Marian Pilgrimage Diary: Day 7

Day 7: Find God In Unexpected Places

From Nice, France, To Pisa, Italy

This is ironic.
Because our pilgrim group was going to Rome, our bus had to pass the French Riviera and stay one night in Nice. Does that place ring a bell?
I don’t know about you, but I only hear “French Riviera” when I read about Hollywood stars taking vacations there. And right next to Nice is Monaco and Monte Carlo, very famous for its casinos, glamour, and Grand Prix racing.
From the French Riviera, we crossed the Italian border, and by late evening, we entered the old town of Pisa—and spent the night there too. Yes, the one with the famous leaning tower. (I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.)
But as this was part of our road journey, we had to pass these “worldly places” and find God in them too. We could of course have taken a plane and “jumped” from one holy city to another. For example, we could have flown from Fatima and jumped to Lourdes, and from Lourdes hopped to Rome.
But that wouldn’t reflect real life.
Because human life consists of the sacred and the secular. Not everything we do is outwardly religious.
But here’s what I’ve realized: As we mature in our spirit, these boundaries blur. The mature Christian sees everything as sacred.
Why? Because God is everywhere.
Let me say something shocking here: A spiritually mature person is equally at home in her prayer meeting and doing her laundry; She is spiritually at home attending Holy Mass and shopping in a mall. Why? Because if God is her home, and if God is everywhere, then she is at home everywhere.
As heretical as this may sound, how does one know if a prayer meeting or Mass becomes “effective” in our lives? Only if they train our spiritual eyes to recognize the same Presence of God in other people, in nature, especially in the poor, and in ourselves.
Of course, someone could quote my words above out of context and say “Bo is telling us not to go to Mass anymore”. On the contrary, I believe it is our highest praise. But unless you’re a monk, you can’t stay in church 24 hours a day.
Friend, do you find God in your job? In the mall? In the gym? In the restaurant? In the movie house?
Concentration Camp survivor Victor Frankl talks about another woman in the prison with him who knew she was dying. She spoke about the one thing that gave her joy each day—a tree outside her window. It gave her so much comfort. The woman said that she spoke to the tree each day—and the tree spoke to her. She said that before her days in prison, she never had the time to see how beautiful something as simple as a tree is. It was God’s Presence, God smiling at her.
Friend, you and I are so busy, we no longer see God in the simplest things. But if we look deeply, in these simple things, we see God smiling at us.

So smile. He is smiling at you.

Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the power of failures.

Abangan…

I remain your friend,


Bo Sanchez

PS. I’m still receiving a lot of questions on why I homeschool my sons. If you’re interested in homeschooling your kids, you can email catholicfilipinoacademy@gmail.com and ask for an article I wrote about homeschooling, and we’ll email it to you.

PS2. I’m giving a workshop on How To Be Truly Rich Seminar on May 5, 2007, from 8 to 12noon, in Quezon City. Thanks to generous sponsors subsidizing the cost of this event, from what was originally priced at P975, we were able to bring down the seminar fee to P475 only per person. Change your financial life. Call Tel. 7229562 (look for Beckie) or email beacon@philonline.com for more information.

PS3. Each month, I send to my partners FREE issues of Kerygma magazine plus my Life Dreams Success Journal, also for free. (The Life Dreams Success Journal is a small powerful tool I made that has already helped thousands of people fulfil their goals in life.) Yes, I give these to all KerygmaFamily members who support the ministry through a monthly love offering of at least P100 (local) or $20 (international). If you’re not yet a KerygmaFamily member, log onto http://www.kerygmafamily.com/ now and receive Kerygma magazine each month plus the Life Dreams Success Journal for FREE. Don’t miss this month’s issue! Log on now at http://www.kerygmafamily.com/

PS4. Get inspired. You can watch me on KerygmaTV on ABC Channel 5, every Tuesday, 10pm. Spread the word!

