Archive for May, 2008

A Very Special Meal

{ May 30, 2008 @ 12:09 pm } · { inspiring thoughts, just post it, spiritual side of me }
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Once there was a very poor and devoted woman who always prayed to the Glory of God, asking very little, if anything for herself. But one thought, one desire continued to recur and finally she asked: petitioning the Lord, that if it were possible she would love to prepare a special meal and have God share at her table. And God, in His Love for this goodly woman, said He would indeed come the next day and share a meal.

Filled with ecstasy, the woman went out the following morning with her meager purse and purchased such delicacies that she felt would please the Lord.

Returning home, she prepared a banquet and waited patiently for her most honored guest. Soon there was a knock on the door, and when she opened it, there stood an old beggar asking for something to eat. Being a woman of God, she could not turn the beggar away, so she invited him in to partake of her table. The beggar felt as if he was in a dream – such a feast set before him. He finished all the food, thanked his hostess and left.

The woman was only slightly disheartened, she gathered up her purse, her coat, and hurried back to town to get more food for her special guest. Her funds were less now and so the food was not quite so elaborate. Nonetheless, she lovingly prepared another meal and sat to await the arrival of the Almighty.

A few hours went by and there was a loud knock on the door. This time it was an old gypsy woman with no teeth, who was deaf, who spoke quite loudly and was, rather rudely, insisting that any true believer in the Lord would not deny her something to eat.

Though the woman had no more money with which to buy more supplies, she invited the woman in and offered her a seat at the table. The gypsy ate everything, did not even thank the woman and left without closing the door.

By now it was beginning to get dark both inside and out. The woman’s faith was strong, so that, though somewhat distraught, she did not give up, but rather, looked around her humble house to see if there was anything she could sell in order to buy more food to set before the Lord.

She hurried to town with a little silver cup that had been in her family for several generations, but she was willing to part with it for the great honor that God was going to bestow on her – the sharing of a meal.

Late in the night she rushed home to prepare yet a third meal. She waited and waited until, once more, there was a knock on the door. Holding her breath, she slowly opened the door to find yet another poor man in the guise of a wandering monk, in search of a meal.

Again, she offered hospitality, with as much grace as she could muster in her disappointment. This man also ate all that was set on the table and left after blessing the woman for her kindness. So discouraged and dismayed was she that all she could do was nod slightly, in acknowledgment of the thanks.

Now it was too late, with no way to buy any more food and no more money with which to buy it. She got down on her knees, weeping such heart-broken tears. She asked God what she had done wrong. Why had God not come to share at the table as He had promised?

And God, in all His Divine Compassion and Mercy, lifted the woman off her knees, and holding her close to His Heart, said, “My child, I enjoyed your hospitality so much that I came three times!”

Change

{ May 28, 2008 @ 12:04 pm } · { just post it }
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Though its been a cliche to quote that in this world, ” nothing is permanent except change”, however still I would want in as much as i could to keep some things in constant. I have been in the blogospehere for quite three years to be exact. Yeah, three long years of writing my feelings and experiences about family, people ,friends and of the men who came in my life but then eventually go. But I decided to slowly cut myself off from my old site and start here to become a new me…and that if not stronger, at least wiser. They say, “happiness is a choice” and so in my own way, i wish to choose that happiness for me, regardless of the tests of time. I don’t know if hiding my personality here would help.

Hey! it’s just a simple cheat!

{ May 20, 2008 @ 11:13 am } · { just post it }
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Look into your simple classroom setting. Now get a bigger picture of your school, of your city, and lastly, of your country.

Our money, where are you going?!? This must have been your question too. Consumers undeniably often look for liquidations, reports, auditing and everything just to check or to kep on track of it.
Imagine this -inflation in our country does not just increase relatively but it increases extremely. Look at the prices in the canteen? On supermarkets? Everywhere! In simple class fund collections? The fund in the city? In the Philippines? Now, do all these reports they present to you answer your doubts? I don’t think so. Well, it’s not just about us being so cynical but we really just have to be vigilant.
To thosein authority: we entrusted to you these so you have to take care of it. We’re really not hungry for evidences just so we could present proofs for something against you. In very first place, we shouldn’t have to think and care for it we were not given the idea of its existence.
Now could anyone tell me you didn’t ever cheat in your whole life? And where do you think these criminals cases came from? Of course, it begins within simple cheating even within ourselves.
To ourselves: do not just say, “Hey it’s just a simple cheat!”.

Searching

{ May 16, 2008 @ 12:06 pm } · { just post it }
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i sat quietly in one corner…
hoping to find serenity within me…
the wind was blowing gently..
kissing me entirely….
i looked around to find familiar faces…
but what i saw was my mere reflection in the shadow…
it felt odd…i was again alone..
it was just yesterday when i heard my heartbeat in a song…
i knew from that moment i was in unexplainable jaunt..
my mind was empty..my shoulder so weary..
seemed like i was almost drowning from feeling the silence around me…
i wanted to shout and say, “hey!~can somebody hear me?”
i just needed to talk to let go of this anxiety.

