ABC STARS Inspires

Dear Reader By James Z. Carpio I may not have all the answers, however, I should like to do my best to write this one as inspiring as possible. You may be wondering why I am writing in letter form. We all have a lot of questions. Everyone. Not even one single person on this planet is spared. I know one fact about you. It is obvious. You like to read. This is not a reading requirement at the University rather this is just leisure reading. You may be curious what is really going on in a writer’s mind. Aside from the standard, I am keen on avoiding portmanteaus, code switching, cliches, err that word necessitates a tilde. Apologies, and enough about me. Did you notice that in your life if you have been given the gift of hearing that you have heard good and not so good things about yourself? Now, if you put them all together you could make a mosaic masterpiece of yourself. Although, the pieces may be sharp, jagged, and broken. So, shatter that mosaic masterpiece because...

photo credit: Lawrence OP Veni Sancte Spiritus! via photopin (license) License: (license)

Realistic Realities: The Descent of the Holy Spirit By: jlzc, May 31, 2020 The end of May in lockdown wear and tear... "How long shall our funds last?" Asked my daughter. "As long as you have your supply of beer?" Deeply concerned that I've no work, no cheer. Child then, you asked: "Isn't God our Father?" So would He abandon us, AB dear? "Yes... no...just being realistic here..." Still quite concerned; my growing teenager. God, our Father is not realistic, You mean? ..."Papa! That's being sarcastic!" Quo vadis? In these quarantine concerns... Fear, sickness, death, uncertainties, and germs... Come, Holy Spirit! In our times of dearth. Renew with Thine Love, the face of the earth!

In March of 2020, I turned in my two expired Identification Cards to Neil Aureus. I finally found the lost I.D. so, instead of one it was plus one. I requested for a new one and told Neil that I would get it on April. However, Covid-19 happened. In April there was a lockdown. Hence, I was not able to write for Bicol Mail. With the laws on cyber crime which includes Fake News apprehension. I opted not to write for the firm then. On May 14th, my I.D. was renewed for 3 years. Words are powerful. And more so, with printed words. Inspirational writing is like walking on eggshells. I have to be nice. And, I mean genuine nice. When bad things happen to me, I take action. And, I know self-defense. This leads to the awakening about not taking offense and forgiveness. I have been researching about those and a Resource stated that why would you be shocked by the evil that is happening in the world when the Bible teaches about them explicitly. Cain killed Abel, his own brother. ...

photo credit: Lawrence OP Christ ascending into heaven via photopin (license) License: (license)

Ascension Press  and  Ascension Presents   in collaboration with  Inspires   give you this riveting magnum opus.‎.. Condensed Reflection by James Z. Carpio The 4 Steps of Lectio Divina 101 1. Read From Mathew 18 "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." That is the snippet. 2. Meditate To me it means about the fragility and innocence of children. I thought about children with autism. I have a nephew who has autism. When I think about him every bit of my problem disappears. 3. Prayer I pray for all those who are sick, me included, for everyone. Especially those who already died from their ailments. May their soul rest in peace. 4.  Contemplation Jesus said those lines. He came into this world as a baby then growing into a child. He is God and yet He was fragile.  Isn't it ironic? Don't you think? May you be insp...

As a model you do a lot of waiting. The industry teaches you the virtue of patience. Then, you realize how special the opportunity really is. Why? Because it is like an international convention. An Olympics of some sort. When you ask fellow models where they come from you become at awe how the world became smaller. In a way, because of airplane travels. Europe mostly, other South East Asian countries, and the U.S.A. and the local models, of course.  It can be interesting, the conversations that I had made while waiting for my own appointed casting call. But, I can not really tell you what we talked about because of privacy matters and confidentiality agreements with company clients. In the final analysis, you are not part of the industry so no matter how hard I try you will never understand our little tribe. Like, I have to most of the time begin or end with a slate. photo credit: GC FOR LV Beta Dourados via photopin (license) License: (license)

A little help from Vietnam By James Z. Carpio There was a news report from years back that a Philippine fishing vessel was in peril out in International waters. Who helped the Filipinos? Well, providentially, there were Vietnamese sailors who took them under their wings and brought them back safely to shore in the Philippines. Our sincerest gratitude indeed. The national government warns that if what happened in the public places wherein safe distancing was violated, people would end up on the streets. Lifeless. Yes, that is possible. It happened in Ecuador. Early on, the high risk of a second wave occurring in a recovered country is quite probable. People must have missed out on the report about what happened in Singapore. Reports now state that Japan, South Korea, and even Germany experienced varying degrees of a second wave. A Japanese health expert warned to much his chagrin that cases spiked a thousand percent in a specific prefecture. Transparency and truthfulness is appreciated ...

Project Ugnayan

Ascension Press  and  Ascension Presents   in collaboration with  Inspires   give you this riveting magnum opus.‎.. Condensed Reflection by James Z. Carpio I do not know how I survived. The things that happened to me is beyond disbelief. I keep telling myself that the way I handled them was for the best. The SM Management, The Robinson's Place Management, The E-Mall Management, and Pag-ibig Management are all forgiven. I am not going to list the details, what's important is it is over. The other things I consulted the Police Force, and, after conducting a thorough investigation they advised me to pursue a lawsuit and I would win the cases hands down. I did not pursue the cases. In Media we are allowed as journalists to name big companies because they can have a comeback after a bad publicity. However for individuals it is upon my decision if I would name them one by one.  Other Columnists would just write an incidence report in their columns and the perso...

If you are reading this right now you are blessed. Why? Because you have eyes and you can read! That is something to be grateful about don't you think? Hope is where the heart is, hope springs eternal, there is nowhere else to go but up, home is where the heart is, hope is alive, hope can move mountains with faith, hope drowns away the sorrows, hope makes everyone trudge on, hope makes us human, hope is our link to God, hope is something that can't be seen but could be felt, hope makes us happy, hope is what we need, hope makes us move forward, hope is free, hope is everywhere....... Never ever lose hope. Our face mask is our cloth of hope. Use it.  Let us all: Hope On Peace Everlasting! May you be inspired by the Holy Spirit and May God Bless us all! photo credit: catherinecronin #hope m... #hope my contribution for FemEdTech Quilt of Care & Justice #femedtechquilt via photopin (license) License: (license)

photo credit: shixart1985 Woman holding a child outdoors with nature green background via photopin (license) License: (license)

Who did that my father asked, as he looked at the garden plant sculpted into a disastrous artwork. My brothers all answered, "James did!" My father gave a hearty laugh. Well, I was inspired by the Edward Scissorshand Movie. So, I landscaped the family garden. At least one plant. I sculpted it in such a way that there was a cave and the rest was like a balloon. I had fun and my father thought it was funny. Back when I was in third year high school, early in the morning, I received a long distance phone call from our eldest and she told me that my father and mother's flight was in mid-morning, when I looked for our second  eldest brother I found out he had other matters to attend to then I said to myself, "Oh, no, who will fetch my parents from the airport," I was too young to drive and I did not even have a learner's permit yet. By now you would have noticed that when I write about my mother, my father is always attached to the story...