PS5. I am preaching in the United States on the following dates and places:
May 21, 2007 St. Christopher Catholic Church Moreno Valley, CA 92553-4373

May 22, 2007 St. Ciprian Church Long Beach, CA 90808
May 23, 2007 St. Patrick's Catholic Church North Hollywood, CA 91606
May 24, 2007 St. Lorenzo Ruiz Catholic Church Walnut, CA 91789
May 25-27, 2007 Northern CA Charismatic Convention
Santa Clara Convention Center

For more details, click here. Tell your friends to go!

Marian Pilgrimage Diary: Day 6

Day 6: How Can You Be Healed?
From Lourdes To Nice, France
This morning, we had a lovely open-air Mass at the Lourdes Grotto itself. We were all in hats and raincoats under the gentle rain. It was simply beautiful.
It was a concelebrated Mass—with priests from America, Ireland, France, and the Philippines leading us. Around me were beautiful people of faith—Koreans, French, English, Africans, Americans... It was amazing. There were moments I felt I was in Heaven.
Imagine: All races, all cultures, all colors side by side, shoulder to shoulder, wearing different clothes, speaking different tongues, all praying to one God.
As expected, the Filipino pilgrim group was the choir of the international Mass. After the Mass, the main celebrant praised us as a “world class choir”. (Naks. I notice this phenomenon everywhere I go around the planet—Filipinos are the Mass choirs of the world!)
After last minute shopping for religious stuff, we left enchanting Lourdes.
It was a long 700+ kilometer drive to Nice in the French Riviera. That was one long ride in the bus, which gave the pilgrims ample time for sharing. We asked them, “What was the most memorable thing that happened the past six days?”
Almost to the last person, each one said, “Bathing in Lourdes.”
Here are their words to describe this incredible experience: “I was revitalized”; “I wept like a baby”; “I felt changed”; “I was healed…”
Yes, healing did happen. One of our pilgrims is Lola May. At 77-years old, Lola May was suffering from glaucoma and cataracts. She was scheduled to have an eye operation, but Lola May decided to spend her money on the pilgrimage instead.
This is what happened after the healing waters touched her eyes. She said, “I could now read without my glasses!” We were in tears as we heard her story.
Let me describe the bathing ritual of Lourdes to you.
In pools located inside small, private chambers beside the Grotto, each person undresses and wears a wrap-around cloth. Volunteers assist you all the way, praying for you and helping you step down the freezing waters. A few seconds later, they help you rise out of the pool. Because of the huge difference of temperature between the water and your body, you don’t have to wipe your body dry. Your body dries up by itself in seconds.
The pilgrims shared how this simple experience was utterly transformational. Much more than physical healing, I’m sure many experienced spiritual and emotional healing.
But friends, you don’t have to go to the waters of Lourdes to receive healing. Because I’ve seen God heal countless of people by simply being prayed over, by a simple prayer meeting, or by the Holy Mass. The effects are the same anywhere around the world.
How does one get healed anyway?
First, by a deep trust that “something good is going to happen to me”. By opening yourself to miracles, by visualizing the healing, and ultimately by surrendering yourself to God’s love.
Second, healing usually happens when we remove the psychological roots of the disease, such as bitterness, anxiety, worry, fear, and too much stress.
So take a spiritual vacation and “de-stress”. Step back from your daily routine and unload your emotional burdens. Forgive your enemies. Surrender your problems. Expect miracles. And deepen your relationship with God.
Everyone can get spiritually healed, which is the most important healing. And when the spirit is healed, our bodies usually follow, because our bodies and spirits are one.

Friend, receive your healing today!

Tomorrow, I’ll talk about how to find God in unexpected places.

Abangan…

I remain your friend,


Bo Sanchez


PS. I’m giving a workshop on How To Be Truly Rich on May 5, 2007, from 8 to 12noon, in Quezon City. Thanks to generous sponsors subsidizing the cost of this event, from what was originally priced it at P975, we were able to bring down the seminar fee to P475 only per person. Change your financial life. Call Tel. 7229562 (look for Beckie) or email beacon@philonline.com for more information.

