I asked, I and received.
Now, he asks little help, and I struggle to
give.
Realization: The heartache in "giving".
If I struggle to give this little,
how much more when He gave me what I asked for?
The test: "How much time can you give for me?" -Jesus
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
2.17.2015
1.06.2015
God Is Love
God Is Love (1 John 4: 7-10)
Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is from God, and
whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because
God is love.
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that
God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
In this is love,
not that we have loved God
but that he loved us and sent his Son to be
the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is from God, and
whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because
God is love.
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that
God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
In this is love,
not that we have loved God
but that he loved us and sent his Son to be
the propitiation for our sins.
12.18.2014
defeat and acceptance
A bible passage well known to everyone who pray in times of hardship is Matthew 11: 28-30
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light"
A few weeks ago, i found myself crying, seemingly lost and downhearted. As i was skimming through my bible, I came upon this passage:
"Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?
I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes."
Psalm 6: 1-3, 6-7
I could not hold back my tears. Upon reading this passage, I felt that God was not giving me the consolation I was asking from Him. Instead, He was teaching me to accept that I am wrong, that I am weak, that I am human and I am defeated.
Some people may think that it's negative thinking, that God would never want us to feel burdened or in pain. It is true that God would never plan for us to be harmed, and I respect those who tell me that I am pessimistic. I would like to use this medium to explain myself.
The burdens in our lives depends on how we view them. If we carry these burdens with love, the burdens becomes light. But I believe that it takes learning, experience, understanding and process to fully understand the concept of "loving ones burden."
I have to admit that I have not garnered enough experience to full understand on how to love my burdens. There are some burdens that I can bear, but there are those that just crush me to the ground. I believe in the five stages of loss and grief. These stages are usually connected to a loss of a person, but there are times that I follow these stages when I lose belief in myself and other people.
Here are a link for a detailed explanation for the five stages of grief and loss.
In conclusion, I would like to share to you that there is nothing wrong in giving up, as long as you learn from the experience and learn to accept them. There is nothing wrong if you question God why these events are happening to you, he just wants you stop, take away the negativity, fill it with new hope and go through life again. Sometimes, during your "berating moment" with God, you will have an epitome on what you should do to make things better. And lastly, there is nothing wrong in accepting defeat, acceptance of defeat means, you are humble, and there is more love than pride in what you are doing with your life.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light"
A few weeks ago, i found myself crying, seemingly lost and downhearted. As i was skimming through my bible, I came upon this passage:
"Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?
I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes."
Psalm 6: 1-3, 6-7
I could not hold back my tears. Upon reading this passage, I felt that God was not giving me the consolation I was asking from Him. Instead, He was teaching me to accept that I am wrong, that I am weak, that I am human and I am defeated.
Some people may think that it's negative thinking, that God would never want us to feel burdened or in pain. It is true that God would never plan for us to be harmed, and I respect those who tell me that I am pessimistic. I would like to use this medium to explain myself.
The burdens in our lives depends on how we view them. If we carry these burdens with love, the burdens becomes light. But I believe that it takes learning, experience, understanding and process to fully understand the concept of "loving ones burden."
I have to admit that I have not garnered enough experience to full understand on how to love my burdens. There are some burdens that I can bear, but there are those that just crush me to the ground. I believe in the five stages of loss and grief. These stages are usually connected to a loss of a person, but there are times that I follow these stages when I lose belief in myself and other people.
Here are a link for a detailed explanation for the five stages of grief and loss.
In conclusion, I would like to share to you that there is nothing wrong in giving up, as long as you learn from the experience and learn to accept them. There is nothing wrong if you question God why these events are happening to you, he just wants you stop, take away the negativity, fill it with new hope and go through life again. Sometimes, during your "berating moment" with God, you will have an epitome on what you should do to make things better. And lastly, there is nothing wrong in accepting defeat, acceptance of defeat means, you are humble, and there is more love than pride in what you are doing with your life.
4.03.2014
am i ready for SERVICE?
Palmer: ... "Maybe I am not ready."
Gibbs: "You wouldn't feel the way you feel right now if you weren't ready."
NCIS (about Palmer being a father)
Totally in a different context as to how the episode plot goes, but the message and the intention is there. Sometimes, we refuse to accept that we are ready for the responsibilities and task that will be assigned to us because:
Like in service, we know that we are doing the service for God, though there are times that we are discouraged from continuing because we feel that we are not well appreciated for our efforts. This should not be the case!
Recently I was told by Kuya Yury and ate Weng, "always remember who you are serving. Our God, not the people who dictate what you have to do." How ever difficult the strife that is thrown to us His servants, always pray and never lose faith, not only in God but in yourself. We are made in the image and likeness of God, so losing faith in ourselves is like losing faith in God's most precious creations, US.
