The Strange Flagman

(Written article by Nelly Favis Villafuerte published in old newspaper that I had unintentionally read early this morning. Because last night I was crying and praying to God that He may give me the courage and strength to accept what will happen when October ends. I know God has a purpose and reason why I found this piece. I believed it was God's way of telling me that in His Mighty Hands I am always safe and He has a better plan for me because He's in control of everything.)

So often said that God is neither early nor late. He's exactly on time! Yes, God's timing in our lives is a mystery that we cannot fully understand no matter how we try. Isaiah 55:8-9 of the Holy Bible says: "For My (God) thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

Many times in our lives, we ask our Lord God:  "Why O Lord are you allowing this and that to happen in our lives? You let us down, Lord. You disappoint us." When we are in this situation, our faith in our Almighty God wavers. Our faith dwindles. We don't like God's direction, so we seek our own alternative. We cease to believe that Biblical promise of our Lord God that "I will never leave you. I will never forsake you." In short, we ignore Proverbs 3:5 that says: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." We forget that our Lord God is in control.


Many of us who choose to seek our own alternative when our faith in our Lord God dwindles - find out that after we have played out all our alternatives and options, we become more helpless. And during this crisis in our life, we come to realize that there is nothing more we can do except to trust our Almighty God. We come to realize and admit that there are beyond our scope and power to fix. We come to realized that in hopeless situations in our life, we can find comfort and peace of mind in the words of Psalm 46:10 that says: "Be still, and know that I am God xxx." Be still simply means to relax and to loosen our tension. Yes, let us just lift our problems up and let God be God. As the Holy Bible says: "The eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy." Let us not forget that small and big problems have one common successful solution. And that is simply to trust in God. We can never out plan, out talk, out solve, out think and out do our omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God. Our human abilities are limited. God's capabilities are limitless, absolute, matchless and endless. Clearly capsulized in the words of the Holy Bible that "nothing is impossible with God."


If we spend time to inventory the miracles that happen in our lives - we will give praise to God. We will realize that our Lord God who loves us, who protects us, and who provides for us is there when we need Him - at the right time. Indeed, our life will definitely be less complicated if we just trust our Lord God in everything. And to realize too that God is also in control of everything. Unfortunately, the vision of many of us as to the role of our Lord God in our life is blurred. Many of us want to do things our own way ignoring God's promises and warnings in the Holy Bible. Forgetting that "the Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. (Psalm 145:18)


Let me share to you a story that illustrates God's protection for His people. This is a story from a book by Strand.

"The crack British express train raced through the night, its powerful head lamp spearing the darkness ahead. This was special run because it was carrying Queen Victoria and her attendants.

"Suddenly... the engineer saw a startling sight! Revealed in the powerful beam of the engine's headlights was a weird figure loosely wrapped in a black coat that was flapping in the breeze, standing on the middle of the train tracks, waving its arms, a signal stop! The engineer immediately grabbed for the brakes and brought the train to a screeching, grinding, sparks-flying halt!

"Then the engineer, his assistant, the coal tender, and a couple of conductors climbed down to see what had stopped them. They looked, but they could find no trace of the strange figure. But on a hunch, the engineer walked a few yards further down the tracks. Instantly he stopped and stared into the fog in horror! The rain storm, which passed through the area earlier in the evening, had caused the bridge to wash out in the middle span and it had toppled into the storm-swollen stream! If he had not paid attention to the ghostly, weird figure, the train would have plunged into the overflowing stream...with, how many lives lost or bodies mangled, who knows? The engineer was so overcome with the emotion of the near- miss that he sat down on the tracks for a few moments before making his way back to the idling steam engine.

"Word was wired help. And while the bridge and tracks were being repaired, the crew again made a more intensive search for the strange flagman, unsuccessfully. But it wasn't until they got to London that the mystery was solved."

"At the base of the steam engine's head lamp, the engineer discovered a huge dead moth. He looked at it a few moments... then, on impulse, wet its wings and pasted it to the glass of the head lamp."