PS2. Each month, I send to my partners FREE issues of Kerygma magazine plus my Life Dreams Success Journal, for free. (The Life Dreams Success Journal is a small powerful tool I made that has already helped thousands of people fulfill their goals in life.) Yes, I give these to all KerygmaFamily members who support the ministry through a monthly love offering of at least P100 (local) or $20 (international). If you’re not yet a KerygmaFamily member, log onto http://www.kerygmafamily.com/ now and receive Kerygma magazine each month plus the Life Dreams Success Journal for FREE. Don’t miss this month’s issue! Log on now at http://www.kerygmafamily.com/

PS3. KERYGMA TV will be back starting May 8, 2007 at 10:00 p.m. on ABC 5. Don’t miss it!

Marian Pilgrimage Diary: Day 5

Day 5: Let Rivers Of Love Flow Out Of Your Life

From Loyola, Spain, to Lourdes, France

From Loyola in Spain, we crossed the French border. It was Sunday when we drove into beautiful Lourdes.
Our Mass was at a convent near our hotel. But Fr. Joseph Skelton had to do a 30-minute Sunday Mass (I’ve never seen him do that!) as another pilgrim group from Ireland was going to use the chapel.
Yes, Lourdes is always filled with pilgrims. Each year, 4 to 6 million people visit Lourdes. (Just as a point of comparison: The entire Philippines—with our Boracay, Bohol, Palawan, Cebu, etc.—attracts only 2 million tourists a year.)
I later learned that Lourdes is the 2^nd most visited religious site in the world. (Ganges of India is 1^st, and Mecca in Saudi Arabia is 3^rd.)
What makes them come to Lourdes?
Because in 1858, a poor girl named Bernadette saw Mary in a Grotto. This young visionary would see Mary for a total of 18 times. This visitation would change Lourdes—and the world. (From a small town of 4,000 people, it now has 400 hotels.)
Today, I observe the thousands of pilgrims around me. All are sick. Physically. Spiritually. And all are filling up their water bottles with the healing water from the Grotto, drinking, washing, and blessing themselves and their friends.
This sight causes me to cry. Because 150 years ago, in one of those 18 apparitions, Mary told Bernadette to “drink from the spring”. But there was no spring around her. So the young girl dug the soil beneath the grotto—and saw only mud. But she kept on digging, until clear spring water came out.
Since that first trickle 150 years ago, the miraculous waters continue to flow at the rate of 122,000 liters an hour! It rages with abundance—like God’s wild river of love for you.
Isn’t this a perfect picture of your life?
You were once but dirt.
And your sins remind you of your origin.
But your life, what was once dirt and mud, can now become a powerful river of healing for millions of people.
How?
By allowing God to use you to bless the world.
Friends, let your life be a pilgrimage site for others.
When you love others genuinely, from the heart, I’ve discovered that many thirsty people will come to you. They will drink deeply from the stream of healing, flowing out of your life.
Love, my friends.
And the world will be healed.


PS. People have been writing me, asking where I preach regularly. If you live in Metro Manila or its suburbs, don’t miss the FEAST—a powerful weekly gathering designed to bless your life. With inspiring preaching, lively worship, and Sunday Mass. See you every Sunday, 9am-12noon, at The Arena, Pinaglabanan, San Juan. For more information, call Tel. No. (632) 7259999 or email us at support@kerygmafamily.com.

PS2. I hope you don’t mind receiving a daily email from me for my 15-Day Marian Pilgrimage Diary. But I decided to email you daily so that you can forward this email to your friends who may need to read this message.

PS3. I wish to thank all those who have written to me, thanking me for sending them each month the inspiring Kerygma magazine for FREE, plus my Life Dreams Success Journal. (The Life Dreams Success Journal is a small powerful tool I made that has already helped many people write their dreams, thus helping them fulfil their goals.) Yes, I give away a FREE all-year subscription of Kerygma magazine plus the Life Dreams Success Journal to all KerygmaFamily members who support the ministry through a regular monthly love offering of at least P100 or $20 only. If you’re not yet a KerygmaFamily member, log onto http://www.kerygmafamily.com/ now and receive Kerygma magazine each month plus the Life Dreams Success Journal for FREE. PS4. KERYGMA TV will be back starting May 8, 2007 at 10:00 p.m. on ABC 5. Don't miss it!

