A day before Berks' Flight to Switzerland~

...12:00 midnight of June 24, '09, I, some cousins and friends threw our dear Berks a simple farewell party before her feet could land Switzerland! It's not a perfect event, but we had fun! I believe Berks was so touched at that time~.~

...7:00 A.M. homebound!

THANKS FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION EVERYONE ESPECIALLY TO A NEWLY-FOUND FWEN^.^ YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE~

It takes time...

(...I am under parameter; in the custody of the One who knows who is who and who is not~)


If we are not careful, we may become gullible…
We should be reminded that not all we see and hear are manifestations of what is true. We should be very careful. It is safe to say that it takes time to get to know the person who can be trusted!

If we haste things, we might end up with a waste…
Who wants regrets? I don’t know about you, but as for me, it’s the last thing I want. For us not to regret later, we have to weigh things very well, to think more than twice before saying a word, before executing an action…Good decisions are needed. Let’s seek His wisdom daily!


(At first, it was like…WOW! It happened to me! Couldn’t grasp the ‘who’ side…I was so absorbed to only think of the ‘what’. So now, I am under parameter; in the custody of the One who knows who is who and who is not~ and I’m safe from all the pains that I may experience.)

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Never mind!

I've got a very few male friends, and adding more seems herculean...

Mama had a lot to say about men. Yes, they're good, but for her to see me with a man is worth her tears, so I've got no chance to have friendship with them in my school days. Of course I know a lot of men, but just their names and the basic information needed in the school.

With my sanity, I know that there's nothing wrong with making male friends, but I just can't let myself be available to talk to a male friend for a longer time unless he's younger than me.

But...last April 16-18...never mind...!

That nine-letter word!

Colorful lights along the streets, splendid decors at homes, busy shoppers in the malls, delectable foodstuff on the tables, and sweet carols in the air- these spell the famous nine-letter-word CHRISTMAS!

December 25 may not be the exact date of Christ’s birth, but to be exact, it is this very day when the clock strikes 12 midnight, people from all walks of life shout- MERRY CHRISTMAS with all the fireworks display, exchanged gifts, lavish or not so lavish parties and all the sort of merrymaking activities, but the CCT (Center for Community Transformation) in Mandaue Branch celebrated Christmas in a more meaningful way.

The CCT Mandaue staff headed by Ma’am Elizabeth Bethy Enriquez went to economically-challenged families around the city of Mandaue to bless them with some groceries and clothes after rendering them some wonderful Christmas songs and prayers. These economically-challenged families are not partners in the CCT. The CCT coordinators and the partners were just the ones who chose them to be the respondents of this project.

Each of these families was given 2 plastics- 1 plastic of groceries and the other one contained clothes which were given by Ma’am Enriquez herself, the other CCT staff, coordinators, partners, and some are from Ma’am Enriquez’ friends in WWCF http://wordfortheworld.com/, who were actively participated in this successful project.

This has been one of the many plans of Ma’am Enriquez. God has placed this burden in her heart, and she’s very happy about this answered prayer.

Everyone was so blessed. There were crying and laughing moments. Everybody truly felt what it is like to have Christ in Christmas- how wonderful it is to give cheerfully.

It was a Christmas day to remember. Helping is such a privilege which can really give you joy, joy which you can never experience in temporal merrymaking activities.

CCT never ceases to be blessed to be a blessing…
I am so blessed to be a part of this project^^.
(SPECIAL THANKS TO MY FRIEND JANGMI WHO GAVE UP HER NICE CLOTHES to be shared to these families…)

QUOTED…

The Call to Endure (From Journey)

‘Endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing’ (James 1:4)


Maybe God has called you to stay in a place that you’d prefer to leave. If so, the grace comes with the call. If God calls you to do something, He will give you the strength and endurance to do it. God has the big picture of our lives, and He knows what’s best for us. If you are in this situation, you can be sure it is best to follow God’s will. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is a man who endures trials, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that He has promised to those who love him.”

If you are going through a difficult time, ask the Lord to give you joy through his trial. Immerse yourself in His Word and pray without ceasing. You will make it through with His help, and there will be a blessing on the other side.

HEAVENLY FATHER, THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME STRENGHT TO RUN WITH ENDURANCE THE RACE THAT LIES BEFORE…

When Edgar Allan Poe Strikes...

Death doesn't respect age or status in life. I may have cheated it once or twice, but it will come just like a thief in the night that cheating it won’t do anything. Life is short and for me, one way to make it longer is to live life to the fullest and GO, GROW AND GLOW FOR GOD! (‘I LOVE YOU’ IN CASE I HAVEN'T SAID THAT…)


I see nature at its best when I’m alone, looking at its splendor that makes me ponder how wonderful life is. I see life at its best when I’m alone seeing nature displaying its wonder, surviving despite the unfavorable circumstances that somehow wither it.

