as i am at present in a low mode, my thoughts hardly would want to converge into weaving words perceived to be of value.

however low it may seem though, i am to come back wiser...

the greatest sets of words ever written were a product of times either too good or too unpleasant..

there'll be more.. may disputants don't needlessly protract this mode..and if some good sense refute these disputants, then re-existence will be just in a jiffy..

meantime, you enjoy!

while i chill out........


off to my cavern..

you are only hurting yourself with your anger - Job 18:4

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom -Psalm 90:12

Edwin's dad passed away last Sunday. There's mourning of course. It was unexpected, a heart attack. If you are Edwin and your wedding is in 2 weeks, how would you feel?

The barong Tagalog (a Filipino formal wear) that his dad's supposed to wear on Edwin's wedding day is the same one he is wearing while lying peacefully in his coffin. A few weeks ago, Edwin jokingly said "Papa will stand out in this barong. It even is better than the one I'll be wearing on my own wedding day!"

I was there on the 3rd night then on the 5th. While sharing stories, me and other friends worked on "kim" - a brown paper folded like a boat with a stamped name of the person who just died. It's a Chinese tradition to have boxes of kim burned. They believe that the more kims burned, the more money there will be in the next life. The name is stamped and serves as a seal to indicate who should receive it - in this case, Edwin's dad.

Edwin is one of those who do not believe in most of the Chinese traditions and customs. But just so as not to offend his dad's relatives and to avoid more arguments with them, he opted following some of these traditions.

On the day that I learned about the death of his dad, I literally didn't know how I'd be able to at least comfort him and Julie, his fiancee. Both are my close friends. Good thing Ciel and Anthony were there. They did what I couldn't.

My father passed away 5 years ago. I spent a whole week locked in my room crying. It took quite a long time before I eventually got used to not having him around. And once in a while, when I remember something about him, I of course miss him terribly. So I know, no amount of comfort and encouraging words can lighten up the feeling of one who has just lost one of those he dearly loves.

I understand that birth and death are normal events every one has to go through. And life is indeed too short. First day of school, graduation, wedding, a birth of a child, death of parents, growing old... then life ends. Don't you wish you were able to do more the past years, or perhaps yesterday? Don't you regret not having loved more and given more?

Live today as if it were your last..

We plowed through ten inches of snow into the cemetery, got about fifty yards from my dad's grave, with the wind blowing about twenty-five miles per hour, and the six of us lugged that casket down to the gravesite... We watched the body lowered into the grave and we turned to leave. I felt something was undone, so I said, "I'd like for us to have a prayer." The six of us huddled together and I prayed, "Lord, this is such a cold, lonely place..." And then I got too choked up to pray anymore. I kept battling to get my composure, and finally I just whispered, "But I thank you, for we know that to be absent from the body is to be safe in your warm arms." -Bob

a well spent day brings a happy sleep

I was in Spore a month ago and met a group of IT people who's into helping every Filipino in Singapore every chance they get and however they can. One of the noble projects they did was the computerization of the Philippine Embassy in Singapore - guess what? for free! They help each other even with problems at work, immigration, etc. They're dead serious into building each other up :) I'm just so proud of this group that I can't help sharing it with you. I just told them I hope the kind of culture they were able to start will just continue and be like a contagious disease that will eventually spread through the hearts of other Filipinos in Spore. You know even some of the dhs drag each other down. It's really sad, but this group is starting and trying to change that. Like them, I really hope we can all contribute something into making our fellow kababayans proud of our country and our race. I feel even more inspired to strive for excellence upon learning about this group. May this inspire you also. :)

"If each citizen does not use his freedom to try to make things a little better, then his apathy helps to make things a little worse."


can't remember where it's from

fear is just a normal reaction, a feeling
towards
something one has not come across before,
a situation one has never been into,
something one has not enough knowledge of
a situation one has not the confidence to handle

to listen and not merely hear, is a way to have enough knowledge
to have enough knowledge is a way to understanding
to understand with your heart is a way to wisdom
with wisdom is confidence
and confidence conquers fear

wisdom is received by those who seek for it...

A responsible Warrior is not someone who takes the weight of the world on his shoulders, but someone who has learned to deal with the challenges of the moment

Warrior of the Light

If racing against mere men makes you tired,

how will you race against horses?
- Jeremiah 12:5


Dream no small dreams
for they have no power
to move the hearts of men.

Goethe


It is for us to pray not for tasks
equal to our powers,
but for powers equal to our tasks,
to go forward with a great desire
forever beating at the door of our hearts
as we travel toward our distant goal

Hellen Keller


When you do the common things in life
in an uncommon way,
you will command the attention of the world.

George Washington Carver


"By Endurance We Conquer"
He lived by and was haunted by these words.
He tested these words everyday of his life,
He ran,
he walked,
he pulled,
he pushed,
he studied,
he listened.