Marian Pilgrimage Diary: Day 4

Day 4: Big Problems Are God’s Taps On The Shoulder

From Burgos to Loyola, Spain

This morning, we left Burgos and rode off to Loyola. Yes, the birthplace of St. Ignatius de Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. I felt right at home. Why? I studied in Ateneo—a school run by the Jesuits—so Ignatius is close to my heart.
In this exact place some 400 years ago, Ignatius was a soldier who lived a life of much wine and many women. He was far from God. But one day, he got gravely wounded in battle. Not knowing whether he would live or die, Ignatius had a deep spiritual conversion experience that would rock his world. He gave his life to God and called others to also do the same. Thus, he formed the Society of Jesus—which by the way, is the largest congregation of priests in the world today.
For some people, tragedy is God’s “tap on the shoulder”. (I’m not saying God caused it. Read this poetically, not literally.) A crisis in life wakes us up from a meaningless life to live a life of blessing, love, and great purpose.
For Ignatius, it was being severely wounded in battle.
What is your “tap on the shoulder”?
What crisis calls you back to God?
Of course, our big problem doesn’t feel like a “tap on the shoulder”. More often, it feels like a giant boulder crushing us!
Friends, I strongly recommend that you don’t wait for a crisis.
I suggest you give your life to God without His “tap”.


PS. I wish to thank all those who have written to me, thanking me for sending them each month the inspiring Kerygma magazine for FREE, plus my Life Dreams Success Journal. (The Life Dreams Success Journal is a small powerful tool I made that has already helped many people write their dreams, thus helping them fulfil their goals.) Yes, I give away a FREE all-year subscription of Kerygma magazine plus the Life Dreams Success Journal to all KerygmaFamily members who support the ministry through a regular monthly love offering of at least P100 or $20 only. If you’re not yet a KerygmaFamily member, log onto http://www.kerygmafamily.com/ now and receive Kerygma magazine each month plus the Life Dreams Success Journal for FREE.

PS2. I’m still receiving a lot of questions on why I homeschool my sons. If you’re interested in homeschooling your kids, you can email catholicfilipinoacademy@gmail.com and ask for an article I wrote about homeschooling, and we’ll email it to you.

PS3. Journey to Personal Growth Live-in Seminar

This live-in retreat invites you to take a deeper look into the dynamics of your personality, move beyond its confines, and discover your true nature or essence. It aims to help you increase your self-understanding, know the true motives of your behavior, understand your fears, desires, defenses, anxieties. As you grow in self-awareness, this will facilitate the process of self-transformation. To be conducted by the Light of Jesus Counseling Center.

Date: August 25-26, 2007
Schedule: Overnight Retreat starting 8 AM Saturday up to 4 PM on Sunday
Venue: To be announced
Seminar Fee: P1,800.00
For reservations please call Cathy Deyto at tel no (632).7260267

Marian Pilgrimage Diary: Day 3

 

