Happy 76th Birthday, Dad!!

my dad, Dr Gadiel Tumamak Isidro, turned 76 yesterday and it was truly a day of joy and gladness. after all he's been through (see my blog on "depression"), it was wonderful to see my dad actually enjoying his birthday.

the Lord HAS been very good to him. and to us, his family, for giving him to us...!! he's a wonderful father -- compassionate, caring, loving, possessing the highest integrity and the greatest faith in God.

as a father, he has no equal (in my eyes, of course!). he himself lost his father when he was only 4 years old and he grew up with not very kind aunts (and that's putting it mildly!). but, God protected him from any harm or the physical pain that they inflicted on him because God had great things in store for him.

he wanted to be a lawyer, but God led him to Bible School in Manila and since his graduation in 1954, he has kept his focus solidly on doing the Lord's work. he's a pastor, a theologian, an evangelist, an author, an authority in his own right on systematic theology and the Biblical languages of hebrew and greek, an academian.

he never aimed to be famous and is content with imparting his wisdom and knowledge on to his students at EL Theological Seminary and the members of his church here at Forest Hills, Banawa, Cebu. becoming wealthy was not one of his goals either. but, he is rich where it counts -- in the souls that he has won to the Lord and in the many lives that he has influenced for good and for God.

i'm so grateful to the Lord for giving him these 76 years and pray that he will have many more fruitful years ahead to finish the books that he wants to write and the different projects that he has percolating in his mind.

may God continue to be glorified in my dad's life and may those of us in his family continue his legacy of faithfulness, integrity, active soul winning and devoted service to God in the years that God chooses to give to us here on earth!

Faith

This is what I shared today, 9/25/08, @ EL-TS's chapel hour:

Nine years ago, my family found itself in what I call our valley of deep darkness or begei tsal-malweth, as I’ve learned in Hebrew from Psalm 23:4. Everything that we believed in or thought was true was put to a great test. There were so many dark days and months when it took sheer willpower just to get out of bed in the morning and go through the motions of a “normal” life. It felt like we were walking with our arms stretched out in front of us, like a blind person, because we couldn’t see what was up ahead.

It was during those dark days that I came across a new devotional that Justin had and I read these words:

The guidance of God can be likened to a flashlight on a foggy night that shines only one step ahead. If we were to see several steps more, we would have no reason to trust God—or if we saw that the steps were leading to conflict, we might back away from lack of faith. Although it's natural to want to see ahead, it's also natural for God to create circumstances that lead us to trust Him—one step at a time. Trusting God for every step of the way is how Jesus lived. We, too, can trust God for our next unseen step.

I’m sure you can imagine how these words would bring comfort to my heart and my soul. They reminded me that I wasn’t alone in this deep darkness. God was walking through that darkness with me. He knew the way out and I just had to trust Him to guide me safely through. And with the Lord’s loving care, guidance and protection, we HAVE made it through to the other side of that valley of deep darkness. It took several years and it really was one step of faith at a time but I can see now that with each step that we took, the Lord strengthened our faith and trust in Him and we are stronger in our faith because of that experience. We saw firsthand God’s faithfulness to us and we, in turn, have learned to fully trust His leading for our lives because He did it in the past and we know He will do it in the days and years to come.

Looking back, I can see that that was probably my biggest test of faith to date. But, while editing my dad’s sermons on Hebrews 11, I realize that that time of testing for me is small, even tiny, compared to what believers in the Old and New Testament times went through. Their test of faith required dying for what they believed. They refused to compromise their faith in God because they trusted Him to perform that which He had promised. They exemplified the words of the Apostle Paul in II Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” In verses 36-38 of Hebrews 11, we see the different ways many of them suffered and this is where I would like to share some of my dad’s notes from one of his sermons in this series:

A. They were mocked—v. 36
1. The Greek word translated “mocking” is empaigmos. This means “to insult."
2. Because this is in the plural, this, therefore, refers to many people who heaped insults, with the use of foul language to put to shame a person. This was part of torture, as was done by the soldiers who arrested the Lord—Luke 22:63.