My household heads (Ate Jen and Ate Alma) always told me, the more you seek the way to Jesus, the more you feel pain in service. Why? because the devil will try to hinder you from following Jesus, it creates circumstances and attacks the most important and sensitive aspects of our lives. This is to push us to our limits for us to give up. Temptations and sacrifices are inevitable when in service. Even now that I am part of the SFC community, I do not hide that fact that there are temptations that are difficult to push away. This brings doubt to myself, my abilities and it gives off that degrading feeling that just makes me lost.
In our lost state, we then start to question God.
Is there something wrong when we question God? My answer to this question was always. No. There is nothing wrong in questioning God. As I quote Pope Francis in one of his dialogues with the Filipino community in Rome,
” In these times of suffering, never tire of asking why, because you will attract the tenderness of the Father and his attention, just as children do when they ask “why”.” - Pope Francis
It comes down to how and what you question God. Of course it's a different level when you question HIS existence though that does not mean atheism or agnosticism. We may just be lost. Being lost is not something we should be ashamed of. In fact, admitting that we are lost makes us stronger because we know when we have done wrong and we begin to have that consciousness to go back to our faith and restore our relationship with God.
This also becomes a preparation for us for a bigger service. It is not a secret that there are times in our lives that we are tested and molded in preparation for a bigger responsibility as a servant of God. We grow and learn as we succeed each trial that are thrown to us. It is this experience that makes us human, these experiences are what we share to those whom we would like to reach out to.
The action of reaching out, breaking away from your comfort zone, learning to share, accepting pain and understanding the people of God are manifestations that we are preparing for the mission of spreading God's love. Because these are the very actions of Jesus. Yes, he is the Son of God, he is a leader, he knows more and better about faith, and yet, he was humble and he did not discriminate the people of God. He even loved them more, despite the sufferings that they have caused him.
Like Jesus, we must be leaders of his people. Our task as leaders is to plant a seed and uphold the faith of each and every single person whom lives we have touched. We are leaders even without the title, as I have heard from one of our teaching nights.
Unfortunately, there are times wherein the lack in "title" is what hinders us from moving forward. Why? Because we are humans, because we have weaknesses. Despite being humble, we do not keep the fact that we too have our aspirations, at some point in our lives we would like to be acknowledged. I myself admit that I would like to be acknowledge for my service. It is, in a way, human nature.
The yearning for acknowledgement was a heavy desire before I realized that I was already "empty". How does that relate? In general, when we are "empty" and lost, we look for a way to compensate for that lose. In my case, I did not realize that I was already empty because of "giving out love" to the point that I wanted to have that feeling that "I am loved" just to compensate for the lost feeling.
Doesn't that make me selfish and insecure? Yes it does. My own "yearning" slowly devoured me to the point of depression.
Why do you have that feeling even if you are already part of the community? The expectation is that you already have an ironclad faith, right?
As I have said earlier, human nature. Just because we are part of the community, this does not mean that we are excused from negative or destructive feelings. Part of being human are having emotions.
The expectation is an "irrational norm" that divides people and sometimes it even repels people away from each other. This is sad because the purpose of the community is to build up faith, not to segregate those sinners from believers. We should keep i mind that we are called in this community to be of service also to others not because we are "better" than them, but because we have succeeded in finding God. So as to pay it forward, we are the ones who now call other souls to help them find the way to God. We are not better than them, we are all the same. The difference is, we have gone through the pain and now that we have succeeded over it, we share to those who are currently going through the same pain how we can help them in surpassing the pain with the help of the community.
Going back to my desire in being acknowledged. I have been having that feeling for a few weeks now, but it was only last week when I heard from Kuya Jack, a partial answer to my desire. The jist of what he said, "Fight for what you believe in. Fight for being a leader. You have to own that feeling and claim it." Of course, this does not mean surpassing the present leaders of the community. What he was trying to say is, if you have that feeling, own it. Do not discourage yourself for the "seed of service" in you is growing and it can no longer be contained. A tree of dedication and faith is being created in us and it can no longer be contained in the services you have now. You are already longing to have a greater service that will benefit greater hearts of people.
Of course, I have yet to experience this. Maybe in this upcoming CLP, this will be my chance to prove to myself how much I have grown and how big of a service I am already longing.
Hope I can share with you in the future my journey to greater service.
Thank you for reading my entry.
Till next time. God bless you all.
Gibbs: "You wouldn't feel the way you feel right now if you weren't ready."
NCIS (about Palmer being a father)
-----------------------------
Totally in a different context as to how the episode plot goes, but the message and the intention is there. Sometimes, we refuse to accept that we are ready for the responsibilities and task that will be assigned to us because:
- we are afraid of failure, or
- we have already failed in our initial attempt, or
- we are afraid of failure the second time around.
