In grade school, I used to be deathly afraid when my parents would pick me up from school. For some reason I couldn’t understand, I was ashamed of them. I didn’t want my friends to see me with them. One funny result of this was when people would call me at home (yup, we used the landline to chat then) and look for “Peter,” the people at home thought they were calling the wrong number. You see, at home I was called “Pitpol” or “Popo.” I was deathly ashamed of these nicknames. It sounds funny in retrospect, but perhaps the funnier thing is, it turns out I wasn’t the only one who was like this! Turns out a lot of people hide their "home" names, in an effort to separate family life from … [Read more...]

It is a bit odd that I write this now, when my prayer time has been a bit inconsistent. Perhaps the silver lining is that at this moment, I can better explain how much life just is much better when I pray consistently. At my best, I pray in the morning. (praying early in the morning is just refreshingly different) I grab my Bible and I proceed to my designated sacred space. I set the phone timer for 30 minutes. I usually listen to a praise song first and then read the Gospel reading for the day. Then I close my eyes and try to silence myself. God is in the stillness, after all. I then offer up those 30 minutes to my God. In silence. Listening. Conversing. Sometimes, God reveals … [Read more...]