Tag: unity

Marriage, THE PRODUCTIVE WIFE

Marriage Tip from Designated Survivor

Phoebe Torres-Lucero

I’ve recently watched the entire first season of Designated Survivor and it’s awesome! I keep hoping for Tom Kirkman to go Jack Bauer mode haha. I monopolized netflix, told Gianna that it’s mommy’s turn to watch. She obliged. She calls it my show and calls it “Mr. President” haha.

Anyway, there is this one episode where Tom Kirkman goes overseas to attend the NATO summit. But because a story comes out in the US regarding the government’s cover up of who really bombed the Capitol, the other world leaders decide to remove his time from the summit agenda. Nearly everybody questions his capability to be the US president, and just when things are looking up for his leadership, the truth that they are still getting to the bottom of, leaks. The pressure and the stress. The not knowing who to trust. His integrity and his love for his country. The politics. The weight on his shoulders as the new president of the United States, after the entire government is erased. Overwhelming.

Tom gets a call from his wife while he is still in Canada. She asks him how he is, and asks how she can help. Tom’s answer:

“Don’t lose faith in me.”

Wow. So simple yet so powerful. When your husband is at his lowest and you have no capacity to help, this is the greatest help you can give. DO NOT LOSE FAITH IN HIM. Believe in him. Believe in his abilities and in his heart. Stand by him through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Win or lose, you are a team. It’s not always going to be bad, and you have to be able to weather the storms together. Remind him that even through failure, you are proud of him for getting up and wanting to be a better man. Commend him for the great things he does and encourage him to keep giving his best.

COMMITMENT. LOYALTY. UNITY. Big words. But we have a bigger God who supplies us the strength, the wisdom, the grace, the joy, the love we need. ❤

 

Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. Ephesians 5:22 MSG

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 3:1-4

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:13-14

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16

 

Family, FEATURED, Just My Thoughts, MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY, Spiritual Family, Uncategorized

SALTIMBANCO and CHURCH!

Phoebe Torres-Lucero

We had the privilege of watching Cirque du Soleil’s show called Saltimbanco at the Arena about two weeks ago. As usual, they were amazing! The live music was awesome too. I have seen two shows of theirs in the past, and I can say that Saltimbanco is so much more entertaining than Alegria, which we saw in Singapore. It doesn’t measure up, however, to their Las Vegas show Mystere.

Saltimbanco stage at the Arena
the stage. no picture-taking allowed during the show.

Danae was most especially entertained and got inspired to be in the circus. Noelle decided to take a nap during a fourth of the show. It was their first time. We certainly oohed, aahed and laughed a lot. Then we got a taste of some flood in the parking lot as the rain poured. We managed to stay dry when the unnamed southwest monsoon hit that week, but my Chucks, socks, feet and jeans weren’t spared that night haha.

Some thoughts on the show. The TRUST they had for each other was extraordinary. They leaped into the air, back flipping and somersaulting, absolutely certain that the spotters would catch them WHENEVER and WHEREVER they landed.

There was a part where a girl was on a swing high up in the air. For the first part of her routine, she had no harness on. The spotters below her had a cushion, ready to catch her if something went wrong. They did not look down, not even for a second. They looked up at the girl until she finished. Their eyes never left her until she put on her harness and started swinging, doing more stunts. The girl was assured of her safety, while the spotters made sure she was safe.

It reminds me so much of God and how we can trust that He is always with us as we move, upholding us and giving us the grace we need to do even the impossible. We can absolutely trust Him to catch us when we make mistakes and fall. He meets us whenever and wherever our own faith fails us. His eyes never, not even for a second, leave us. He promises never to leave nor forsake us. More than doing a job, GOD LOVES and VALUES US. When He makes promises to us, He keeps them.

During one of the leaping routines where they would be catapulted, landing either on the cushion or another person, the final person who was catapulted into the air to somersault did not correctly land on the chair that was meters off the ground. We were all surprised and waited in anticipation as she tried it again. When she did it, everyone clapped and cheered for her.

We all, even the best among us, make MISTAKES. When we do make mistakes, it’s not the end of the world. We can pick ourselves up and try again. I realize that most people (not all) won’t boo you or kick you down more to show you what a failure you are. They actually ROOT for you and even CHEER for you when you overcome! I am grateful for the people around me who see my flaws, weaknesses and failures, yet love me, pray for me, encourage me, and rejoice with me.

The circus is made up of hundreds of people, each with a different role and responsibility. Besides the people in the acts themselves, which are many, there’s the band, the camera men who sit beside the lights way above the stage, the light men, the sound tech, assistants, stage director and probably more that I can’t think of. Not all get the recognition they deserve, but they each do their part and they all work together towards one goal: to give us a great show.

It looks a lot like church. We are made up of many people. Besides the pastors and staff, the unsung heroes are the VICTORY GROUP LEADERS and VOLUNTEERS. Many may not always get the recognition or appreciation that they deserve, but we each do our part and we all work together in UNITY towards one goal: TO HONOR GOD AND MAKE DISCIPLES.