Day 3: Every Part Of Your Life Is An Art Piece For God

From Fatima, Portugal, to Burgos, Spain

Early morning, George and I squeezed in some video work for preacherinbluejeans.com. We rushed to the Fatima basilica and shot some scenes. I was with Bene and he kept on jumping and running around the place.
After our video work, Bene and I ran to the main church together. Believe me, if you’ve got kids in a pilgrimage, you don’t walk. You run, jump, and laugh going from place to place. You have to, or they’ll say the dreaded “B” word again. (“I’m bored”.)
We left Fatima at 9:00am by bus and travelled to Burgos, Spain. Do you know how far that was? 600+ kilometers!
That was 7 hours in the bus.
Again, we had 2 choices. Either grumble about it or enjoy it. We decided to enjoy it. We laughed, ate, sang, and prayed. The bus became a moving chapel, a comedy bar, and a picnic park all at the same time.
Along the way, we stopped for lunch. I was a good boy and ate green salad with drizzles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Totally light and healthy. To compensate for being too healthy, I ate 3 Swiss chocolate nuggets after that. Haha.
Finally arriving in Burgos, we visited its fabulous baroque cathedral. I tell you, the artists who built that thing were either (1) totally sick, obsessively-compulsive artists who didn’t do anything else except chisel and paint the whole day—or (2) they were simply passionate guys who wanted to create something beautiful for God.
Why do I say that? Because every single square inch of that massive cathedral—from floor to ceiling—was a meticulous art piece. For example, one altar alone (there were dozens of altars in that cathedral) had 116 angels. In one altar! It was mind-boggling.
This is what I believe. You and I are artists—and our life is the canvass. Our divine call is to paint something beautiful for God.
What is your paint brush? Your core gifts. Use them to express the beauty of heaven’s love.
For example, my gift is to write and preach.
What is your paint brush? Is it to sing? To cook? To do accounting? To build homes? To sell? To care for kids?
Today, I make a choice to paint something beautiful for God with fire in my belly. Every word. Every project. Every smile. Every thought. Every part of my life should be a beautiful art piece for God.
Friend, do you live with this passion?
Do you have fire in your belly?


PS. I wish to thank all those who have written to me, thanking me for sending them each month the inspiring Kerygma magazine for FREE, plus my Life Dreams Success Journal. (The Life Dreams Success Journal is a small powerful tool I made that has already helped many people write their dreams, thus helping them fulfil their goals.) Yes, I give away a FREE all-year subscription of Kerygma magazine plus the Life Dreams Success Journal to all KerygmaFamily members who support the ministry through a regular monthly love offering of at least P100 or $20 only. If you’re not yet a KerygmaFamily member, log onto http://www.kerygmafamily.com/ now and receive Kerygma magazine each month plus the Life Dreams Success Journal for FREE.

PS2. I’m still receiving a lot of questions on why I homeschool my sons. If you’re interested in homeschooling your kids, you can email catholicfilipinoacademy@gmail.com and ask for an article I wrote about homeschooling, and we’ll email it to you.

PS3. Attention Music Ministry Members. My friends and Kerygma Preachers Arun Gogna, Alvin Barcelona, and Rissa Singson will be giving a seminar entitled ALL I AM, Workshop for Music Ministers, on May 12, 2007, Saturday, 8am – 5pm. Designed for singers, dancers and band members, this course offers new perspective on how to animate and minister through music. A day of worship, renewed vision and empowerment, bring your team and be blessed! Venue: Lay Force, San Carlos Seminary, Guadalupe Makati. Call now for group discounts. Only limited slots available. For reservations and inquiries, contact Noel at (02) 8239546 or text 0915-4493600 .

PS4. Do you have broken, strained relationships? Want to restore this broken relationships into healthy positive ones? Do you want to learn how to handle your relationship conflicts? And learn techniques that will help you build healthy and harmonious relationships with others?
Join the “Relationships Seminar” of the Light of Jesus Counseling Center!
The seminar will help you examine your patterns of behavior that destroy relationships. Key principles that will guide you in relating with others will also be discussed in this seminar. For reservations and details, please contact Cathy at (632) 7260267 weekdays 10:00am to 6:00pm

Date: Every Tuesday from July 3 – Aug 7
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Venue: The Lighthouse, 60 Chicago St., Cubao
Seminar is FREE