"Climbing back into the cab.. he switched on the lamp and saw the "flagman" in the beam. He knew the answer now, the moth had flown into the beam mere seconds before the train was due to reach the washed-out bridge. In the fog it had appeared to be phantom figure, a flagon waving its arms signaling the train to stop!"

"Later when Queen Victoria was told of the strange happenings she said, "I'm sure it was no accident. It was God's way of protecting us."

This story of the strange flagman illustrates clearly God's intervention in the lives of people to showcase His care, compassion and concern for us. A touch of His love. A touch of His providence. Hopefully, this story will increase our faith and trust in our Lord God. Faith is believing and not waivering at the promises of God. Faith is being fully convinced without any doubt that what God has promised in the Holy Bible He is able to perform. Let us remember that faith honors God and God honors faith.

I Let GOD do HIS Will

I opened my yahoomail and I saw him online. I sent a letter to him I've prepared yesterday. And then I sent also a chat message to him saying, “If you wish to talk to me, you can contact me on my mobile phone number I’ve given you. I will wait until end of October for you to communicate with me or answer my messages. If I got no answer after that month, it means time to say goodbye. Thank you so much for everything. Whatever happens, always remember that I did love you.”

I waited for a second, a minute, and an hour but sadly I got no response even just a simple “hi” or how are you?” With that I couldn’t feel any or just a little hope that I could possibly hold on to the love we once had. But still I’m willing to wait until October ends to be sure of the final decision I should make. I need to be strong for whatever it may bring to me. At least I had given him a chance, told him what I wanted to say and express my feelings, and did what I know is right so that I couldn’t have any regrets that will haunt me forever if I never did what I wanted to do.

While waiting, I let God do His will for me because I have strong faith that He’s the only One who knows what's the best for me. I will open my eyes to the brighter future ahead of me that God planned for me. Maybe now I may not understand and know exactly His will but I know time will come everything will fall into each good place in its due time. Because I believe He is the Author of Time and He will grant my heart’s desire at the right time. He’s never too early nor a second too late. He always delivers right on the dot because He is PERFECT.

Excerpt from my facebook account - A message from God

On this day of your life, we believe God wants you to know ... that humans learn only by trial and error, and that includes you.

You've got to live life, not think about it. Step into the midst of things, try and fail and learn and stand up again. The question is not whether you will or will not make mistakes - you will. The question is do you want to learn and grow, or do you want to shrink back and be stuck? Take that step you've been avoiding. You can succeed, or you can get feedback that it didn't work, but in either case you are sure to feel alive.

Thank you so much Lord for the inspiring words.

How stupid I am!

I feel so stupid and sad at this point of time. I want to scream, I want to shout, I want to cry. I am stupid enough to believe in you, trust you and love you the way it goes. It makes me crazy thinking why it happened to me. I try to ignore the pain that tries to engulf me but in every turn of my head it reminds me of the heartbreak and betrayal you brought me. How can I move on when I'm still holding on the belief that we are meant to be? Sometimes I feel I want to cry, to pour my emotions but I find myself staring at blankness. Do I need to be tipsy to be able to release all my negative emotions? I don't want this.

Pain, emptiness, betrayal, heartbreak, anger, revenge.... These are the mixed feelings that overwhelmed me right now. It's because of my stupidity, of not being cautious, of trusting someone I've never yet meet in person. Is this normal to feel this way? But do I have to blame myself for this? I am only human, capable of making mistakes.

natatakot ako!

Ngaung araw na to, Sept. 18, 2009 ang araw ng pagdating nya dito sa Pilipinas galing Hongkong sakay ng Cathay Pacific CX903. Ang oras ng arrival nya sa NAIA ay 6:30pm at bka mga 8:00pm na sya makakalabas ng airport.

Natatakot ako na if until sunday hindi pa rin sya nagpaparamdam sa akin. May usapan kmi dati na gagawin sa araw ng sat at sun. Di ko ngaun alam kung matutuloy un.