I see my life at its best when I am able to write my thoughts, when I am able to plow through an inspirational reading material, when I am able to fathom something, when I am able to make people laugh, when I am able to see the things I like to see, the people I like to meet…when I am able to see life’s imperfections and turn them to opportunities for improvement.

There are just things that I love doing to make this life of mine worth living…but it seems time limits me-.- TT orz OTL…

How can I be able to see these things accomplished without my naked eyes to see…? without my two hands to touch…? without my lips to speak…?

I once said, I am not afraid of death…but now that I am reaching to that point, I seem to feel the fear of leaving someone…of not expressing my feelings…of missing the chance to rub elbows with those people whom I admire…of not accomplishing all the goals I have and might have…of not experiencing bearing a life… of being the best mother…of not giving that glow to my future husband’s face…

Oh, Edgar Allan Poe, it’s enough~ Where are you Shakespeare?

“My Heartache-free Love”

Just like a typical girl, she knows what a crush is…

Just like a normal human, she knows what love is; she even wants more for it though she experiences much of it with her family and friends. But really, one time in her life, she was searching for more, and far more…perhaps an exciting kind of love. And in her quest, she experienced life’s test or shall I say, love’s tests…

As the eldest among five siblings, she has been brought up by her parents with extra care; more attention is given to her. They have high regard about her studies. They see in her as the hope of their family. They keep on instilling in her the value of education. They keep on reminding her that love can wait. At the back of her mind, she once replied, “Yes, love can wait, but I can’t. Actually, she was just putting herself on at that moment, maybe tired and sick of hearing those words.

Well, she understands them. She respects and loves them with all her heart that she cannot afford to disobey them. In fact, never did she experience going to movie; never she have time discoing all night; never did she get involved in a relationship. She admits at first it was out of fear, but later she realized that she obeys them because they are right and it’s for her own sake.

But with all the pressures in life, she was tempted to disobey them especially when the boys were just waiting for her “Yes.” Indeed, she was able to say “Yes.”, but the faces of her family and her future made her realize how a big “NO” her “Yes” was. Oh, if only you could see how disappointed the boy was after a few seconds. Yes, seconds…She was so sorry for him, but life is more than boys. And a working scholar herself should be aware of that. With a hard time to study and pressures from the work that come along the way, who needs boys by the way?

“Life is more than boys”. ..

Love happens in a time and place where one least expects it.

She didn’t know how almost everyone called it love.

Two years ago, she met a man who had a face just exactly with her dream boy. He may not be as cute as Ryan Gosling but for her he was the cutest man alive. The firs time his eyes met hers, she was immediately love struck. It was as if Cupid’s arrow hit her. They were in the same place attending a meeting for an organization in school, which the name she couldn’t mention simply because she preferred not to give another clue of his identity.

After the meeting and the rest of the day, she was really amazed by how she managed everything. She felt good. She didn’t know exactly the reason then but people around her kept on telling, “Oh girl you are in love. Your eyes speak it so.” She was speechless, and she recalled what had happened…


Was she really love struck to the man whom she had a brief eye contact with during the meeting? Answers were not clear not until another day came for their second encounter. You know the funny feeling in your stomach when you catch a glimpse of your special someone? She felt it on that day, and for the second time around their eyes glued to one another; time seemed so tired of running. And what really made her turn red was when he sincerely smiled at her and said ‘Hi.” She didn’t know what to do until one friend of hers called her. She didn’t know if she should be angry to her for interrupting that wonderful moment or be thankful for saving her from a near embarrassment.

The next day and the following days were great except for January 10, 2004. A close friend told her that the man was in a happy relationship with another girl. Oh, really a tough pill to swallow! She couldn’t help her tears from falling. She was totally hurt. “For all the smiles I have given, for all the glimpses I have thrown this is what I get.” she said to herself.

She experienced for the first time what they called heartache. Heartache she only seemed to read in romance novels.

That heartache really hurt her hard. She cried so hard feeling it’s the end of the world. Though she was black then, she still managed to call God to enlighten her mind. And then she realized how she wasted her time for someone who knew nothing about her feelings.

It is really true that love happens when you are not expecting it, but it is also very true that heartache comes when you are not ready. And if the same case will happen to you, bear in mind that though heartache is cruel, it’s not the end of the world. There is still room for another love to grow for the right man in the right time and place. After all, we are here in school primarily to study.

