Saint Paul in Konya, Turkey

Turkey is a fascinating country. It is a land far different from my own, full of ancient ruins, mosques and veiled women. Traveling there, I marveled at the historical sites. Of special interest to me were the places mentioned in the bible as well as those with a Christian past.

Konya is one of those places. It was called Iconium during St. Paul's time and Saint Paul, together with Barnabas travelled to Iconium during his first missionary journey in about 47-48 AD. During the second missionary journey, Saint Paul and Silas visited Iconium again. They may also have gone there a third time during their third missionary journey in about 52 AD.

At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. Acts 14: 1-5

Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. Acts 14: 21-23

Visiting Konya has made these verses from the Book of Acts more meaningful to me. We traveled to Konya by bus, and it was not a short distance that we traveled to reach there. Touring can be quite tiring even if we are sitting in comfort on an airconditioned bus. Imagine what it was like for Saint Paul and his companions! They were able to reach these far off places without modern transportation and when they got there, they were even in danger of being mistreated. Such was their conviction about the Good News they were sharing that they were willing to go through all these hardships. Reflecting on the journeys these early Christians took for the sake of the gospel strengthens my conviction that the challenges we go through today for the sake of the gospel are worth it. After all, the message of the Good News remains as true today.

St. Paul in Greece

It's been awhile since I've posted something. Blame it on my summer travels and Atcs For All. Making and trading artist trading cards can get very addicting! But that is another story.

This summer, my husband and I visited Greece and Turkey and although we did not take one of those "Follow in the Footsteps of St. Paul" tours, we did get to visit some of the places St. Paul travelled to in his missionary journeys.

First stop was Greece, where we walked to so many historical sites. While in Athens, I came across a thrift shop filled with all sorts the things you find in thrift shops. I looked through the row of books, thinking to myself that maybe I could find a New Testament bible in Greek. It would be all Greek to me, of course, but it seemed like the kind of meaningful "souvenir" I wanted. I didn't find one.

After wandering amidst all the amazing structures in the Acropolis, we walked towards the rock of Areopagos , below the Acropolos. We stopped to look at a plaque mounted on the rock and since it was in Greek, we wondered what it said. Just then, a man holding a book in his hand came up to me and offered the book to me. Suspicious, I asked him what he wanted from me, "Nothing" he replied, "it is a gift", continuing on to say that the book contained what the plaque said. The book contained the passages in the bible about St. Paul in Greece, not only in English, but also in Greek! I had my Greek "New Testament" or at least part of it.

I realized, with awe and delight that this rock was where Saint Paul spoke to the people of Athens in Acts 17, and the plaque embedded in the rock contains his words.

"Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

²⁴"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. ²⁶From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. ²⁷God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

²⁹"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. ³⁰In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

Thousands of years after Saint Paul spoke these words, I marvel that one man's words have reached me from so long ago, from so far away. I marvel that his words are relevant today as they were then. Do we have our own objects of worship? What do we value more than God Himself?

May we continue to "seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being."

Next stop, Turkey...

Easter Blessings

Dying, He destroyed our death. Rising, He restored our life! No greater love is there.

And so, whatever life may bring, we can experience the victory Christ won for us on the cross.

Jesus is Risen! Alleluia!

Spring Cleaning

We just transferred to a new home and with packing up for the move we're also doing a lot of throwing out and cleaning up. Moving house is a good time to decide on what we really want to keep and what we can let go of.

I'm reminded of the ancient Jewish custom of thoroughly cleaning their homes in preparation for the spring-time holiday of Passover. According to Wikipedia, "In remembrance of the Jews' hasty flight from Egypt following their captivity there, during the eight-day holiday there is a strict prohibition against eating anything which may have been leavened. Jews are not only supposed to refrain from leavened foodstuffs (known in Hebrew as חמץ chametz), they are expressly commanded to rid their homes of even small remnants of chametz for the length of the holiday (Exodus 12:15). Therefore, for the past 3,500 years, observant Jews have conducted a thorough "spring cleaning" of the house, followed by a traditional hunt for chametz crumbs by candlelight (called bedikat chametz [Hebrew: בדיקת חמץ]) on the evening before the holiday begins."

Even if we're not Jews, or even if we're not moving house, it's a good idea to have regular spring cleaning, a time of heavy duty cleaning and organizing. Perhaps we will find that there are things we have that we don't really use and which would benefit someone else much more. Or that having less clutter will give us a more peaceful and well functioning home.