Like in service, we know that we are doing the service for God, though there are times that we are discouraged from continuing because we feel that we are not well appreciated for our efforts. This should not be the case!
Recently I was told by Kuya Yury and ate Weng, "always remember who you are serving. Our God, not the people who dictate what you have to do." How ever difficult the strife that is thrown to us His servants, always pray and never lose faith, not only in God but in yourself. We are made in the image and likeness of God, so losing faith in ourselves is like losing faith in God's most precious creations, US.
My household heads (Ate Jen and Ate Alma) always told me, the more you seek the way to Jesus, the more you feel pain in service. Why? because the devil will try to hinder you from following Jesus, it creates circumstances and attacks the most important and sensitive aspects of our lives. This is to push us to our limits for us to give up. Temptations and sacrifices are inevitable when in service. Even now that I am part of the SFC community, I do not hide that fact that there are temptations that are difficult to push away. This brings doubt to myself, my abilities and it gives off that degrading feeling that just makes me lost.
In our lost state, we then start to question God.
Is there something wrong when we question God? My answer to this question was always. No. There is nothing wrong in questioning God. As I quote Pope Francis in one of his dialogues with the Filipino community in Rome,
” In these times of suffering, never tire of asking why, because you will attract the tenderness of the Father and his attention, just as children do when they ask “why”.” - Pope Francis
It comes down to how and what you question God. Of course it's a different level when you question HIS existence though that does not mean atheism or agnosticism. We may just be lost. Being lost is not something we should be ashamed of. In fact, admitting that we are lost makes us stronger because we know when we have done wrong and we begin to have that consciousness to go back to our faith and restore our relationship with God.
This also becomes a preparation for us for a bigger service. It is not a secret that there are times in our lives that we are tested and molded in preparation for a bigger responsibility as a servant of God. We grow and learn as we succeed each trial that are thrown to us. It is this experience that makes us human, these experiences are what we share to those whom we would like to reach out to.
The action of reaching out, breaking away from your comfort zone, learning to share, accepting pain and understanding the people of God are manifestations that we are preparing for the mission of spreading God's love. Because these are the very actions of Jesus. Yes, he is the Son of God, he is a leader, he knows more and better about faith, and yet, he was humble and he did not discriminate the people of God. He even loved them more, despite the sufferings that they have caused him.
Like Jesus, we must be leaders of his people. Our task as leaders is to plant a seed and uphold the faith of each and every single person whom lives we have touched. We are leaders even without the title, as I have heard from one of our teaching nights.
Unfortunately, there are times wherein the lack in "title" is what hinders us from moving forward. Why? Because we are humans, because we have weaknesses. Despite being humble, we do not keep the fact that we too have our aspirations, at some point in our lives we would like to be acknowledged. I myself admit that I would like to be acknowledge for my service. It is, in a way, human nature.
The yearning for acknowledgement was a heavy desire before I realized that I was already "empty". How does that relate? In general, when we are "empty" and lost, we look for a way to compensate for that lose. In my case, I did not realize that I was already empty because of "giving out love" to the point that I wanted to have that feeling that "I am loved" just to compensate for the lost feeling.
Doesn't that make me selfish and insecure? Yes it does. My own "yearning" slowly devoured me to the point of depression.
Why do you have that feeling even if you are already part of the community? The expectation is that you already have an ironclad faith, right?
As I have said earlier, human nature. Just because we are part of the community, this does not mean that we are excused from negative or destructive feelings. Part of being human are having emotions.
The expectation is an "irrational norm" that divides people and sometimes it even repels people away from each other. This is sad because the purpose of the community is to build up faith, not to segregate those sinners from believers. We should keep i mind that we are called in this community to be of service also to others not because we are "better" than them, but because we have succeeded in finding God. So as to pay it forward, we are the ones who now call other souls to help them find the way to God. We are not better than them, we are all the same. The difference is, we have gone through the pain and now that we have succeeded over it, we share to those who are currently going through the same pain how we can help them in surpassing the pain with the help of the community.
Going back to my desire in being acknowledged. I have been having that feeling for a few weeks now, but it was only last week when I heard from Kuya Jack, a partial answer to my desire. The jist of what he said, "Fight for what you believe in. Fight for being a leader. You have to own that feeling and claim it." Of course, this does not mean surpassing the present leaders of the community. What he was trying to say is, if you have that feeling, own it. Do not discourage yourself for the "seed of service" in you is growing and it can no longer be contained. A tree of dedication and faith is being created in us and it can no longer be contained in the services you have now. You are already longing to have a greater service that will benefit greater hearts of people.
Of course, I have yet to experience this. Maybe in this upcoming CLP, this will be my chance to prove to myself how much I have grown and how big of a service I am already longing.