Natatakot ako na tanggapin na matatapos ang relasyon namin ng ganito lang. Ok na sa akin na di matuloy ang pamamasyal namin. Ang gusto ko lang, magkita kmi at magkausap man lang khit sa huling sandali man lang kung un n tlaga ang patutunguhan.

Ngaun di tlga ako mapakali. Di ko alam kung anong gagawin ko.

Sana po Lord bigyan mo ako ng lakas ng loob sa panibagong pagsubok na ito ng buhay ko. Pagod na pagod na rin po sa kaiiyak.

Inspiring Story for RR

Many of you have prayed all year for God to take away the miscarriage and infertility that has troubled you and give you your own child. Low sperm production problems has troubled you and stopped you from having your own child. You have done all you know to do in the physical yet no answer. It looks like God has forsaken you. It looks like heaven has become brass in your case. In times like these what can I do? You may ask?

Today I want us to visit the Bible and see someone who faced the problem of unanswered prayer and how she finally overcame it.

In the book of 1 Samue1- 1:11, I found an unanswered prayer. A woman named Hannah was offering this prayer. It becomes obvious upon close observation that she had been praying this prayer for a long time. If you will notice, her prayer is not unscriptural It is simply unanswered. All she wants is a child. However, no child is born. Day and night she cried out to God to bless her with her own child.

The Bible tells us that Hannah is a faithful child of the Most High God. She and her husband go to Shiloh and worship God each time there is a feast. During those pilgrimages they always make the proper sacrifices and give generously to the work of the Lord in Shiloh.

Since we know that Hannah is a faithful worshiper of Almighty God, it is only reasonable to believe she is also a woman of prayer. Because of her great desire to have a son, we know she is constantly praying to conceive. No doubt she rises early every morning with this special prayer request, "Oh, God, give me a Son!"

Like so many out there she keeps at it, Lord, take away this miscarriage, take away this infertility from my life! Visit my womb with a child. Surely she continues to call out to the Lord Almighty every single day yet nothing seemed to be happening.

Everyone in the house knows her prayer by heart. I am sure she has asked all her family and neighbors again and again to agree with her that she will overcome infertility. All the angels of heaven know her desire. To put it bluntly, everyone in heaven and earth seems to have heard her prayer - that is, everyone except God. Here we see the most heart-breaking kind of prayer. It is an unanswered prayer!

The Bible tells us that sorrow over her unanswered petition finally causes her to stop eating, "In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD".

At this point she makes a radical change in the way she prays. Driven by desperation, she makes one last, violent attempt to move God's hand. Thank God, she has the sense to throw tradition to the wind and boldly take hold of that which is rightfully hers! Child of God, don't be turned off by the thought of taking violent action in prayer, for the violent leap of faith almost always brings deliverance, especially when your heaven has turned to brass.

We can see the desperation in Hannah's heart in the unusual way she forms her prayer. Her approach to God totally disregards tradition. The words she speaks can be described only as spiritual violence. It did not matter to her any more what anybody had to say.

Hannah's new way of praying swiftly moves God's mighty hand to her point of need. The Bible tells us that within hours of praying, she becomes pregnant. Take a moment, and read her most unusual prayer.

Hannah's Prayer:

"she made a vow, saying, O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head,1 Samuel 1:11.

In her prayer she openly accuses God of forgetting her. She dares to bargain with Him for an answer. She talks to God the way a child will talk to a father. She talks to God like one who has a relationship with Him. She knows God's Word does tell us He chooses to be reminded of his word. For the Bible says in, Isaiah 49:14-16.

"But Zion said, The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me. Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me".

I hope you caught the significance of what you just read? The Bible says your name is tattooed on the palm of God's hand. He has placed it there as a reminder so that He won't forget you. Furthermore, He plainly asks you to remind Him of his word. God wants us to remind Him of our needs, our wants and our desires.