This experience taught her two very important things in life. One is, one should not expect that when you give love, it will return back to you. I mean, don’t expect for someone to love you the same way you love him. The other is, there is someone who truly loves you beyond your comprehension, who loves you so much that nobody on earth can surpass. Nothing or no one can stop him from loving you. It’s Him, Jesus Christ. He even died for you. And she is happy to say that she loves Him, and who will expect heartache from this kind of love? Oh, what a safe heart she has!

'My heartache-free love'

PRIME REASON!

I_ m_ pri_ _ rea_ _ n for livi_g is pleasing people then I’d d_ _ ear_ _ _r

…
It’s written in my heart the desire to see people laugh.

One of the best jobs in the world I think is hold by people on stage and on cam cracking jokes to serve their purpose in making people laugh. At least we don’t know their lives backstage…the place where they can express their emotions off cam.
It’s like the kind of place where I want myself to know as my abode when people around me are not pleased with the things I can offer. I’m not the best person to crack a joke, but I believe that I have the best jokes to crack about. It’s just that someone in my kin has his own mind that no matter I do good things in life, he still remain unpleased.
Yes, I got it; nobody can please everyone, but the one in that everyone is someone whom I love so dearly since we’re ka-blood! To exaggerate things my way I might be in the ICU with many experts checking how my heart is broken into pieces by pieces. A sad face they could give to my father, siblings, and you in case you’re there upon saying, ‘Her broken heart is found to be above suspicion of committing a crime she knows a no crime after all.’
That might be the case right now if I don’t let that BIG BEING take control of me. HE never fails me! HIS words are so true! HE is near and nothing can shake me! Not even this pain!
Though this four-letter-word pain is not new to me, but the kind of pain I feel right now is too much pain that I feel like a newbie in this business. The pain that causes you to cry while walking, cry while not even thinking, cry while not even a single teardrop fall. The doctor might say it right…and in my terms…I am hurt because of doing something I’m afraid I haven’t equally done as what that someone seems to believe!
I can’t control his mind. My God doesn’t allow me to do so. In fact He gives mankind free will though He knows He is very able to control us! He understands how significant it is in our acceptance to His free gift of salvation!
My uncle is absolutely displeased by my faith, and has just given me words which are nowhere to be found after I defense in spirit.
Who doesn’t like pleasing people? Who doesn’t like pleasing his kin?
But if I displease people by pleasing God, then I rest this case.
I love people because God Himself loves them, and hey I’m one of these wonderful creations of Him, but keeping a good fight of faith means testing you to choose between HIM and the people, then I choose God. After all HE is very powerful to make things happen between I and my uncle. I am confident sooner or later…I hope sooner~ EVERYTHING WILL FALL INTO PLACE! UNCLE WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT IT’S LIKE TO KNOW THE GOD HE IS SUPPOSED TO SERVE!
Mine is not the first here on earth. I have seen the evidence!
Many have been there, done that~That makes me confident that all things will work together for good when I just obey the LORD, my GOD!

If my prime reason for living is pleasing people, then I’d die earlier…

I’d rather not be here if I please people more than I please God!

Here Comes 'Cesar' and 'Claudia'

(I just can’t help but troubled with the idea that a 15-year old believer is in a relationship with a 13-year old non-believer… and two believers who insist that their untimely love can help them…plus this young, pretty, and smart lady who shared her love issue to me with someone who, she insists seems to believe Whom she believes …)
Romeo and Juliet… ‘O Romeo, Romeo!’ If you are at my age, I believe you know this famous tragedy by William Shakespeare about two teenage lovers whose untimely deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. This play has been turned into paintings, ballets, and several operas which help us still remember… ‘O Romeo, Romeo!’
Florante at Laura… ‘O aking Florante’ This might not be Laura’s exact words for I didn’t intend to play her part during my high school. I just love the work of a director at that time…kkk~ But I know that the story is about the struggle and love of Duke Florante and Princess Laura of Albania during the warring period between the Albanians and Muslims…
Learning literature isn’t giving me much of much of something, but it is surely helping me travel the realm of people beyond my imagination, within my imagination and even in reality.
I love learning the lives of people, much more with their love stories. I was able to read lots of novels. And because of that, I was able to make my own love stories be it on paper or just in mind. I could even read a novel while my P.E. 3 teacher sincerely did her task in front. Shame on me, I was caught; good for me, I was saved! (Kkk^.^ I miss Mrs. Pagobo!)
‘You get saved, you go to work for the Lord…There’s no space in between…’ With this line, my taste for literature changes…From Romeo and Juliet, Florante at Laura…to Abraham and Sarah (their faith)…Howard and Wanda (their determination amidst discrimination) …and here comes…Cesar and Claudia (the Government of Twelve…)
Reading about their lives and their love stories help me a lot…
I had my 'Romeo' a year ago and thought would last…but God was and is so good. He protected me all the way. He designed the relationship to be LD, gave a halt to it before I got totally believe that it’s for keeps! Truly, a Romeo for he doesn’t live with Juliet happily ever after ha-ha-ha^.^ (THANK YOU LORD!)
Hmmm…Such a happy day when you come to believe that after doing some rejections (Let me use this term~) in your teens, you’ve finally made it at your target age to love and be loved…the feeling that Hey Remym, this is it! He reads Proverbs 31 in front of you, takes a picture of you, sheds his tears, the signs, and the signs around you. Oh…why reject him? So then, I announced to the congregation… February 28…A confident girl expressing a romantic chapter of her life! (Feeling ko lang!)
It was the time when I was working my plans so hard for God… The enemy was attacking me…using my emotions…Hmmp! Such a deceiver one! Me? A gullible one? Kkk^.^ Not so…hahaha! Well, at least I am happy to say that I remain a victor in the midst of that adversity!
Yes pain was in me, and that is –was because now, I smile for the fact that I am going to have an 'Abraham'…a 'Howard'…a 'Cesar'…who is also waiting for God’s timing to have me (kkk^.^) me…me - his 'Sarah'…his 'Wanda'…his 'Claudia'! Hmmm…