Hope I can share with you in the future my journey to greater service.
Thank you for reading my entry.
Till next time. God bless you all.
2.21.2014
Gifts from God
A gift given by our family and friends are usually given to please us and to make us happy. There is not much responsibility that is attached to these gifts other than taking care of them and preserving them.
How about God's Gifts?
Like gifts from our family and friends, the gifts we receive from God are to be taken cared of and preserved, though it does not stop there. The gifts we receive from God are to be developed, enhanced and nurtured. We grow with these gifts for it builds up our faith. Of all of God's creations, we are the ones who are blessed to receive the Gift's of the Holy Spirit. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to us upon our entry in the Christian world. Though we were still young to nurture them, we receive them and some of us have already used them. Now that we are aware of conscious of the gifts we received from God, our mission is to build it up and use it for the good of the people around us. We are given gifts not only for our own growth in faith but also for the growth of the people of God. We ourselves are gifts and instruments to encourage more men and women to be closer and stronger in faith in Jesus Christ.
Human interaction is one of the gifts we receive from God. Through interaction we can move, acknowledge and experience as a group the love God has given to his people. This is why we have families, friends and communities. We build nations in honor of our Creator. We are the stewards and the most superior of God's creations. This makes us responsible not only of our surroundings/nature, but also, we are responsible for our fellow human being. Being responsible for one another and reaching out to others are forms of spreading the love we received from God.
In the community, the term "God's Gift" is what we call our partners whom we are in a romantic relationship with. Though before we go into a relationship, we discern, pray and ask for advice from our household heads about the relationship we will be pursuing. This is no joke, for like what my "idols" told me before, "Do not be in a relationship if your purpose in merely for companionship. Be in a relationship because you already see yourself together for a lifetime." This is quite a tedious process because this specific gift from God is a huge package. Accepting this specific gift is a responsibility not only for one person but for two people who have made a commitment in honor of God. I will be creating a post to elaborate more on this specific gift from God.
God willingly provide all these gifts to us. We as his people are tasked to improve, develop, enhance and build up these gifts with other people.
Can God take back these gifts?
Personally, I would say yes, but he takes is away temporarily. Why? Why would God take it away? Because He would like to challenge us. He is the only one who knows how great we can grow. He temporarily paralyzes us to make us realize our worth. Though he does not leave us, what he leaves us paralyzed. He stays behind you, supporting you and cheering for you till you end the paralysis in your faith, until you return to his embrace. Then he rewards us with greater gifts that are beyond our expectations.
But what if I give up from the challenges he gives?
Even if you give up, he will catch you and pull you back again in the most unexpected way. He will never leave you because He loves you. Why would he create you if he did not love you?
For us to accept these gifts, we merely need to open our hearts, our minds and learn to listen to His voice in silence. And once we have accepted them, spread the love. But a word of caution, always, always be humble, for God himself humbly gave His love to us.
Who are we to be selfish and not make His love grow?
How about God's Gifts?
Like gifts from our family and friends, the gifts we receive from God are to be taken cared of and preserved, though it does not stop there. The gifts we receive from God are to be developed, enhanced and nurtured. We grow with these gifts for it builds up our faith. Of all of God's creations, we are the ones who are blessed to receive the Gift's of the Holy Spirit. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to us upon our entry in the Christian world. Though we were still young to nurture them, we receive them and some of us have already used them. Now that we are aware of conscious of the gifts we received from God, our mission is to build it up and use it for the good of the people around us. We are given gifts not only for our own growth in faith but also for the growth of the people of God. We ourselves are gifts and instruments to encourage more men and women to be closer and stronger in faith in Jesus Christ.
Human interaction is one of the gifts we receive from God. Through interaction we can move, acknowledge and experience as a group the love God has given to his people. This is why we have families, friends and communities. We build nations in honor of our Creator. We are the stewards and the most superior of God's creations. This makes us responsible not only of our surroundings/nature, but also, we are responsible for our fellow human being. Being responsible for one another and reaching out to others are forms of spreading the love we received from God.
In the community, the term "God's Gift" is what we call our partners whom we are in a romantic relationship with. Though before we go into a relationship, we discern, pray and ask for advice from our household heads about the relationship we will be pursuing. This is no joke, for like what my "idols" told me before, "Do not be in a relationship if your purpose in merely for companionship. Be in a relationship because you already see yourself together for a lifetime." This is quite a tedious process because this specific gift from God is a huge package. Accepting this specific gift is a responsibility not only for one person but for two people who have made a commitment in honor of God. I will be creating a post to elaborate more on this specific gift from God.
God willingly provide all these gifts to us. We as his people are tasked to improve, develop, enhance and build up these gifts with other people.
Can God take back these gifts?