Hannah Confronts God

Be assured that Hannah's new-found way of prayer does not contradict God's Word. She simply expresses her true feelings about her situation and how she feels forgotten by God. She literally storms heaven for an answer. She demands an answer from her God, and she gets one.

She Bargains With God

If you carefully study the next part of her prayer, you will see that she actually bargains with God for an answer.

Hannah's Prayer:

"she made a vow, saying, O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head,1 Samuel 1:11. She gives her unborn child as a gift to God in faith.

1 Samuel 1:11

Please make a mental note of the extreme value of her gift. It is very precious, for it will be her first-born son. Don't let the thought of mixing your giving and praying together disturb you. It is not unscriptural to strengthen prayer by adding something to it. Many times I always encourage people to strengthen their prayers with their giving. Sow your seed into a good ground. If you are believing God for a child sow into a ministry that God is using in the earth for such cause. Bless the orphans and give specifically by faith towards your hearts desire. Hannah did it and it moved Gods hand.

Fasting Added to Prayer

Once the Lord Jesus himself instructed his disciples to add something to one of their unanswered prayers. If you remember, He told them to add fasting when prayer alone had failed. "And he said unto them, this kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting". Mark 9:29.

This is what Hannah did -she added giving to her prayers. You too can do the same. Note how swiftly God's hand moves when Hannah boldly adds giving to her prayer! Notice carefully the decisive steps that bring her the answer.

• First, she makes a vow (a strong promise)
• Second, she asks that she be no longer forgotten
• Third, she adds sacrificial giving to her prayers

Let's look at her prayer one more time. I want you to have no doubt about what I am saying:

"she made a vow, saying, O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head,1 Samuel 1:11.

God remembers her, "Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her, 1 Samuel 1:19.

There you have it in black and white! God states that Hannah's new line of prayer reminded Him of her need. I want you to notice further how quickly her answer comes. As Soon as she returns home she conceives.

While Hannah's prayer may disturb some it is evident that it pleased God. Notice that in just a few days years of unanswered prayer have ended. The miracle does not stop there.

The Bible says that after Hannah gave Samuel to the Lord, s work the Lord visited Hannah in a second pregnancy "the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD" I Samuel 2:21.

Chance! Luck! I Think Not!

Some will say that what you have just read is nothing more than a coincidence. However this same kind of prayer is repeated throughout the pages of the Bible. It has worked in my life again and again. I also know by faith that if you will do the same it will work for you too.

If you feel the least bit uncomfortable with the things you have just read, I encourage you to remember the following words of God from the Bible, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts, Isaiah 55:8-9.

Remember, God's ways and thoughts are different from yours. Isn't it amazing that Hannah, a simple housewife, knew more about moving God's hand than most people do theses days?

God is no respecter of person but will surely honour your faith if you give it to him, like Hannah did. Praise the Lord!

Prayer: I will sing to the Lord a new song. For the Lord is good. Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name. I proclaim his salvation day after day. I declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. My God is good and his mercy endures for ever. Great is my Lord and most worthy of praise. He is to be feared above all gods. I bless you Lord. I give you glory Lord.

The Lord God of Heaven you answered Hannah. You are my Father too. I know you will do the same in my life. I want to make a deal with you Lord. Hannah made a deal with you and you moved in her life. Lord I am making this vow before you today. (Make your vows only if you mean to keep it-now make that exchange with God). Lord remember me like you did Hannah and open my womb now in Jesus name. Thank you Lord for hearing me and doing it in my life too in Jesus name. From today I call myself a happy mother of children in Jesus name. Amen.

God's Way is Best:

One day I asked God for a bunch of beautiful flowers but, instead He gave me a cactus with thorns. Later, I asked Him to give me butterflies but, instead He gave me worms. I was disappointed and I wept. But, few days after, I noticed that the cactus bloomed with beautiful flowers, and the worms soon became butterflies.

God wants us to wait for the right time, for He knows all the best that He can give!