Leonard Sweet, referring to Shackleton

Nothing earthly
shall make me give up
my work in despair.
I encourage myself
in the Lord my God,
and go forward.

David Livingstone

Do Business Honorably

Lots of folks confuse bad business ethics with destiny.

Somehow we forget the saying that even if we win the rat race,
the winner is still a rat!

Business does not exist in order to make a profit.
It exists in order to benefit society.
Profit is simply society's reward
for the job well done.
- Konosuke Matsushita
(Japan's legendary and revered business genius)

..business is an art for the nobles, not a science for the charlatans. Business, therefore, is not to win, it is to achieve a win-win situation. Somebody provides and responds to a need and he gets rewarded for doing so when he earns a reasonable profit.


Three Little Words

tough times

When something bad happens to us, it may just be a consequence of a wrong decision or action we made in the past. These consequences are supposed to teach us something. how do we handle them? still head on.. tough times make us tougher. It is through difficulties that we learn most and develop a better character - that is if we handle them correctly. Ask God for wisdom and provision (for your needs), obey and let Him lead your every action, consult Him for every decision you have to make, then thank Him for all He has done and yet to do.

Any thing that comes to us, whether good or bad, may still lead into something great. Just with the right perspective and an unflinching faith that our God is able to turn and make things work together for our good :)

what we ought to think about

8...whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Philippians 4 (KJV)

there are no great men;
just great challenges
ordinary men
like you and I
must face..

Admiral "Bull" Halsey

fear

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God, your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-read by Ubiquarian on the wall of a youth hostel in Nairobi

hmm.. i did a little research on this quotation. apparently, this was used by Nelson Mandela in one of his speeches, and from then on has been mis-attributed to him. Further research says it's from a book called RETURN TO LOVE published in 1992.

The secret of achievements is to hold a picture of a successful outcome in the mind.

Thoreau

stand up

fall seven times


stand up eight



Japanese Proverb

I also made a commitment that any business decision I made would be based on His Word. I desired to be a Christian who happened to be a businessman, not a businessman who happened to be a Christian.

God will show you how to work successfully with people. I follow the scriptural admonition of thinking more highly of others than I do of myself. So many people have followed books like Winning through Intimidation and Looking Out for #1, which are utterly destructive.

You don't build a successful team through intimidation;
you get people to work together
because they want to,
and because they trust you.

Excerpts from "A No-Lose Proposition" by Chuck Collings

books worth reading

Here's a list of some of the books I've read, and their authors. Included are only those I find beneficial. I have wasted quite a lot of money on crap books which deceived me of promising to be with substantial content. Yes, I also get deceived at times. I really don't mind.. it's from our mistakes that we learn and become wiser. You might also want to have them on your bookshelves..after you've read them, that is. READ THEM, don't just stock them!

I remember a line from a movie which says "It is through reading that one can be in a company of a great person or be in any place imaginable".

I'll be sharing some of those I've learned from reading, in my next posts..but you may want to read the whole thing, so here goes...

By the way, be also careful with what you feed your mind of. Not everything we read is true and is applicable to the situation or circumstance we are in. We ought to ask God for wisdom to absorb only those that are helpful in building a better character in us and reject those that may just destroy it. Keep what is worth keeping and live it, throw away the rest. Enjoy reading!