Personally, I would say yes, but he takes is away temporarily. Why? Why would God take it away? Because He would like to challenge us. He is the only one who knows how great we can grow. He temporarily paralyzes us to make us realize our worth. Though he does not leave us, what he leaves us paralyzed. He stays behind you, supporting you and cheering for you till you end the paralysis in your faith, until you return to his embrace. Then he rewards us with greater gifts that are beyond our expectations.
But what if I give up from the challenges he gives?
Even if you give up, he will catch you and pull you back again in the most unexpected way. He will never leave you because He loves you. Why would he create you if he did not love you?
For us to accept these gifts, we merely need to open our hearts, our minds and learn to listen to His voice in silence. And once we have accepted them, spread the love. But a word of caution, always, always be humble, for God himself humbly gave His love to us.
Who are we to be selfish and not make His love grow?
12.23.2013
Joseph, foster father of Jesus
The gospel last night was about St Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. Not much is said in the bible about St Joseph, though we learn from his short description from him, of the traits we should learn from him being a servant of God.
J - Just
O - Obedient
S - Steward
E - Empathetic
P - Prayerful
H - Humble
J - Just
O - Obedient
S - Steward
E - Empathetic
P - Prayerful
H - Humble
10.10.2013
7.30.2013
they're our brothers
"They're our brothers." -Pope Francis
God does not marginalize who are his beloved ones. Who are we to discriminate the people around us? Our mission is to spread God's love, not create more boundaries.
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/29/pope-francis-on-gays-who-am-i-to-judge/?sr=sharebar_facebook
God does not marginalize who are his beloved ones. Who are we to discriminate the people around us? Our mission is to spread God's love, not create more boundaries.
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/29/pope-francis-on-gays-who-am-i-to-judge/?sr=sharebar_facebook
6.13.2013
Ecclesiastes 12:7
"And the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it"
+
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5.11.2013
12.31.2012
Feast of the Holy Family
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience,
forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Colossians 3: 12-21
Source: http://www.ewtn.com/vbible/search.asp?abbr=Col&ch=3&bv1=12&ev1=21
forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Colossians 3: 12-21
Source: http://www.ewtn.com/vbible/search.asp?abbr=Col&ch=3&bv1=12&ev1=21
8.13.2012
mmc 2012
the metro manila conference is the first conference that i have attended as an sfc member.
despite the troubles that i experienced weeks before the conference,
i am very thankful that i was able to go.
it was a great experience and i am very thankful for those who helped me make this experience a great success.
and of course, thank you God for all of this. (^_^)
despite the troubles that i experienced weeks before the conference,
i am very thankful that i was able to go.
it was a great experience and i am very thankful for those who helped me make this experience a great success.
and of course, thank you God for all of this. (^_^)
8.12.2012
7.17.2012
missionary
we are all called to me missionaries.
we can be missionaries in our own ways.
it's a matter of dedication, sincerity, simplicity and sacrifice.
easier said than done right?
specially during this time when almost all people seems so materialistic.
it's not wrong to have things,
we should just be wary that we must not be too attached with them.
this reminds me of snufkin from the moomins.
as much as possible, he has few possessions because he sees them as a burden that ties you down
he prefers keeping the memory of the object rather than the object itself.
i know this is not something new or uncommon to hear.
the questions is, are we doing anything that makes us a missionary in our daily lives?
or do we simply take it for granted because like what i said earlier,
it's nothing new and uncommon.
*thoughts about the homily last sunday
we can be missionaries in our own ways.
it's a matter of dedication, sincerity, simplicity and sacrifice.
easier said than done right?
specially during this time when almost all people seems so materialistic.
it's not wrong to have things,
we should just be wary that we must not be too attached with them.
this reminds me of snufkin from the moomins.
as much as possible, he has few possessions because he sees them as a burden that ties you down
he prefers keeping the memory of the object rather than the object itself.
i know this is not something new or uncommon to hear.
the questions is, are we doing anything that makes us a missionary in our daily lives?
or do we simply take it for granted because like what i said earlier,
it's nothing new and uncommon.