The weeks before Easter are also a good time to do some spiritual spring cleaning, to take a look at our lives and allow God to take away the clutter, to leave behind what is of value in the eternal perspective.

This Holy week, why not take hold of a Bible and take to heart these words...

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:22

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

Have a blessed Holy Week!

The Seemingly Illogical Ways of God

Sometimes, or maybe oftentimes, we don't understand God's ways. We question them and say, as Oswald Chambers says in his book "My Utmost for His Highest",
"I am impressed with the wonder of what God says, but He cannot expect me really to live it out in the details of my life!" ... Your ideals are high and they impress us, but in touch with actual things, it cannot be done... "

Chambers says "These misgivings about Jesus start from the amused questions put to us when we talk of our transactions with God - Where are you going to get your money from? How are you going to be looked after? Or they start from ourselves when we tell Jesus that our case is a bit too hard for Him. It is all very well to say "Trust in the Lord," but a man must live, and Jesus has nothing to draw with - nothing whereby to give us these things..." Chambers was reflecting on John 4:11, when the Samaritan woman told Jesus - "Sir...you have nothing to draw with."

These words struck me as I read them because in these times of financial crisis, so many people find themselves anxious about where to get money to pay the bills. And just like the Samaritan woman, many find it hard to believe that God can provide for the practical everyday needs.

But then, if you've tried all the other ways to get out of a crisis, what harm can there be in trying to find out about God's ways? After all, His word in Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." When I read something like this, I want to claim it and I try to find out what God requires of me so that I can follow His ways.

Someone close to me shared about how he used think that paying His taxes fully and giving tithes would definitely mean less money in his pocket. That's logical, isn't it? And then he got convicted about evading taxes and decided to follow God's ways. He paid his taxes and gave his tithes, obeying Malachi 3:10, and perhaps "testing God". It says - "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." To his amazement, his business prospered and although illogical, he he found that instead of having less to spend, he had much more.

God's ways don't always seem logical to us. Like when He says in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure-- pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." Or in Matthew 20: 26-27, "It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave."

However illogical God's ways seem to be, who knows how He will work in our lives when we open ourselves up to Him. I think it's worth a try.

Vigan on My Mind

Last weekend, my daughter was away on a field trip to Vigan, a Unesco World Heritage Site that is well-known for its cobblestone streets, and a unique architecture that fuses Philippine building design and construction with colonial European architecture.

It's a long way off from where we live and it's the first time she's been away with people I don't really know. Time flies with our children. One day they are little kids and the next thing you know, they are all grown up. But I guess, no matter how old my daughter is (she just turned nineteen), a part of me will always think of her as my baby. To keep myself from worrying about her safety, I read Psalm 91 and claim these promises...

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you...

Here are some Vigan inspired ATCs I made using pen and colored pencils. I copied the designs from a newspaper clipping, but I asked my daughter to take lots of pictures in Vigan for more inspiration. I think the details of the houses make for lovely ATCs.

Running the Race

A few days ago, my son told us he was training to run a marathon. It reminded me of the days (more than 25 years ago!) I would get up early Sunday mornings to run with a group of all kinds of people, all of us hoping to run a marathon after training for one whole year. I would also run three more times during the week. If I missed those weekday runs, I wouldn't be able to keep up during the Sunday run.

Anyone who knows me would know that I am a most unlikely marathoner. A marathon is a long-distance foot race (according to Wikipedia, it has an official distance of 42.195 kilometers (26 miles 385 yards). Me? Run 42 kilometers? I can just hear the words, "in your dreams!"

Well, I guess dreaming is a good place to start! I realized, as I joined this group, that for many of us, our dreams about running a marathon were not about winning the race or finishing first. It was simply about finishing. Period. It was about training and persevering to reach that goal. It was about doing it together with other people who had the same goal.

Come marathon day, I was ready to go and determined to finish. Pacing myself, I just kept running (ok, ok, it could have looked like we were walking). There were ups and downs in the road, and, after hours and hours, the most unlikely marathoner crossed the finish line. I did it!

Our life is much like this race. Many of us aren't called to "finish first", to do what other perceive to be big things for God. We aren't called to be popular evangelists or write bestsellers. Many of us are simply called to live our lives as parents, sisters, employees. Simple lives. But I believe that to persevere in living our simple lives in a way that is pleasing to God, to love God and be obedient to His ways is enough. To keep on keeping on.

To run the marathon and finish it, I listened well to my trainer's instructions and followed them. He told us to train by running at least this number of minutes for this number of days a week (it's been so long, I've forgotten the details!). He told us to drink water, to pace ourselves, to carbo load the day before, etc. So I did. And by doing so, I finished the race.