Marian Pilgrimage Diary: Day 2

Day 2: God Sees You No Matter How Small You Are

From Guangzhou, China, to Frankfurt, Germany, to Fatima, Portugal

We finally took off from Guangzhou.  After a 12-hour flight, we set foot on European soil, landing in Frankfurt, Germany. 
       The travel agent said we had 2 options. 
       One was to wait in the airport for our next flight to Portugal.  The other was to go around the city for even a couple of hours. 
        Naturally, the pilgrims chose the second option.  We rushed out of the airport, had a lovely Mass at the oldest Church in the city, grabbed a quick lunch, and raced back to the airport.  It was like my pilgrims (oldest one being age 81) had rollerblades in their feet. In Tagalog, may nunal sa paa.
        For lunch, almost everyone ate all kinds of German franks, wieners, and hotdogs—eating them around a lovely fountain under the gorgeous German blue sky.  Of course, being semi-vegetarian, I ate very delicious German fish whose name I failed to ask before I munched him.
        After landing in Lisbon, we took a two-hour bus ride to beautiful Fatima.  This was where our pilgrimage “officially” began.
        Why Fatima? 
        In 1913, three poor children saw Mary in this exact place—a small town that was barely in the map of Portugal.  (Today of course, there’s a massive church and sprawling grounds all over it, visited by millions.  But before the apparition, it was a dot no one cared about.)
        Don’t you see? 
        This is what I call a God-principle.
        God chose a 14-year old Mary, a stuttering Moses, a scrawny shepherd boy named David, a juvenile Jeremiah, and illiterate fishermen as Apostles.  God insists on choosing the most unimportant people to do His work.  Why?
        To tell us that no one is insignificant in His eyes.
        No one is unimportant in His heart.
God sees you no matter how small you are.
        Friends, this is the greatest thief that is stealing your success: You don’t believe you’re big enough.   

        
PS. People have been writing me, asking where I preach regularly.  If you live in Metro Manila or its suburbs, don’t miss the FEAST—a powerful weekly gathering designed to bless your life.  With inspiring preaching, lively worship, and Sunday Mass.  See you every Sunday, 9am-12noon, at The Arena, Pinaglabanan, San Juan.  For more information, call Tel. No. (632) 725-9999  or email us at support@kerygmafamily.com.
 PS2. I wish to thank all those who have written to me, thanking me for sending them each month the inspiring Kerygma magazine for FREE, plus my Life Dreams Success Journal.  (The Life Dreams Success Journal is a small powerful tool I made that has already helped many people write their dreams, thus helping them fulfil their goals.)  Yes, I give away a FREE all-year subscription of Kerygma magazine plus the Life Dreams Success Journal to all KerygmaFamily members who support the ministry through a regular monthly love offering of at least P100 only or $20.  If you’re not yet a KerygmaFamily member, log onto http://www.kerygmafamily.com/ now and receive Kerygma magazine each month plus the Life Dreams Success Journal for FREE.


PS3. Do you feel like you are at  the crossroads of your life? Are you asking yourself the questions “Is this all there is to life?” “What am I working so hard for?”  “Where have my dreams gone?” Are you in the midst of a midlife crisis – unseeing what lies ahead and not knowing where to land?
Join this 2 day week-end Journey!  Journey to Midlife Retreat  on June 23-24, 2007 At Sacro Costato,  13 Sct Magbanua, Quezon City.  Retreat fee: P1,800. For reservation and details, please contact Cathy at (632)7260267 weekdays 10:00am to 6:00pm.
       

We’re All Pilgrims

We’re All Pilgrims

Marian Pilgrimage Diary

            This is my 15-day Marian Pilgrimage Diary.
            That way, you eavesdrop on my thoughts.
            Through this diary, I’ll take you with me as we zoom all over the planet—visiting China, Germany, Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy.
            This trip is a special for me.  First, because I’m bringing my 2 sons.  Second, because I’m bringing a lovely personal masseuse.  (Oh, she happens to be my wife too.)     This means I will have to squeeze writing diary entries in between carrying my kids and a truckload of luggage.
             When I was single, I used to travel with a tiny hand-carry bag and nothing else.  But in this trip, I drag behind me 4 massive suitcases, a backpack filled with pampers, 1 roller bag filled with toys, 1 duffel bag filled with milk bottles, and 1 computer bag.  Oh, and 2 strollers too. Many times, I feel like I was a walking Christmas tree.
             Yes, marriage is a burden in a literal sense of the word.  But a beautiful burden I would never dream of exchanging for anything else!
In this trip, I also have the great privilege of bringing with me 70 wonderful pilgrims.  We also have a fantastic team to lead this group: Fr. Joseph Skelton as our chaplain, Kerygma Preacher Adrian Panganiban as tour organizer, and Fish editor George Gabriel as our videographer for preacherinbluejeans.com  (Yes, log on there and it might be playing there now!)  My Beaconlight team, Beckie Sanchez and Vita Monforte assists Adrian, so everything is organized well.
            Okay friends, here’s my first entry.  Buckle your seatbelts, enjoy the ride, and be very blessed…
 

