Fasting Journal: Day 5: At Home, Happy and Handsome
I went home today.
And I feel tired, happy, and handsome. (That’s spoken in expectant faith.)
I always have this happy exhaustion after giving a non-stop string of talks.
In the past 6 days, I gave a total of 14 talks. And my body is saying, “Okay Bo, turn-off your boosters. Shut-off adrenalin valves. It’s time to relax…”
Gosh, it’s good to be home.
After staying in a sprawling retreat house for a week, it’s good to be back in my tiny home–built on a puny 65 square meter property in a 3rd class subdivision with no running water. Dig under our streets and you’ll discover no pipes. Nada. Zero. Zilch. As though you dug the roads of ancient Babylonia.
Our simple house is so tiny; we only have one room for the kitchen, dining, sala, play area, and “school library and classroom” (we homeschool our kids; for more info, check below).
As I write this piece on our dining table, I see my wife a few feet away tinkering in the kitchen, and I see my two nuclear-charged boys jumping up and down like acrobats on our battered couch. Flips. Forward-rolls. Cartwheels. Summersaults. Quadruple summersaults. And on the floor, I also see their toys scattered like a tornado hit us.
But friends, despite my home’s simplicity and tornado-look, I love this little patch of earth called home.
Why?
Because right now, I hear the greatest music in the universe—the laughter of my kids playing together.
Because a few feet away, a beautiful woman with long hair, wearing sexy shorts and a smile that could send me to the moon, is preparing juice for her crazy husband who has not eaten anything for five days now except juice, juice, and more juice. (By the way, for tonight, I’m taking the pineapple, apple, and ginger concoction I taught you yesterday.)
Because the most important people in the universe lives in this tiny patch of earth.
I’m a preacher. I gave my last talk this afternoon to a happy audience of a hundred people on God’s Love. But tonight, in my home, I continue to preach to a happy audience of three people–my wife and children. Not with eloquent words, but with my feeble attempts to use the language of time, warmth, and love.
I play with the boys.
I listen to my wife.
I hug them all.
In my home, I preach my most important talk of all.
Because at the end of my 7-day fast, I need to ask myself one question: Has my fasting made me a more loving human being?
Abangan…
PS1. You can also catch me and the Kerygma Preachers on ABC Channel 5, Good Friday, April 6, 2007 at 6pm.
PS2. My office staff just started mailing out my newest book, 8 Secrets Of The Truly Rich, to KerygmaFamily members. It’s my Big “Thank You” Gift to those who partner with me in my work for the Lord with at least P300 a month (local) or $20 (international) a month. If you’re NOT yet a member of the KerygmaFamily, you’re missing the mountain load of spiritual nourishment we give away to members for FREE! Monthly Kerygma magazine, daily video talks, daily Bible reflections, and so much more! Click here and join your new spiritual family and support system now!
PS3. More and more people are asking me about homeschooling. Yes, we teach our kids at home. And yes, I started Catholic Filipino Academy, a homeschool center that provides parents who wish to teach their kids at home the training, teacher’s manuals, textbooks, and DepED accreditation for their children. If you want to teach your kids at home, email catholicfilipinoacademy@gmail.com and ask for an article I wrote about homeschooling.
PS4. Do you want a part-time job where you can work from home? WANTED: We need budding school textbook writers. From Kindergarten to Grade 6 subjects. We pay a fixed amount per book project. If you’re interested, email tina@kerygmafamily.com and we’ll interview you to see if there’s a fit in the work to be done.