To live a life that is pleasing to God, it is so important to listen well to God's instructions and follow them. The bible is full of His loving instructions and His promises when we obey them. To live my life well, I need to know what God says about the situations I find myself in as a wife, a mother, and whatever my other roles are. He tells me how to love, to forgive, to train up my children. After almost 30 years of striving to be obedient to Him, I fully believe that obedience brings Blessing.

I ran the marathon with my Dad and my sister and brother. The people we trained with became familiar to us and we encouraged one another to keep on. Just like in the marathon, there are ups and downs in life, but, it is easier to live a life pleasing to God when you do it with other people who have the same goal. The world around us tells us different things about how we should live our life. Many times, it's the exact opposite of what the bible says. When we become part of a community, to have brothers and sisters in the Lord to support and encourage us, it is easier to listen to God's words rather than all the other voices around us.

And after all this, however simple and insignificant our lives may seem, I pray we will eventually be able to say, in the words from 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith."

What Do You Have?

Do you have empty cereal boxes, tissue boxes, old playing cards, greeting cards, invitation cards or any similar material? You can use these as a base for your ATCs. Do you have old magazines, colorful junk mail or catalogs? You can use these for collages. Are there crayons, pastels and watercolors somewhere in the house? Or cloth remnants, lace and button? Whatever you have on hand, you can use to start with in creating your own originals.

You can also use 300gm watercolor paper or Bristol Board. And if the cardstock you have is too flimsy, you can glue a few layers together. I have used invitation cards cut to size and coated with gesso or extra Bristol board from my daughter's projects. My sister has also used the more affordable wall putty or ordinary acrylic primer that you buy from the hardware store. There is always something close by that you can use.

In life, we sometimes say we can't do certain things because we don't have enough time, or we don't have enough skill or talent or we don't have enough money. Sometimes we think we can't share or give to those around us because we think we don't have anything to give. But you know? I believe we all have something to give. The question we just need to ask ourselves is "What do I have?" Whatever I have, I can use to start with to create a better world around me.

Matthew 6:35-44 tells the story of how Jesus fed five thousand people.
"When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. There were five thousand men who ate the loaves."

Five loaves and two fish! Whatever we have, we can offer and God can use. What do you have?

My Winning ATC

I've just had another wonderful surprise! I joined the monthly contest in ATCs for All and guess what! I won for the month of February! My entry was a mixed media collage of two trees (The theme was "Trees"). Here's how I made it...

1. First I cut the card to standard ATC size -2.5" x 3.5"

2. Then I gave the card a coat of gesso. This makes for a nice texture when you color it.

3. I gave the card a light wash of acrylic (or was it watercolor?) in varying shades of light blue.

4. Then I made a light pencil sketch of the two tree trunks and branches. I wanted to let the trees form a heart since the month of February is Valentine's month.

5. I painted the trunks and branches with acrylic paints, trying to put darker shades on the right side of the trunk. When painting I like to have different shades, mixing a little bit of different colors so that it's not just one flat trunk with one color.

6. I painted book paper in varying shades of green (again) and cut the paper up in leaf shapes.

7. I pasted the leaves to the branches, making sure that I kept the heart clear of leaves.

8. I used colored pencils for the hills and background. Again, I used different colors. The gesso gives the colored pencil a nice texture. I also gave the edges a darker violet color to sort of frame the card.

9. Almost done, just a few flowers at the base of the trees and two birds in the distance, painted with acrylics. And although it can hardly be seen, a heart carving on the trunk. Inside the heart, it says "ATCs".

10. Then, I pasted a backing on the card with the title of the card "February Trees", my name, signature, and email address and the date.

Trading Cards

It's been a while since I last posted in my blog. After joining ATCs for all and looking through the gallery, I marvelled at the wonderful cards that were up for trading. I found myself offering to trade cards with some very talented artists til I had nothing left to trade. Since they offered to hold the cards I was interested in for me til I had new cards, I found myself having to make more cards to trade out. Having that goal and "deadline" really encouraged me to sit down and create something. I think ATCs are a wonderful way for artists and would be artists to develop their talents and skills. Since it's such a small size, just 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches, you can just leave a card you're not that happy with it and start another one. Or bring along a blank card to draw on while waiting for an appointment. You can even use recycled materials, cardboard boxes or old invitations. Even children can make ATCs! Although I haven't received the cards yet, I'm excited to receive the cards and I look forward to learning techniques from the artists I'm trading with.