*thoughts about the homily last sunday
6.01.2012
family trip
hello everyone! sorry i was not able to blog immediately about our trip. it took some time before i could upload all the photos and i have been quite busy... sleeping that is (^_~) since we arrived, except for today, i fixed the condo. (^_^) anyways, here are the details of our family trip. (^_^)
to naga and day 1
the adventure of this family trip started when we rode the bicol express train from manila to naga city, camarines sur. it was our first time to ride this specific train and it was our first time to ride in a sleepers coach. the travel time was approximately 12 hours, but supposed to be it was only for 10 hours. we didn't mind the long travel time because we were enjoying the experience of sleeping and eating in the train. (^_~) oh, i almost forgot, by chance, señor jaime fabregas was on the same coach with us, only on a different sleepers chair/bed. anyways, when we arrived at naga, we ate breakfast at jollibee. then we visited the san francisco church. after our church visit we rode a taxi to pasacao, camarines sur. there we stayed for a night. when we arrived at the resort, we got our room and immediately prepared for the agenda for that day. we rode a boat to an island and swam there. when you look at the pictures closely, the foot of the island is not a beach. it's actually black rocks immediately meeting the sea. i was really amazed! after about an hour of swimming we went back to the resort for our lunch, which was prepared with freshly caught seafood. delicious! we had about 15 minutes of rest then we headed to our next destination, the suminabang cave, via boat. we saw stalactite and stalagmite formations. after that we went to another part of an island and we had our second round of swimming. the sand at the second venue was yellowish and we saw these amazing colored stones. we were there for quite a time before we decided to call it a day and return to the resort. it was still a little early for dinner so we had snacks, bread and whatever leftovers we had during the train ride. i had a bottle of tanduay ice while my parents had beer. my brother still wanted to swim so i accompanied him at the beach which was just a few steps from our resort. come dinner time, we had this large shrimp. yes! a large shrimp! it was the best dinner that we had. and that was the end of day 1.
day 2
we had our simple breakfast, leftover from the train ride, and then we got a taxi back to naga city. on our way, we passed by an old church, the st. joseph the worker church. we said our prayers, looked around then we continued our travel. we attended mass at the naga cathedral. after the mass, we started looking around the church. after that we went to our hotel, golden leaf hotel. though my parents did not like the fact that we were on the fourth floor, they still liked the balcony. (^_~) special mention, the doves beside the balcony. anyways, we then walked around to find souvenirs. after that we had our lunch at the mall. again, the food was delicious! despite the commercial place, the food tasted quite authentic and fresh. after our meal, we went to the supermarket to buy some food to eat during our church visits that afternoon. we passed by the hotel to drop off some things then we rode the tricycle to the our lady of peñafrancia basilica. the church was huge and there were beautiful colored glass designs. we went behind the altar and wiped the statue of the our lady of peñafrancia, and prayed for a few minutes. after the basilica, we then went to the our lady of peñafrancia church, it was the original church of the our lady of peñafrancia. the church was smaller but still beautiful. after visiting the church, we visited the cemetery behind the old church. we took pictures of the designs of the tombstones. you rarely see these designs on the present tombstones. we finished early with our church visits so we decided to take a taxi to another church which was at the other town. we visited an old church, the bombon church and the leaning tower of bombon, the bell tower of the said church. it's not clear on the pictures but the tower was really leaning on it's side. you really have a feeling that it was about to fall. after we said our prayers, we looked around, then went back to the hotel. we rested for some time before we went out for dinner. the dinner was our father's birthday dinner so we ate at a japanese restaurant. oh, his birthday was the next day but we decided to have the birthday dinner that night because the next night, we would be traveling back to manila. anyways, for dinner, we had shabu-shabu and okonomiyaki. really delicious! it did not taste commercial like the japanese food here in manila. the japanese food really tasted authentic. it was such a great meal! after eating we headed back to the hotel to rest and get ready for our last day at naga city.
day 3 and departure from naga
for our last day, we only had one agenda, to visit the museo del seminario conciliar de nueva caceres. the museum is beside the cathedral. it featured memorabilia of prominent bishops from the town, ecclesiastical vessels and artifacts, paintings and archaeological finds like burial jars and chinese wares. after the tour, we had some rest at a small shop near the area. we then headed back to the hotel to eat lunch and to prepare out things for the trip back to manila. while we were fixing our things, we noticed that it was raining. we were really lucky to finish all our visits before it started to rain. (^_^) before we left, i took a last picture of the view from the balcony, the isarog mountain. (^_^) we did not go straight to the train station since it was still too early for our train, so we went to the mall to buy food for our trip and to each early dinner. after about two hours, we went to the train station. luckily we were able to get tickets for the sleepers bad/room. we once again took our own beds, ate some and slept the whole trip. we arrived at manila after 12 hours.
my family spent most of the day sleeping when we arrived. but for me, i had a different agenda.
