One of the roles of a leader is to protect the Christian community. Unfortunately, this may require having to ask a person to leave the community in order to protect the body from that person’s errant ways. This is always a serious business and never taken lightly. However, those in leadership must be willing to exercise their responsibility for the sake of the community and thus protect it from error and serious immorality.

1 Corinthians 5:1-8
1 Brothers and sisters: It is widely reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans — a man living with his father’s wife. 2 And you are inflated with pride. Should you not rather have been sorrowful? The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst. 3 I, for my part, although absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as if present, pronounced judgment on the one who has committed this deed, 4 in the name of our Lord Jesus: when you have gathered together and I am with you in spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not appropriate. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? 7 Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I was truly surprised last month as I received a letter telling me that my credit card application was approved. It was really surprising because in the first place I am jobless and I don’t have any salary print-outs. The credit limit is not so high but for a beginning, it is already okay for me. I only want to use it during emergencies especially when I travel. If I am not mistaken, when you apply for a credit card in the United States, they need to check your credit history. There are financial companies who are also offering for free credit score to determine whether you are really qualified to apply for a loan or credit especially at the banks. Hubby was also surprised as I showed him my new credit card last month. He can’t believed that a jobless like me will get approved for a credit card. I will tell you next time how did I do it. If not here, might be in my other blogs. Till here and have a great evening to all!

I had been browsing online what is the name of one of the churches located in Rome, Italy especially the one located some hundred meters away from Colosseum. I totally forgot the name of the church below. Anyway, here is the image of the inside part of the church which I took during our visit last month. You can see my friend walking inside the church.

any idea what is the name of the church that I have here? thanks in advance.

The Ascension marks the end of Jesus’ physical mission on earth. He returns to His Father in order to send us the Holy Spirit. For the next week we reflect upon the absence of Jesus in the life of the community of the faithful and try to get in touch with their feelings of loss. It must have been devastating to them to have that feeling again only a few weeks after Jesus’ death and resurrection. I can imagine them asking why Jesus didn’t “hang around” a bit longer to help them get started.

Acts 1:1-11
1 In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught 2 until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; 5 for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. 10 While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” kyregmafamily.com.ph

It seems that I was not able to post some images here for some days now. This was taken during my vacation in Las Vegas last 2008. You can also see the castle-like and fairytale hotel called Excalibur in my background. We don’t need a fort lauderdale car rental here since we were in Vegas. Probably when me and hubby will visit Fort Lauderdale next time. I heard from a friend that it is also a nice place to see.

To end this post, I would love to share some very nice words I heard from a German song tonight.

“Seit ist Leben und Leben ist Seit”. It simply means “Time is Life and Life is Time”. This reminds us to live life to the fullest! I also loved how the the singer sang it. Goodnight folks and have a great weekend!

Stewardship of God’s gifts is also a crucial aspect of a faithful disciple’s life. If we are not faithful to using well the small things God gives us, we will never be entrusted with the bigger gifts. One of the saddest realities in life is to watch a person not living up to his potential — there is so much they miss in life because they are unwilling to give their all in its pursuit.

Matthew 25:14-30
14 Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one — to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately 16 the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. 17 Likewise, the one who received two made another two. 18 But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ 22 Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; 25 so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ 26 His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? 28 Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’”

my reflections
t h i n k : If we are not faithful to using well the small things God gives us, we will never be entrusted with the bigger gifts.
forwarded email from kyregma

Yesterday the mother; today the son. St. Augustine in many ways is a pagan Paul. He gave his life over to the wisdom of men for 30 or so years before finding faith. And yet God used his great learning to shape Church theology even to this day. If Pope John Paul II was a Thomist (Thomas Aquinas) in his thought, then Pope Benedict is Augustinian. Let us remember that God can take anything and turn it for the good of the Gospel.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31
26 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, 28 and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, 29 so that no human being might boast before God. 30 It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”
kyregma.com.ph

The first day of the BER months is finally here! I guess you know what I mean by BER months. It simply means September, October, November and December. That is probably the reason why it is getting cold now because Autumn and winter seasons are coming soon. Anyway, I found two mails today in our mailbox. The first one is hubby’s salary print-out and the other one is an advertisement from a telephone company who offers unlocked phone. Actually, if you will sign for a two-year cellphone contract, you get another two unlocked phones for free. I have to tell it to hubby because the contract of my cellphone is ending next month. Imagine getting two cellphones with camera and video functions. I guess, it is already a good offer. I would like to give the other two cellphones to my brothers who are asking me such kind of phones since last year. That would then be a good Christmas present.

The beautiful dahlia flowers in our garden. I am quite sad because Autumn and winter time is almost coming. It means that the flowers in our garden will be gone soon!

It is more than four years now since I am jobless. It means that I do not have so much stress from the job, don’t need to wake-up early in the morning to go to work, no headache about lazy co-workers since my last job was being a supervisor, no stress driving to work and it also means that I don’t earn any fix income. In other words, no money at all. How can I search for healthcare job listings on the net if my profession is not related to it. I was planning some years ago to go back to school again and maybe take-up any medical course but until now, I am still not decided. Hubby told me that it is up to me if I still want to work or not. We live in a simple but quite contented life where all our basic needs are being provided. Thanks to hubby for being a very responsible and loving one. Lastly, I can say that despite being jobless, I am still happy!