Day 1: Interruptions As God’s Special Gift

 Flying From Manila to Guangzhou, China

                  I’ve learned to smile and trust when things don’t go my way.
                  After taking off from Manila, our plane was supposed to pick up passengers in Guangzhou, China.  We were not even supposed to deplanebut just wait for an hour—and off we go to Europe.  But surprise, surprise! We couldn’t land.  The plane circled above the Guangzhou airport for 4 hours!  Many of us were imagining the worst scenarios.  Were we being hijacked?  Was there a bomb on the plane that the airport wasn’t accepting us?
                   Finally, after 4 hours of getting dizzy, the pilot announced that there was so much fog, he couldn’t land.  So we diverted to Hongkong to refuel. After two hours, we were on our way back to Guangzhou again.
                   This time, we landed safely.  We thought it would be a quick landing, some chitchat with the crew, and off we fly again.
No.  Instead, we were asked to step down the plane.
                   When we did, they announced that we were going to stay in China for 12 hours!  Reason: Because the flight crew had maxed out their allowable hours to fly, they now had to rest.
                   It was a huge interruption none of us could afford.
                   You know what?  I thank God I was travelling with 70 pilgrims, not 70 tourists.  If they were 70 tourists, I would have heard 70 grumblers grumbling great grumbles. 
                    But gosh, I didn’t even hear one complaint.
                    Instead, I saw each of them choosing to see the delay as God’s invitation for them to rest, to enjoy, to listen, to pray, to sleep…  We enjoyed the hotel they gave us.        We ate our free buffets.  We gathered to pray and sing together.
                     Friends, all of us experience interruptions in our lives. 
                     And when interruptions come, we have two choices: We can either complain at this terrible intrusion to our schedule or we can see them as a precious gift from God—a surprise so special, it will bless us in a way we can’t understand.
                      When a delay comes into your life, always ask yourself: How can I be blessed by this interruption?
                      Life is too short to complain.
           
PS. I wish to thank all those who have written to me, thanking me for sending them each month the inspiring Kerygma magazine for FREE, plus my Life Dreams Success Journal.  (The Life Dreams Success Journal is a small powerful tool I made that has already helped many people write their dreams, thus helping them fulfil their goals.)  Yes, I give away a FREE all-year subscription of Kerygma magazine plus the Life Dreams Success Journal to all KerygmaFamily members who support the ministry through a regular monthly love offering of at least P100 or $20 only.  If you’re not yet a KerygmaFamily member, log onto http://www.kerygmafamily.com/ now and receive Kerygma magazine each month plus the Life Dreams Success Journal for FREE.
 
PS2. Attention Music Ministry Members.  My friends and Kerygma Preachers Arun Gogna, Alvin Barcelona, and Rissa Singson will be giving a seminar entitled ALL I AM, Workshop for Music Ministers, on May 12, 2007, Saturday, 8am – 5pm.  Designed for singers, dancers and band members, this course offers new perspective on how to animate and minister through music. A day of worship, renewed vision and empowerment, bring your team and be blessed!  Venue: Lay Force, San Carlos Seminary, Guadalupe Makati.  Call now for group discounts.  Only limited slots available.  For reservations and inquiries, contact Noel at (02) 8239546 or text 0915-4493600.
 
PS3: Cancer Survivors Support Group: A support group incorporating psycho-emotional, spiritual approach as well as health and education  to help cancer survivors and their caregivers/ families to cope with the illness. Each session will comprise varied activities from discussions on healthy ilving, group sharing, including guest speakers from the medical profession, and of course prayer.
 
Every 2^nd Saturday, 2-5pm.
Conducted by Light of Jesus Counseling Center.
Venue: The Lighthouse, 60 Chicago St., Cubao
Fee: FREE