B. Scourgings—v. 36
1. This is taken from the Greek word mastix.
2. As prescribed punishment among the Hebrews, the scourging was done with the use of three tongs of leather. The offender will receive thirteen strikes on the bare breast and then thirteen stripes on each shoulder, thus 39 stripes. This was experienced five times by Paul—see II Corinthians 11:24.

C. Bonds—v. 36
1. The Greek word is desmos.
2. This refers to the actual bond which binds a prisoner, just like a hand-cuff. The cruelty of this is that during time of imprisonment, they were always bound. See Acts 16:26 (Paul & Silas)

D. Imprisonment—v. 36
1. The Greek word is phulake.
2. This is not the same as our prisons today where inmates are free to roam around within the prison premises. During those times, to be imprisoned meant to be put in a cage, just like the birds in Revelation 18:2—the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

E. Stoned—v. 37
1. The Greek verbal root is lithazo.
2. One of the painful examples of this kind of punishment was that of Stephen in Acts 7:58. One very important exegetical observation here is that in the case of Stephen, the verb "stone" elithoboloun is in the imperfect tense, which means that for a long time, many of the members of the Sanhedrin kept on stoning Stephen until he died. The stones used were not just small ones, but big ones. This is how painful many of the early Christians suffered for their faith. This was the same experience for many believers who would rather suffer than be given temporal deliverance, if that temporal deliverance means a compromise of their faith.

F. Sawn asunder—v. 37
1. The Greek word is pridso.
2. This means “to divide into two.” Tradition has recorded that the prophet Isaiah was cut into two. Think about the extreme pain and agony which one undergoes when he is being cut into two, his body being divided.

G. Murdered by a sword—v. 37
1. The Greek word for “murder” is phonos. This means “an illegal act.”
2. The instrument used was a sword; long sharp instruments for warfare, a saber. This was another form of violent and painful death inflicted on those who dare to believe in God.

All these forms of suffering were violent and most of them ended in death. But, this shows us the sufferings which these Old Testament believers went through for the sake of their faith in the true and eternal God. We should be thankful that we do not have to go through these same kinds of humiliations and physical sufferings at this time. These heroes of faith should really be admired for their faithfulness to the true God in whom they continued to believe, despite their sufferings. Some of us, however, may have to endure various kinds of pain—physical, psychological and emotional—because of our faith in God. But, we know that God will give us the strength to persevere and never to compromise our faith.

The words of the Apostle Peter in I Peter I:7 should be our constant reminder: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”

Let me share with you these words from Catherine Booth who, along with her husband William Booth, founded the Salvation Army. She wrote: “Whatever the particular call is, the particular sacrifice God asks you to make, the particular cross He wishes you to embrace, whatever the particular path He wants you to tread, will you rise up, and say in your heart, "Yes, Lord, I accept it; I submit, I yield, I pledge myself to walk in that path and to follow that Voice and to trust Thee with the consequences?" Oh! but you say, "I don't know what He will want next." No, we none of us know that, but we know we shall be safe in His hands.”

So, as my dad concluded in his sermons on Hebrews 11, what kind of faith do we have? Are we willing to suffer for our faith in God or do we easily capitulate to compromise? If we have truly surrendered our lives to God, then God will give us the grace to remain faithful even unto death. Listen to these are words of encouragement from the Lord found in Revelation 2:10: “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

one of my favorite devotionals...

I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps... Jeremiah 10:23

Whatever the particular call is, the particular sacrifice God asks you to make, the particular cross He wishes you to embrace, whatever the particular path He wants you to tread, will you rise up, and say in your heart, "Yes, Lord, I accept it; I submit, I yield, I pledge myself to walk in that path and to follow that Voice and to trust Thee with the consequences?" Oh! but you say, "I don't know what He will want next." No, we none of us know that, but we know we shall be safe in His hands. (Catherine Booth)

WWJD? Reflection

The guidance of God can be likened to a flashlight on a foggy night that shines only one step ahead. If we were to see several steps more, we would have no reason to trust God--or if we saw that the steps were leading to conflict, we might back away from lack of faith.