My Kids, MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY, Parenting, YOUTH MINISTRY

A Child’s Heart of Service

Phoebe Torres-Lucero
Danae at Youth Camp, Caliraya

Ever since I became a Christian in 2001, I almost immediately became part of the youth ministry. I attended my first youth camp in my own church Victory Alabang in 2002. I can’t recall anymore if the next one was in 2003 or 2004, but I got married 2004, got pregnant (during which I think I attended another

Noelle at Family Camp, Graceland

youth camp) and gave birth to Danae in 2005. When Danae was 6 months old, she attended her first youth camp with us. Her second was when King was already the youth pastor. Noelle attended her first when she was 4 months old.  The most recent youth camp, Unleashed, was Danae’s 6th and Noelle’s 3rd. This is the first year that King isn’t the youth pastor anymore, and he was invited to speak. Although honestly, I didn’t even really think of that. I just assumed we would be there regardless, haha.

King spoke about unity, morning of the second day. He encouraged the youth to work together, not competing with but complementing one another. He used 1Corinthians 12:12-31, which we also shared with our girls the night before, though I’m pretty sure only Danae was listening haha. We simplified it, saying that our body can’t be all eyes or all feet or all ears. Each part of the body is valuable and has a purpose, just like the people in church. When we asked her what part she thought she had, she said she wants to be a teacher in Kids Church (which I was too, for about 3 years) when she’s older.

After lunch, the RPG-inspired games began. We were told the week before that we were the King and Queen (though we didn’t really dress the part), the girls the princesses. Danae was going to be kidnapped by bandits and would have to be rescued by the guilds (teams). We told Danae this probably two hours before the games started (my bad), although she wasn’t kidnapped until around 3pm.

By around 4pm, Danae and her captors moved near the King and Queen’s station. I was also walking around a bit to take pictures. I sat beside her at one point, seeing that she was already tired of sitting and waiting to be rescued. She told me she was bored and she didn’t want to be kidnapped anymore, but she didn’t make a big deal out of it when I told her she had to stay. I reminded her of the previous night’s Bible story, that this was her part in church at this particular time. Nobody else could be the kidnapped princess. I encouraged her that her part is important and that she is helping the youth out. She was such a sport, a team player! Good thing she got busy playing with the bows and arrows too haha.

When the games were over, their Kuya Danish asked Noelle if he could kidnap her. She said no. When asked why, she said “because I’m still a baby” haha. She cried too when she thought she was going to be “kidnapped” after Danae was.

We’re grateful that we have had the opportunity to expose our daughters to youth camps, and that we had a great opportunity to teach Danae to serve others in this one. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree anyway. King is a man with a humble servant’s heart. She’s already ten times better than me when I was her age. Hopefully she’ll even be ten times better than her dad when she’s at his.

Just My Thoughts, Marriage, YOUTH MINISTRY

NO SECRETS!

Phoebe Torres-Lucero

IF YOU’RE ENGAGED, getting ready for this lifetime commitment with your fiance, with the wedding date set, knowing full well that God has brought the two of you together, here’s a tip for you that will save you a lot of heartache. NO SECRETS! If you have a dark or even not-so-dark past, you owe it to your fiance to tell them the truth. Why? Why do you have to dig up the past and share it? You’ve gotten over it, already healed from it. So why is it necessary? Exactly. You’re over it and are healed, so why not? Unless….. you’re still hiding something, or still unconsciously living in the past. Think about it. Yes it’s hard to come clean in the beginning and feelings may get hurt, but it’s the best way to let your future spouse know who you were and how far you’ve come (especially in cases like mine and King’s — engaged 6 months after meeting — click here for full story), and it’s the best way to test your own feelings, your character, and YOUR RELATIONSHIP as well.

Once your relationship stands the TEST OF REALITY, you’ll see that it’s the best way to prepare for your marriage. You are giving each other the opportunity to forgive one another, because like I said feelings may get hurt, depending on what happened in yours or your fiance’s past. You are creating a clean slate between the two of you. You are creating a CULTURE OF LOVE, honesty, trust, open communication, forgiveness, acceptance, humility, security/confidence, peace, unity — basics and essentials in a great marriage — as you enter into yours. You are laying down the groundwork.

I admit, I am no expert since I have been only married to King for a mere 6 years and 10 months, but this is something I personally felt I had to do before we got hitched. I had to swallow my pride and tell King the truth about my past. Because I have been completely transparent to him, there is none of the drama! No surprises, except the good kind. No reliving of the past, pointing fingers, counting of wrongs, or bitterness and resentment towards each other. Our marriage is not perfect, and like everyone else’s  it takes work and a whole lot of learning, but I believe in that aspect, we did good.

Having said that, I have an even GREATER TIP FOR YOUTH AND SINGLES. While you’re still young and single, or maybe even old(er) and single, BE WISE! Do things that need not be hidden. Have relationships that you need not be ashamed of in the eyes of men and in the eyes of God. Live a life that need not be kept secret. Imagine that you don’t have to come clean to your future spouse because you have NO SECRETS! The freedom, the joy! For both you and your fiance! It’s a great honor to God, a great gift to your future spouse, and the best gift to yourself. 🙂