please see next post. (^_^)V
oh! by the way, did you all notice that i was wearing dresses the while trip? (^_~)
to naga and day 1
the adventure of this family trip started when we rode the bicol express train from manila to naga city, camarines sur. it was our first time to ride this specific train and it was our first time to ride in a sleepers coach. the travel time was approximately 12 hours, but supposed to be it was only for 10 hours. we didn't mind the long travel time because we were enjoying the experience of sleeping and eating in the train. (^_~) oh, i almost forgot, by chance, señor jaime fabregas was on the same coach with us, only on a different sleepers chair/bed. anyways, when we arrived at naga, we ate breakfast at jollibee. then we visited the san francisco church. after our church visit we rode a taxi to pasacao, camarines sur. there we stayed for a night. when we arrived at the resort, we got our room and immediately prepared for the agenda for that day. we rode a boat to an island and swam there. when you look at the pictures closely, the foot of the island is not a beach. it's actually black rocks immediately meeting the sea. i was really amazed! after about an hour of swimming we went back to the resort for our lunch, which was prepared with freshly caught seafood. delicious! we had about 15 minutes of rest then we headed to our next destination, the suminabang cave, via boat. we saw stalactite and stalagmite formations. after that we went to another part of an island and we had our second round of swimming. the sand at the second venue was yellowish and we saw these amazing colored stones. we were there for quite a time before we decided to call it a day and return to the resort. it was still a little early for dinner so we had snacks, bread and whatever leftovers we had during the train ride. i had a bottle of tanduay ice while my parents had beer. my brother still wanted to swim so i accompanied him at the beach which was just a few steps from our resort. come dinner time, we had this large shrimp. yes! a large shrimp! it was the best dinner that we had. and that was the end of day 1.
day 2
we had our simple breakfast, leftover from the train ride, and then we got a taxi back to naga city. on our way, we passed by an old church, the st. joseph the worker church. we said our prayers, looked around then we continued our travel. we attended mass at the naga cathedral. after the mass, we started looking around the church. after that we went to our hotel, golden leaf hotel. though my parents did not like the fact that we were on the fourth floor, they still liked the balcony. (^_~) special mention, the doves beside the balcony. anyways, we then walked around to find souvenirs. after that we had our lunch at the mall. again, the food was delicious! despite the commercial place, the food tasted quite authentic and fresh. after our meal, we went to the supermarket to buy some food to eat during our church visits that afternoon. we passed by the hotel to drop off some things then we rode the tricycle to the our lady of peñafrancia basilica. the church was huge and there were beautiful colored glass designs. we went behind the altar and wiped the statue of the our lady of peñafrancia, and prayed for a few minutes. after the basilica, we then went to the our lady of peñafrancia church, it was the original church of the our lady of peñafrancia. the church was smaller but still beautiful. after visiting the church, we visited the cemetery behind the old church. we took pictures of the designs of the tombstones. you rarely see these designs on the present tombstones. we finished early with our church visits so we decided to take a taxi to another church which was at the other town. we visited an old church, the bombon church and the leaning tower of bombon, the bell tower of the said church. it's not clear on the pictures but the tower was really leaning on it's side. you really have a feeling that it was about to fall. after we said our prayers, we looked around, then went back to the hotel. we rested for some time before we went out for dinner. the dinner was our father's birthday dinner so we ate at a japanese restaurant. oh, his birthday was the next day but we decided to have the birthday dinner that night because the next night, we would be traveling back to manila. anyways, for dinner, we had shabu-shabu and okonomiyaki. really delicious! it did not taste commercial like the japanese food here in manila. the japanese food really tasted authentic. it was such a great meal! after eating we headed back to the hotel to rest and get ready for our last day at naga city.
day 3 and departure from naga
for our last day, we only had one agenda, to visit the museo del seminario conciliar de nueva caceres. the museum is beside the cathedral. it featured memorabilia of prominent bishops from the town, ecclesiastical vessels and artifacts, paintings and archaeological finds like burial jars and chinese wares. after the tour, we had some rest at a small shop near the area. we then headed back to the hotel to eat lunch and to prepare out things for the trip back to manila. while we were fixing our things, we noticed that it was raining. we were really lucky to finish all our visits before it started to rain. (^_^) before we left, i took a last picture of the view from the balcony, the isarog mountain. (^_^) we did not go straight to the train station since it was still too early for our train, so we went to the mall to buy food for our trip and to each early dinner. after about two hours, we went to the train station. luckily we were able to get tickets for the sleepers bad/room. we once again took our own beds, ate some and slept the whole trip. we arrived at manila after 12 hours.
my family spent most of the day sleeping when we arrived. but for me, i had a different agenda.
please see next post. (^_^)V
oh! by the way, did you all notice that i was wearing dresses the while trip? (^_~)
5.21.2012
conferences
i attended two conferences last saturday.
the first one was an echo conference at the amoranto theater.
i did not really attend the conference, it's more of i performed at the conference. (^_^)
the second conference, i was really a participant.
it was the sfc-mmla (sfc-metro manila leader's assembly) at the afp theater.
the speaker was fr. raprap del rosario.
really amazing speaker!
not a single moment of dullness.
the talk was about "intimacy with God."
i had a great experience in both conferences.
i hope i get to attend the succeeding conferences. (^_^)
the first one was an echo conference at the amoranto theater.