Although it's natural to want to see ahead, it's also natural for God to create circumstances that lead us to trust Him--one step at a time. Trusting God for every step of the way is how Jesus lived.

We, too, can trust God for our next unseen step.

speaking of personal libraries...

in this picture: Joseph (youngest of 5), Ruth & Sam Kostreva

i was thinking last night after i posted my blog that my one bookcase is really VERY small in terms of personal libraries. but, in my defense, these are my more recent books... :-)

the biggest personal library i have seen to date from any of my friends is the one that belongs to SAM KOSTREVA. they are currently living in kenosha, WI and his library has followed him from lodi, WI to ludington, MI and now to kenosha, WI. it takes up all the walls in the basement of their home as well as every wall space in his office. it is really quite impressive and i'm sure he's read every single book in this library... GO, SAM!!!

What was your favorite pastime as a child? Did you prefer doing it alone or with someone else?

i can't believe it's taken me THIS long to write again... what kind of a blogger am i? i've read other blogs where they have so much to say on almost a daily basis and i think to myself, "i'm not doing a very good job at this blogging thing..."

well, i think i've come up with a solution... a couple years ago, i bought "Reflections from a Mother's Heart" at Lighthouse Bookstore in Pasadena. the subtitles of the book are "a family legacy for your children" and "your life story in your own words." i thought the book would be a great way to share myself with the next generations. but now, i think that answering the questions in this book might help me keep blogging on a regular basis. so, i've decided to go through the questions in this book and store my answers here on this blog. if my kids and grandkids need to know a little bit more about me, they can just read what i've written here.

The beauty of the written word is that it can be held close

to the heart and read over and over again.

(Florence Littauer)

it was my mother who introduced me to my favorite pastime -- reading. from the time i learned how to read until the present, i have been an avid reader. i remember many times during my elementary years reading late into the night under my blanket, esp if the novel was one i just couldn't put down...! my mother allowed me to read the Grace Livingston Hill novels which, of course, stirred the romance in me, so much so that i think i was a little too idealistic about love when i was growing up -- always thinking that when love found me, it would be just like it was in her novels... :-) some of the other books i devoured when i was growing up were the nancy drew series, charles dickens and louisa may alcott.

romance novels have always been my favorite, but as i've gotten older, i like to read novels that deal with crime, conspiracies, the law, mysteries, murder/mysteries. my favorite authors now are john grisham, nicholas sparks, david baldacci, andrew greeley, sue grafton, barbara delinski, sandra brown, steve martini, and james patterson, just to name a few. as a matter of fact, i always buy the latest from these authors whenever i see them in the bookstore or at costco where i can buy the hardcover edition for a really low price. currently, i am reading "the appeal," john grisham's latest book. i still have to read his "playing for pizza" which i bought last year. after that, it will be 2 books by david baldacci--"stone cold" and "the whole truth." those will be followed by "suddenly" by barbara delinsky and finally, "t is for trespass" by sue grafton. by the time i finish all that, i will be back in the states and can get another year's supply of books to read in 2009, starting with james patterson's "sail."

i should mention that one of my reading goals every year is to read the Bible all the way through... i've bought several of those Bibles that provide you with Scripture passages to read every morning and another passage in the evening so that you can easily read the Bible in one year. but, once i get into leviticus & numbers, it's so boring and tedious and i find myself getting far behind on my goal. needless to say, i haven't been successful in meeting this goal, but i will keep trying...

in answer to the second question, i have to say that this pastime is something i enjoy doing alone. i try to read a chapter a day, more, if i have time. i have never joined a book club where they sit around and discuss a book, although i would love to do that someday. i just don't think i have the time right now to pursue that since my plate is overflowing with projects that i would like to finish within the next 5 years...

i believe i have passed my love of reading on to my kids and i hope that they, in turn, will teach their children (my grandkids) to love reading as much as i do!!

