Calm words can really pacify a bad situation

Commuting everyday is no big deal for the likes of me. For someone who doesn't own a car, much less know how to drive, this is the way to get around. I've seen people slug it out in their seats just because its so cramped that sometimes you accidentally or at times intentionally push your seatmate against the bus walls just to get a seat.
Buses here or at least the ones they call "japayuki bus" (discarded buses from japan from decades long past), are modified to have a row of 3 seaters on the drivers side and 2 seaters on the other. If you tried commuting on these japayuki buses, you will notice how notoriously small the spaces are in between seats, not only that, the 3 seater?....well, its like a 2 seater with three headrests. the one seated along the aisle has only a portion of his butt on the seat. Talk about paying in full when barely half of your ass is even seated.
Anyway, so the same scene plays on every time I take the bus. When I travel alone, I usually take the 2 seaters and sit window side. This morning, I decided to sit at the 3 seaters just because the bus is almost full. Somehow, i found myself in the middle of the 3 seater. On my left was a lady, and a guy sat at my right side. I felt like the tuna in a tuna sandwich. I thought to myself, "it coudln't get any worse that this." To my surprise, the guy started pushing me and so, to avoid any unnecessary pain, i moved a bit closer to the lady, who was already pinned to the wall. I thought the worse has passed, but the guy kept pushing every few seconds. I tried to ignore him, but I noticed the lady to me left was already agitated. I started getting a bit agitated as well. I was already considering the possibility of poking the guy's eyes out with my thumb. I was sizing him up and he was larger than me. I tried going through the possible scenarios if ever things get heated up.
I remember Joy telling me to calm down. I guess this means her constant reminders are getting through. I decided then to take a few deep breaths to calm myself down and to clear my mind. I knew it was unwise to push back, but I didn't want the lady to my left to get angry either. I knew I had to tell the guy to stop pushing somehow. I knew an apologetic approach was one way to pacify any anger he had.
With my butt starting to get numb and my hands starting to tire because of my awkward position, I calmly told him, "Pasensiya ka na sir. Masikip po talaga ang upuan natin e." Somehow, he calmed down and stopped pushing at me. "Whew! what a relief." But then the lady on my left told the guy, "kung ayaw mo.....sumakay ka sa ibang bus." In my mind I said, "Holy crap lady! Why the hell did you say that? I already neutralized the situation." Fortunately, the guy didn't hear her.
After that, the ride got a bit better despite still feeling like a tuna in a sandwich. As the bus unloaded passengers at the first stop, things got more comfortable as the guy was able to find another seat. I told the lady, "sorry about that.", but she pretended not to hear me. I felt much better when I got off the bus and started my walk to my office.
As I was walking, I had a chance to reflect at what just transpired in the bus. I was glad things turned out ok. I uttered a short sigh of relief and thanked God.
I didn't have to poke someones eyes out afterall.

Suicidal Tendencies

Let me share to you an article by Pastor Doug Bachelor regarding suicide or self destruction. I found this on page 9 of "Amazing Facts Inside Report: Trees of Life and Death" Aug, 2000. The section is entitled Bible Answers

In Matthew 4:6, did Satan tempt Christ to commit suicide?

The verse reads,“And [the devil] saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is

written,He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest

at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:6).

The three temptations Jesus faced encompass every temptation that any of us face. We find in 1 John 2:16 that there are three basic temptations: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. Eve and Adam fell in those three areas; Christ overcame in those same three areas. We’re all tempted by those three things.

The devil tempts each of us with self-destruction, which is the temptation described in Matthew 4:6. Before I was a Christian, I toyed with suicide quite a bit. Without God, life has no purpose. Suicide, for the non-Christian, is logical thinking. If there’s no God, no purpose, no eternity, and if people are unhappy most of the time, then what’s the sense in living?

The Christian, on the other hand, realizes that suicide does not usher anyone into a better dimension, but instead permanently seals any bad circumstances.

If you’re struggling, suicide doesn’t make it better. Suicide seals it forever. There’s no reversing those bad circumstances.

Generally speaking, suicide is the last resort of a person who is in a faithless and hopeless condition. When such a person kills himself, all he has to look forward to is the resurrection of the damned. His next conscious thought is not a better one, but a worse one. The biggest lie of all is that suicide is going to be an escape. The Bible says sin is a transgression of God’s law, and one of those commandments says, “Thou shalt not kill [murder]” (Exodus20:13).  That would include killing yourself.

Having said this, let me hasten to add that we must be careful not to automatically assume that all persons who have committed suicide will be lost. We may be surprised to find some in the kingdom who ended their own lives when they were not in their right minds due to unusual circumstances such as mental illness, chemical imbalance, or excruciating physical pain. We can trust God, who looks on the heart, to judge fairly in these cases.

Our lives are a sacred gift from God. The devil is using a lot of methods today to tempt people to selfdestruction. Sometimes people commit suicide quickly; some do it by degrees through drugs, selfabuse, or cigarettes.

As long as you’re a Christian, you’ve got hope—of new life, a new body, and eternal life. Just read your Bible and keep claiming God’s promises. He’ll get you through it.

Malunggay: The tree of life....almost

I was a bit confused last Sabbath about the Malunggay tree being the Horseradish vegetable. I tried researching and apparently, Horseradish is a different plant. It seems my hunch wash right afterall...there is no way that our beloved malunggay is the horseradish. I tried researching some more and apparently, I was also wrong. The malungay that grows almost everywhere in this country of ours, is in fact called the horseradish tree. It could be used as a substitute for horseradish and therefore can be used to make wasabi and kim chi. I also found out a few interesting things about this plant.
1. It can grow almost anywhere, except in freezing lands.
2. It needs little maintenance since it loves the sun and warm weather.
3. All parts of the plant can be used in some way, from food to textile dyes and even poison.
4. Its nutritional value is so high [leaves] that it is one of the answers to malnutrition in third world countries.
5. Its leaves don't lose its nutrients even of dried and ground to powder.
6. Its seeds can be roasted like nuts and is believed to be a virility drug.
7. The plant can be used in water filtration and is a cheap alternative for mechanical filtration.
That's not all, in some countries its used to feed livestock. Personally, I'd rather eat the plant myself than feed it to livestock. In the tagalog region, only the leaves are known to be edible, in the ilocano region however, even the fruit is eaten. The fruit is usually peeled, cut to 3 inch sticks, and cooked in dinengdeng with other vegetables. The leaves are boiled and eaten as a salad in the morning.
After I found out that you can grind the dried leaves to powder, I realized it can be stored indefinitely as survival food. Just add boiling water and you have a soup. Nice huh?
If it wasn't for the Varona's, I would never have known that malunggay, a commonly ignored vegetable tree, could be the answer to our health problems. Mabuhay ang Malunggay!