…a 15-year old believer is in a relationship with a 13-year old non-believer… and two believers who insist that their untimely love can help them…plus this young, pretty, and smart lady who shared her love issue to me with someone who, she insists seems to believe Whom she believes…but I believe… NOT! Can you hear-’Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers…’?

I KNOW YOU KNOW THE RIGHT…THE BEST THING TO DO…YOU HAVE YOUR CHOICE EITHER TO OBEY GOD OR TO OBEY YOUR FEELINGS! BUT IF WE TRULY LOVE THE LORD…CHOOSING TO OBEY HIM IS NOT HERCULEAN!
Radically…
JESUS HIMSELF HAD THE CHOICE EITHER TO DIE OR NOT TO DIE ON THAT CROSS, BUT BECAUSE HE LOVES US, HE CHOSE TO OBEY THE FATHER, AND THAT’S WHY NOW, WE HAVE HIM AS OUR LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR. We love Him too right? So…

We may ponder about this again and again.
‘When God brings a man and a woman together, ultimately His purpose is to unite two people who can serve and glorify Him more as a team than as separate individuals…’

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Dear...

January 05, 2009/Monday

Dear ____,


(Never go out without your brain…)

It’s the fifth day of the new year, and here I am in the city hall with thoughts in my mind and papers in my hands…

First step- the DSWD~ I visited there twice last year, and it’s only this year when I get the 80 % of something. I am so blessed to have a neighbor like her who has the heart to help. Talking to her for less than two minutes really works wonders! The smile never fails me! Smile really breaks the ice!

Second Step- the Mayor’s Office~ I passed this office for more than four times since high school days, but it’s only today that I am able to touch a little of it! Hmmm…1 % of it~ (kkk^.^) It gladdens me when the man accommodates me with a little smile on his face (Pa-cute!) There, I say the words to say, and there…after a few minutes, I’m on my way to the door and there I go to the next step. Your knack for small talks with anyone demonstrates your acceptance for new ideas!

Third Step- the Registrar’s Office~ Its way of accommodating people is familiar to me. There, I can see a long line…Waiting time…Music is playing in my mind! 50-50! A little of your patience is tested…Be patient!

Fourth Step- the Library~ It’s the place where I love to be! When the clock strikes 10, I decide to open a door that leads me to a memory of my college days…the books~ the periodicals~ the librarians~ Hmmm…I miss them! The library in my city is not that big. I’ve never been to Cebu City library, but seeing my own Lapu-Lapu’s makes me think of what it could be like. Yes, it’s bigger than this! This library has good books though not good-looking ones. They’re not that updated, but once you get yourself absorbed by a book or two, wow! You can experience a ride for free! Thanks for Uncle Nick, his name helps me get an easy access for the 5 magazines and ***‘A Day with a Perfect Stranger’. I can bring them home for a week! Thanks for the head librarian and all the staff…These reading materials seem old, but I am going to learn many things from them! Never look down old depleted things. Big things can start out from these!


***‘A Day with a Perfect Stranger’ is a sequel to ‘Dinner with a Perfect Stranger’ by David Gregory. Hmmm…this reminds me of ‘Boy Meets Girl’, a sequel of Joshua Harris’ ‘I kissed Dating Goodbye’ I only read the ‘second books…’ I wasn’t able to read ‘Dinner with…’ and ‘ I Kissed…’

Hmmm…again, I realize that once I choose a book, I end up with the ‘2nd part’…
Oh…top 2, 2nd part, second choice, number 1? -.- A QUESTION!