21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day - John Maxwell
Alchemist, The - Paulo Coelho
Amy Carmichael (Life of) - Janet & Jeoff Benge
Be All You Can Be! - John Maxwell
Be Smart - Start and Manage Your Own Business - Marlo Sanchez
Becoming a Person of Influence - John Maxwell
Beginner's Guide to Fasting - Elmer Towns
Best of FOOD Magazine
Boy Meets Girl - Joshua Harris
Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
Complete Family Guide to HEALTHY LIVING - Dr. Stephen Carroll, Dr. Tony Smith
Corporate Giants - Robert Darden & P.J. Richardson
Corrie ten Boom (Life of) - Janet & Jeoff Benge
Desiring God - John Piper
Developing the Leader Within You - John Maxwell
Early Bird Catches the Worm, but the Second Mouse Gets the Cheese - Francis Kong
Failing Forward - John Maxwell
Gems from Tozer - AW Tozer
Gift of Acabar, The - Og Mandino
George Mueller (Life of) - Janet & Jeoff Benge
Getting a Grip on Your Money - William C. Wood
Greatest Salesman in the World I - Og Mandino
Greatest Salesman in the World II - Og Mandino
Greatest Success in the World - Og Mandino
HalfTime - Bob Buford
Holy Bible, The *this one I read every day :)
I Kissed Dating Goodbye - Joshua Harris
Intimacy With the Almighty - Charles Swindoll
It's My Turn - Ruth Bell Graham
Jack - Jack Welch
Jesus I Never Knew, The - Philip Yancey
Jesus, CEO - Laurie Beth Jones
Jim Elliot (Life of) - Janet & Jeoff Benge
Keep a Quiet Heart - Elizabeth Elliot
Leadership Promises for Every Day - John Maxwell
Leadership Secrets of Jesus, The - Mike Murdock
Life Lifters - Zig Ziglar
Lists to Live By (Books 1 to 4) - Alice Gray, Steve Stephens, John Van Diest
Little Prince, The - Antoine de Saint Exupery
Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
Loving Monday - John D. Beckett
More Than Conquerors
Morning By Morning - Charles Spurgeon
My Utmost for His Highest - Oswald Chambers
One Day at a Time - Francis Kong
Only The Real Matters - Francis Kong
Passion and Purity - Elizabeth Elliot
Power of a Praying Woman,The - Stormie O'Martian
Prayer of Jabez - Bruce Wilkinson
Pursuit of God - AW Tozer
Quest for Character - Charles Swindoll
Quest for Love - Elizabeth Elliot
Return of the Ragpicker, The - Og Mandino
Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki
Screwtape Letters, The - CS Lewis
Secure in the Everlasting Arms - Elizabeth Elliot
Soul of the Firm, The - C.William Pollard
Streams in the Desert - LB Cowman
Three Little Words - Francis Kong
Tips and Traps (When Buying or Building a Home) - Armando Ang
Top Performance - Zig Ziglar
Touching God - Harold Sala
Warrior of the Light - Paulo Coelho
Way of the Shepherd - Kevin Leman and William Pentak
Winning Attitude, The - John Maxwell
Woman After God's Own Heart - Elizabeth George
Works of the Holy Spirit, The - Witness Lee
You Can Be a World Changer
You Can Reach the Top - Zig Ziglar

past is past

You will not win the race by looking over your shoulder.
We must learn from the past, not dwell on it.

The Soul of the Firm

Distraction

Distraction is anything that draws your attention away
from your purpose.

Refuse to get distracted. Stay focused on your life mission!

Proverbs 4:25-26
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
26 Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.

First Born - Noel

He is my brother yet I didn't know him. My sisters would tell me he was sacrificing so much just to help our parents with the family's financial needs.

Ours is a family of 11. Imagine how 9 mouths may be fed by one. Nanay was a full time mother and wife. Tatay was a school principal. No other source of income, but the small amount he receives as a salary.

These are the stories told by my sisters and my parents about this person I didn't know.

He left to work abroad while he was still in college, or right after he graduated from college. He left without advising our parents. He called to inform them when he's already settled in another country. He did it because he knew my parents would be hesitant to have him work abroad.
From then on, he never failed to send money to support us with our daily needs: food, tuition fee, etc.

As a kid he was naughty. As a grown up, he was a quiet person.

He was intelligent, always at the top of his class.

My sister remembers him sacrificing his own allowance, just to have something to give to her.

He was thoughtful.

He was good in anything on design, architecture and the arts.


I spent so little time with him. He was the eldest, I'm the youngest. These are those i remember.

He comes home only to visit for a few days.

There was a time he got interested in photography and took solo pictures of each of his siblings.



He gave me gifts: a doll with its head swaying along the music produced by winding a button on its back- when i was 6, a silver watch in high school, a computer in college.




He plays the guitar well. In one of his visits, he played the guitar while all of us sang. I remember a part of the song -

live your story
faith, hope & glory
hold to the truth in your heart

He writes well, too. I can tell from the letters he was sending us.

He went through a lot of hardships and difficulties. He had lots of struggles, too. Yet, he continually provided for us.

All 8 of us finished school. I knew he made sure we would.

Once i was old enough to learn about his sacrifices, I couldn't help imagining how hard it would have been for him - to have a family depending on him when it's not any of his responsibilities.
He must have carried a heavy weight on his shoulders during those times. Was there probably a time when he wanted to give up?

There are more stories about him, which make me admire him even more. I have been looking up to him since I started grasping the stories about him, which my family continually tells me.
When I finally had the chance to spend time with him,the more that I couldn't believe such a person exists.

Now he is even better. He has the Lord Jesus Christ in him. All these years he was being prepared and was being protected and set apart.

I will always be grateful to God for this person's life and for the privilege of having him as a brother. Then only in blood, now a brother also in Christ.

Like David, he is now becoming a man after God's own heart. And I am still at awe with the way God has put together every little piece of his life.

Thank you for everything you did and gave to the family! The day that you came was indeed something to rejoice and be glad about. Thus today, you are remembered. Will forever be grateful to God for you.

I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. - Acts 13:22


And then my soul, awaking with the morn
Shall be a waking joy, eternally new-born. - George MacDonald