For my BFF Aieen

For my friend RR

Friend, thank you so much for always being there. I may not say it often but I’m truly grateful to God for having you in my life. It really unexplainable how I am confident and at ease in telling you how I feel, who I am, and how I’m scared of anything. We can’t deny that we are just starting the seed of friendship but I believe it’s a friendship that will bloom and bear fruit of happiness and goodness for a lifetime. Maybe it is God’s way of telling me that you’re such a precious gift from Above that I should be thankful of.

I could say that your words of wisdom, encouragement, hope, and inspiration helped me a lot to go through with the heartaches, confusion, burden and pain I am experiencing right now. Cause deep inside I am so inspired by your words that it gave me hope, courage and belief that life is beautiful. To tell you honestly, one of the weapons I have in struggling life’s difficulties ever since is the words of encouragement, inspiration, faith and hope coming from the people who believe I can do it. That’s the only way I feel I am strong enough to keep going and moving on with my life.

And for this sad moment of my life and you’re always there, willing to lend a helping hand, ready to give a comforting hug, wiling to wipe my tears and ready to listen tenderly, I owe you a lot. Thank you so much, friend. Love you, my friend. You will always be in my heart and be remembered forever.

Sana di ka magsasawang makinig at magbigay sa akin ng lakas ng loob na makakaya ko to. Pasensya na din at naiistorbo na kita sa kakulitan ko na para na akong sirang plaka na paulit ulit na lang. Tanging un na lang ang alam kong paraan para kahit papano maibsan ang sakit na nararamdaman ko ngaun.

How do I move on without real closure?

I’ve told myself and my friends told me, MOVE ON. So easy to say but too hard to do it, because it drives me crazy thinking and wondering what went wrong. I want a CLOSURE. Maybe I could have endured the pain easier if he just told me we were over, the end. But no. Nothing. Nothing. NOTHING.

Unanswered Questions

Lord, I felt frustrated today. There are still unanswered questions in my mind. I only asked the things that bothered me. It doesn't mean that I don't believe in him and doesn't mean that I believe on what I've found. All I wanted is the truth so that I could have peace of mind. But is it mean that wanting to know the truth means gaining the pain that I have now? What if I didn’t ask him about the stupid thing, did it result to a better relationship? Is it really a great mistake what I’ve done that he didn’t accept my sincerest apology? Did it really offend him that he left me with nothing but confusion? I should not have done this, but I think it's unfair. Now I don’t know what to do. Do I have to keep going and hoping that everything will be okay? Or better yet accept and forget it to ease the pain? I can’t deny the hurt that embodied me. I’m tired of crying and fighting the losing battle inside me.  

Do I need to regret what I’ve done? Do I have to accuse myself that I’m terribly wrong? I’m tired of thinking what if and why it happened? Is this happened for a reason? Then what is the reason? Why it happened now? Now that I love him so much, that we had so many dreams together, that we are planning to build a home together, and then suddenly it will stop with just one stupid question. I can't keep going through each day pretending everything is wonderful, when inside I am crumbling and breaking.   

Lord, show me my path and help me walk along it. I need You to be my angel, my protector, my guardian, my friend and my shield. Show me the way I should go and give me the courage to accept the things I need to accept. Lord, please take me in your arms and heal me from the inside to the outside. Lord I am calling out to you because I can no longer rely on my own strength. I am at my breaking point. I am trying, but I just don’t feel better inside. I am aching desperately for you Lord. Lord, lead me to the paths that will give me answers, hope and belief that it will get better. I'm scared of the answers Lord but please give me the courage to find it. Lord, please help me let go of my fears so that I can find the peace inside me. You are the only one that can help me Lord. Please Lord, I need you.

Take a break and have fun…

If we are really busy with our daily activities we don’t easily notice the fast approaching of the days gone by.

Stepping away from work in small chunks of time will help in releasing mental pressures. It will allow me to a healing mental break and serves as reward for better feeling of myself. It will also create happier outlook in life. To make it possible…travel is my choice.