the whole package

for the past few weeks, during my down times or when i just need to "chill," i have been indulging in my current guilty pleasure -- watching the beginning episodes of "gilmore girls." i just finished seasons 1 to 4 and will now have to wait until i get back to the states to buy seasons 5 to the finale...! maybe someone will buy me the rest of the series as a Christmas gift... :-)

anyway, at the end of season 2, lorelai gilmore, played by lauren graham, the single mother in the series, makes the statement about wanting "the whole package" -- a husband, a family, the white picket fence... and that made me think... if ashley and i had gone through life together--just the 2 of us like lorelai & rory gilmore--would i have eventually asked that same question of myself? maybe...? eventually...? what i do know is that once ashley was born and i saw this beautiful child whose entire existence depended on me, i knew that i could go through life taking care of ashley on my own, if that's what God had planned for me.

but, God DID have other plans for me and for ashley. without me doing anything about it, God was working in dan's heart as to what was the right thing for him to do in our situation. and during one of his yearly trips to the Philippines, when ashley was 6 months old, God allowed my dad the opportunity to bring ashley's album with him to show to dan and dan's parents. this man who had not wanted me to keep the baby could no longer deny that ashley was his child once he saw her pictures. after that, it was simply a matter of time before i found myself agreeing to marry dan. in hindsight, i really should have asked more questions of dan and his commitment to me and ashley. i should have waited a little longer before setting a wedding date. but, God knew what He was doing and through the years, i have learned to trust Him during those life-changing decisions.

so, in the end, God DID give me "the whole package." it hasn't been an easy road and there have been many bumps along the way (although those bumps are what we climb on), but i'm thankful for the life that God has given me. i'm thankful for the hard and sad times and the wonderful & great times. i really wouldn't trade what i've gone through because all of those experiences have made me the person that i am today. God has been very good to me and i will do everything i can to be worthy of His goodness to me and to my family.

speaking from my heart...

A Catholic Case Against Barack by Patrick J. Buchanan
Posted 08/12/2008 ET

In the Pennsylvania primary, Barack Obama rolled up more than 90 percent of the African-American vote. Among Catholics, he lost by 40 points. The cool liberal Harvard Law grad was not a good fit for the socially conservative ethnics of Altoona, Aliquippa and Johnstown. But if Barack had a problem with Catholics then, he has a far higher hurdle to surmount in the fall, with those millions of Catholics who still take their faith and moral code seriously.

For not only is Barack the most pro-abortion member of the Senate,with his straight A+ report card from the National Abortion Rights Action League and Planned Parenthood. He supports the late-term procedure known as partial-birth abortion where the baby's skull is stabbed with scissors in the birth canal and the brains are sucked out to end its life swiftly and ease passage of the corpse into the pan. Partial-birth abortion, said the late Sen. Pat Moynihan, "comes as close to infanticide as anything I have seen in our judiciary."

Yet, when Congress was voting to ban this terrible form of death for a mature fetus, Michelle Obama was signing fundraising letters pledging that, if elected, Barack would be "tireless" in keeping legal this "legitimate medical procedure."

And Barack did not let the militants down. When the Supreme Court upheld the congressional ban on this barbaric procedure, Barack denounced the court for denying "equal rights for women."

As David Freddoso reports in his new best-seller, "The Case Against Barack Obama," the Illinois senator goes further than any U.S. senator has dared go in defending what John Paul II called the "culture of death." Thrice in the Illinois legislature, Obama helped block a bill that was designed solely to protect the life of infants already born, and outside the womb, who had miraculously survived the attempt to kill them during an abortion. Thrice, Obama voted to let doctors and nurses allow these tiny human beings die of neglect and be tossed out with the medical waste.

How can a man who purports to be a Christian justify this?

If, as its advocates contend, abortion has to remain legal to protect the life and health, mental and physical, of the mother, how is amother's life or health in the least threatened by a baby no longer inside her -- but lying on a table or in a pan fighting for life and breath?

How is it essential for the life or health of a woman that her baby, who somehow survived the horrible ordeal of abortion, be left to die or put to death? Yet, that is what Obama voted for, thrice, in the Illinois Senate.