i did not really attend the conference, it's more of i performed at the conference. (^_^)
the second conference, i was really a participant.
it was the sfc-mmla (sfc-metro manila leader's assembly) at the afp theater.
the speaker was fr. raprap del rosario.
really amazing speaker!
not a single moment of dullness.
the talk was about "intimacy with God."
i had a great experience in both conferences.
i hope i get to attend the succeeding conferences. (^_^)
5.11.2012
destiny
i have been very hostile recently due to "bob."
there are words and manner of speaking that i should not have done to people that didn't even have a single bad intention against me.
add to that, my "forever nemesis" made me feel it's presence once more, envy.
i felt depressed looking back on what i have done and felt these past few days.
it was too much for me to bear, i had to talk to somebody about it.
i talked to ate jen, my household head in sfc.
she gave me advice and even shared her experiences with me.
i felt better after talking to her.
we were thinking, maybe we were destined to meet, she be my household head and me a part of her household.
we have so many things in common, specially in certain experiences.
to ate jen ocbeña, thank you very much.
you are a gift of God for me. (^_^)
there are words and manner of speaking that i should not have done to people that didn't even have a single bad intention against me.
add to that, my "forever nemesis" made me feel it's presence once more, envy.
i felt depressed looking back on what i have done and felt these past few days.
it was too much for me to bear, i had to talk to somebody about it.
i talked to ate jen, my household head in sfc.
she gave me advice and even shared her experiences with me.
i felt better after talking to her.
we were thinking, maybe we were destined to meet, she be my household head and me a part of her household.
we have so many things in common, specially in certain experiences.
to ate jen ocbeña, thank you very much.
you are a gift of God for me. (^_^)
4.30.2012
birthday!
to everyone who greeted me today, thank you very much. (^_^)
22 years!
i am thankful for all the blessings i have received, specially the year that has passed.
the year that has passed is quite challenging, to be more specific, the med school life.
i have discovered a lot of things about myself and this has helped me build my "self".
i am very thankful for the knowledge i have received,
my med school friends who gave me guidance and protection.
they comforted me in times of great distress,
and they have witnessed my tears and my smiles. (^_^)
i am very thankful for their patience with me specially when studying.
i will always be grateful to them.
i am also thankful that i am now a member of the singles for christ community.
they have been my support during my difficult moments.
the prayers and the company has helped me feel closer to God.
they have made me realize and strengthen my spiritual faith.
this community has also become my outlet in sharing my talents and finding a part of myself that has been suppressed for some time now.
through this community, i felt that have become stronger in a lot of ways. (^_^)
to all the people in the past and in the present who have touched my life,
who have inspired me, pushed me forward and pulled me up,
i thank you from the bottom of my heart.
to God Almighty, thank you for all the blessings you have given me and thank you for the guidance.
i continue life and live it to the fullest~
(~_~)
22 years!
i am thankful for all the blessings i have received, specially the year that has passed.
the year that has passed is quite challenging, to be more specific, the med school life.
i have discovered a lot of things about myself and this has helped me build my "self".
i am very thankful for the knowledge i have received,
my med school friends who gave me guidance and protection.
they comforted me in times of great distress,
and they have witnessed my tears and my smiles. (^_^)
i am very thankful for their patience with me specially when studying.
i will always be grateful to them.
i am also thankful that i am now a member of the singles for christ community.
they have been my support during my difficult moments.
the prayers and the company has helped me feel closer to God.
they have made me realize and strengthen my spiritual faith.
this community has also become my outlet in sharing my talents and finding a part of myself that has been suppressed for some time now.
through this community, i felt that have become stronger in a lot of ways. (^_^)
to all the people in the past and in the present who have touched my life,
who have inspired me, pushed me forward and pulled me up,
i thank you from the bottom of my heart.
to God Almighty, thank you for all the blessings you have given me and thank you for the guidance.
i continue life and live it to the fullest~
(~_~)
4.21.2012
household
these are the songs that we sang during our household tonight. (^_^)
my heart sings for you my lord!
my heart sings for you my lord!
paper stories
we had our household again tonight. (^_^)
in one of the activities tonight,
we were asked to write our prayer and make four copies of it so we can share it to our fellow household.
as i was reading the prayers,
i realized that each sheet of paper i was holding had a story to tell.
their thanksgivings, their needs, their life.
in my hands i held a story of another human being.
wouldn't you consider it as a gift? a privilege? an honor?
i do! (^_^)
in one of the activities tonight,
we were asked to write our prayer and make four copies of it so we can share it to our fellow household.
as i was reading the prayers,
i realized that each sheet of paper i was holding had a story to tell.
their thanksgivings, their needs, their life.
in my hands i held a story of another human being.
wouldn't you consider it as a gift? a privilege? an honor?
i do! (^_^)
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