I visited Aklan, my hometown, to bond with my family and friends. I spent special moments with them to attain strong and healthy relationship. Also I got the opportunity to explore some of the tourist destinations of my hometown.

I attended the Ibajay Ati-Atihan Town Fiesta 2009 wherein I was fascinated with the floats of different barangay. 

I went to Boracay to witness once again the white beach, sand castles, events, night life that described today’s Bora.

Also, I visited the 2.7 hectares small paradise in New Washington, Aklan called Sampaguita Gardens. Sampaguita Gardens is owned by Precious Moments creator Sam Butcher. The Gardens is a resort, amusement park, and convention center housed under one mansion. It has Circus Rides, Spa, Swimming pool, Gym facilities, a 43 ft. Aquarium, Jojo’s Christmas Cottage which sells Precious Moments collectibles, a Butterfly Farm and a Precious Moments museum.

If you want to know more about this small but beautiful paradise in Aklan you may visit their website at www.sampaguitagardens.com to see and believe what I’ve said.

By September my travel schedule will be in Daraga, Albay to attend my bestfriend’s wedding. And hopefully in October we are planning to go to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Still I need a confirmation for those events… for a while… I have to do my daily routines.

Aftermath of a Broken Family

Some says: “it depends on how a member reacts.” Yes, it is true. Like me, I am a product of a broken family. No one wants to be on that situation because of all the pain and struggles of life you may be encountered. It was really a devastating experience. I’m happy for knowing some people reacted positively but lonely when some did the other way around.

I’m proud to say that I have reacted positively. Though a lot of pain I have experienced it did not bothered and stopped me of dreaming that someday I will succeed. And I was grateful to God for guiding and showing me that life is beautiful and full of surprises.

It was not simple at first to accept that I am one. It adds to my pain when I knew that I am an illegitimate child. I cried for knowing the truth, but will it be changed? So I wiped my tears and decided to go on with my life. There are times when I want to give up because of so many trials I’ve been through…so many things, different situations, different difficulties and different aspects of life. But God is really good.

I am being more eager to surpass all hindrances and taste the sweetness of success. I studied well, learned many things from four sides of the classroom. I have met many kinds of people whom I gained some beautiful and inspiring stories that molded me to be an optimistic person. Though there are times when I want to give it up but still I moved on. I worked hard, prayed for guidance and asked for His abiding help to strengthen me. I learned to let go of the things which are not meant for me. Though it hurts, it paid off whenever good things happened. Since then, I believed “everything happens for a reason.”

I still recall the time when I was still a working student. A lot of sacrifices and hard work I’ve exerted in finishing my college degree. There are ocean sized lessons in life I have learned and instilled in my mind. I learned to be thrifty so that I can be able to sustain my other needs. I learned to manage my time and prioritize things to meet deadlines. I learned to appreciate everything in life. I learned how not to take the people I love for granted. I learned to be thankful for everything that happens, be it good or bad. I learned to love and be loved in return. I learned to sacrifice my love for someone special in behalf of my dreams for my family. I learned to face the terrible moment when I lose someone I dearly love and letting him go. I learned to accept whatever outcome in every decision I made. I learned to be patient in dealing with other people. I learned to accept that my life is different from my other friends. I learned to surrender my ego just to have a smooth relationship with others. I learned to let go of my pride just to gratify other people because they wanted it to be. I learned to accept mistake of other people though it shouldn’t be. I learned to live with other people far from my family. I learned to accept that it is my life – full of ups and downs. And at the end of the dark tunnel, I found the light leading to what good life could offer. I can’t find words to explain how I felt when my graduation came. I am very proud of holding the price of my hard work and sacrifices – my diploma.

Looking back, I could say that I am so blessed for where I am right now. I have a stable job in one of the prestigious company of my country. I enjoyed life with my work, acquainted with different personality and dealt with different work environment. Still, unexpected trials come but I am strong enough to face whatever it is. And most importantly, God is always there, perfectly on time in pouring me His undying love and overflowing graces.