When a bill almost identical to the one Barack fought in Illinois, the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, came to the floor of the U.S. Senate in 2001, the vote was 98 to 0 in favor. Barbara Boxer, the most pro-abortion member of the Senate before Barack came, spoke out on its behalf: "Of course, we believe everyone should deserve the protection of this bill. ... Who could be more vulnerable than a newborn baby? So, of course, we agree with that. ... We join with an 'aye' vote on this. I hope it will, in fact, be unanimous."

Obama says he opposed the Born Alive Infants Protection Act because he feared it might imperil Roe v. Wade. But if Roe v. Wade did allow infanticide or murder, which is what letting a tiny baby die of neglect or killing it outright amounts to, why would he not want that court decision reviewed and amended to outlaw infanticide?

Is the right to an abortion so sacrosanct to Obama that killing by neglect or snuffing out of the life of tiny babies outside the womb must be protected if necessary to preserve that right?Obama is an abortion absolutist. "I could find no instance in his entire career," writes Freddoso, "in which he voted for any regulation or restriction on the practice of abortion."

In 2007, Barack pledged that, in his first act as president, he will sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would cancel every federal, state or local regulation or restriction on abortion. The National Organization for Women says it would abolish all restrictions on government funding of abortion.

What we once called God's Country would become the nation on earth most zealously committed to an unrestricted right of abortion from conception to birth.

Before any devout Catholic, Evangelical Christian or Orthodox Jew votes for Obama, he or she might spend 15 minutes in Chapter 10 of Freddoso's "Case Against Barack." For if, as Catholics believe, abortion is the killing of an unborn child, and participation in an abortion entails automatic excommunication, how can a good Catholic support a candidate who will appoint justices to make Roe v. Wade eternal and eliminate all restrictions on a practice Catholics legislators have fought for three decades to curtail?

And which Catholic priests and prelates will it be who give invocations at Obama rallies, even as Mother Church fights to save the lives of unborn children whom Obama believes have no right to life and no rights at all?

Source: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?print=yes&id=27992

28 years ago i faced what was the biggest dilemma of my life at that time. i was pregnant and unmarried. i had good friends who advised me to have an abortion. their reasons seemed fine on the surface, especially their argument that after the abortion, i could go on with my life and not be saddled with a child which might further hamper my attempts to find a man who would want to marry me AND my child. one phone call, in particular, was especially hurtful. it was from the baby's father's on again-off again girlfriend at the time who called me from the philippines to tell me that i would be jeopardizing the father's future (and maybe hers?) if i decided to go on with the pregnancy. little did she know that that phone call would be the impetus for me to WANT to keep the baby...!

i had other friends who told me to go on with the pregnancy and keep the baby or put the baby up for adoption. because i was not sure what road to take, i decided to read up on everything regarding abortion. i remember bringing home piles of books from BIOLA's library (i was working at BIOLA's Dean of Student Services Office at the time) in order to educate myself. what i read convinced me that abortion was NOT for me and reinforced my belief that each life is a PRECIOUS gift from God. many years later, i remain convinced of this and even more so, as i believe that God gives life and only God can take it away. taking someone else's life, especially that of an innocent unborn child, is not our right!!

so, when i read something like pat buchanan's piece above, i am angered that people like obama still believe that they have the right to take someone else's life away. and to think that he will do that when he's president... i shudder at the thought that someone who brags about being a "Christian" can have that mindset and brag that he will push through his "agenda of death" when he's president...

of course, i believe that if God wants to, he can put HIS choice in the presidency. but, God also allows us free will and if the people of the united states are stubborn enough to insist on electing someone who believes in death to innocent individuals, God can also allow that. but, if that happens, i feel that that is the beginning of the end for America. every nation that has allowed and tolerated death to the innocent has disappeared from this earth. look at what happened to the Roman Empire with their sadistic delight at watching Christians fight against hungry lions in the Coliseum. look at the once-mighty German nation that slaughtered millions of innocent Jews during the Holocaust.

it is my prayer that all Christians in the US really think and pray about who to vote for in november. as for me, i am taking my stand and declaring that, as a Christian, i cannot in good conscience vote for obama.

May God's will be done in the upcoming elections.