What is Uglification?

Uglify. It's the opposite of beautify.

People may try to get silly and do wacky poses and facial expressions from time to time but have you met someone who wants to uglify him or herself - on purpose - everyday?

Uglification is the process of uglifying, without the intent to uglify.

Beauty is from God. Regardless of what we believe in, God created you and I in His image; He created us, male and female. (Genesis 1:27) 

"A pretty face is nothing if you have an ugly heart." Anonymous

One of the issues that uglify the human heart is pride. The tempter appealed to pride and caused Adam and Eve to mar the beauty of God's creation for all generations to come. These days, pride continues to blame Adam and Eve and refuses to change. Pride distorts God's design.

The process of uglification happens in the heart and manifests in the form of character defects or issues. Most of those issues are the combined results of our family dynamics and experiences since childhood.

Pride is selfish. It wraps our hearts in darkness. It blinds the eyes of our hearts that we fail to see the beauty in others and our own flaws. We either become deaf against the opinion of others or so consumed by what they say.

Pride is present in both the bully and its victim. The bully's pride is in being strong; the victim's pride is in being weak.

Pride spreads like a mold when we compare people with one another or who we are, what we have or how we look like with others: the better-er, the best-est, the many-er, the most-est.

Pride has a twin: FOMO or the fear of missing out. Pride has to know. Pride doesn't care what God wants; it has to get what it wants.

If you've got a ganda issue with pride, your heart has been uglified. The good news is, no matter how ugly it is, heart beautification is possible.

Next post: How can we stop pride from uglifying our hearts?

Momma's Day Musings

Gazillion. That's how many times I've watched this YouTube video. Can you spot the difference between romantic love and a mother's love here?

"ᴴᴰ Oscar's Oasis Full Collection ►◄ " Momma Croc " Episode 64/78 from Kids Future

It's embarrassing how we can sometimes take our Moms - and their love - for granted and how we oftentimes want to get away from them.

Mommas have a way of protecting their babies from harm - even when the possible harm is from their family. Just like when Momma Croc shooed the other crocs away from Oscar.

Oscar was sort of adopted by Momma Croc, just like the egg that was forgotten by its mother bird in this movie. Now I don't exactly know what it means to be adopted but I do know how it hurts to be forgotten and - fortunately - how wonderful it is to be remembered.

I am grateful that my mom - my one and only Mama Azon - has loved me the best way she knew how. Not only did she carry me in her womb for nine months, she nurtured me in a way that taught me how to be mindful of the needs of others, not just my own. 

Rarely would it happen that our very own mother birds would forget us. But even when that happens, we can be certain that a Momma Croc will come our way to love us and take care of us as if we are her own. I know this is true because during those times when I was a displaced or "lost egg," a Momma Croc came my way in the person of my Momsie Melanie whose birthday is just around the corner. Happy birthday, Momsie! :)

Today I have a good number of Momma Crocs in my life whose lives help me not only to see but to feel and be assured that I am loved - no matter what - even on those days when I'm having "ganda issues."

“Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I’d never forget you—never." - Isaiah 49:15

I would've been a mom but that's another story. Today I want to honor all the mommas in the world - OFMs (overseas Filipino moms), young moms, old moms, single moms, married moms, widowed moms, career moms, fashionista moms, cool moms, moms in prison, moms in the streets, spiritual moms, missionary moms, moms in the military - moms who do not forget their babies but tend to forget themselves as they care for others. If you're reading this and you're a mom, be assured that YOU will never, ever be forgotten. YOU are beautiful and you are loved gazillion times over, no matter what.

Happy Momma's Day!!