Job Hunting

{ May 14, 2008 @ 11:20 am } · { just post it }
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To job-hunt is easy but being “hunted” for a job isn’t!:)

If we have thousands of graduates each year and available job opportunities are only half the population of those graduates, where do we put the rest? Granted that one call center company is in search for call center agents. And that out of 100 applicants only 40 pass for the final screening while only 15 are finally hired, what luck awaits then for the ones not accepted? (surely they’ve already lined up to their sweat and money to get passport and visa to find their luck in foreign lands). sigh!:o

The sad thing is that we only have very few graduates who acquire linguistic competence able to answer an English speaker interviewer with fluency. However, this is the reality when you are a job-seeker in the Philippine context.

Some say that being hired for a good job esp. in the Philippine setting is just a matter of luck, while some claim that it’s a matter of having good scholastic record plus determination and guts. Hence, in some instance, if you are not accepted because you don’t have “padreno, kapit, or under the table” connection, you will go home hoping that you were not raised or born in this kind of country. (haha!) That’s what some say that job-seeking nowadays is about “it’s whom you know and not what you know”. tsk!tsk!

However, I still would want to correct those wrong notions about job-hunting in the Philippines.

Pakitang tao

{ May 11, 2008 @ 3:33 am } · { just post it }
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The combination of the words roughly translated is something like “human facade”. This term sort of says- most of us aren’t human or human enough to begin with or aren’t totally human. Hence the human face if shown is a facade.

Its similar to “plastik” but plastik refers mainly to the relationship between the speaker and the person referred to. This one deals mainly with the relationship of the person referred to and third persons. But most people use these words interchangeably.

You’ll hardly hear this from the far out provinces- mostly you’ll hear this phrase in crowded areas where some long staying occupants would detest new arrivals. Its also used when one group relates with another different group.

Acts of charity, acts of friendliness, kindness are said to be for show only. Deep within the façade is a monster struggling to come out. For a person to whom this words are said the best defense to set up would be “Aren’t we all?” or “Lahat tayo pare-pareho lang” that’s echoing the answer those who would want to cast the first stone.

Forgiveness Prayer

{ May 6, 2008 @ 11:17 am } · { inspiring thoughts, just post it, spiritual side of me }
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Let us pray…

The following prayer covers most significant areas
of forgiveness. Often, such a prayer will bring to
mind other areas that need forgiveness. Let the Holy
Spirit move freely and guide your mind to persons or
groups that you need to forgive.

Lord Jesus Christ,
I ask today to forgive EVERYONE in my life.
I know that You will give me the strength to
forgive and I thank You that You love me more
than I love myself and want my happiness more than
I desire it for myself. Father, I forgive YOU for
the times death has come into the family, hard times,
financial difficulties, or what I thought were punishments
sent by You and people said, “It?s God?s will,” and I
become bitter and resentful toward You.

Purify my heart and mind today.
Lord, I forgive MYSELF for my sins, faults and failings,
for all that is bad in myself or that I think is bad,
I forgive myself; and I accept Your forgiveness. I further
forgive MYSELF for taking Your name in vain, not worshipping
You by attending church, for hurting my parents, getting drunk,
for sins against purity, bad books, bad movies, fornication,
adultery, homosexuality. Also, for abortion, stealing, lying,
defrauding, hurting peoples? reputation.
You have forgiven me today, and I forgive myself.

Thank You, Lord,
for your grace at this moment. I also forgive MYSELF
for any delvings in superstition, using ouija boards,
horoscopes, going to s顮ces, using fortune telling or
wearing lucky charms. I reject all that superstition and
choose You alone as my Lord and Savior. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit.

Lord, I truly forgive my MOTHER.
I forgive her for all the times she hurt me, she resented
me, she was angry with me and for all the times she punished
me. I forgive her for the times she preferred my brothers and
sisters to me. I forgive her for the times she told me I was
dumb, ugly, stupid, the worst of the children or that I cost
the family a lot of money. For the times she told me I was
unwanted, an accident, a mistake or not what she expected, I forgive her.

Lord, I truly forgive my FATHER.
I forgive him for any non-support, any lack of love, affection
or attention. I forgive him for any lack of time, for not giving
me his companionship, for his drinking, arguing and fighting with
my mother or the other children. For his severe punishments, for
desertion, for being away from home, for divorcing my mother or for
any running around, I do forgive him.

Lord, I extend forgiveness
to my SISTERS AND BROTHERS. I forgive those who rejected me,
lied about me, hated me, resented me, competed for my parents?
love, those who hurt me, who physically harmed me. For those
who were too severe on me, punished me or made my life unpleasant
in any way, I do forgive them.

Lord, I forgive my SPOUSE
for lack of love, affection, consideration, support, attention,
communication; for faults, failings, weaknesses and those other
acts or words that hurt or disturb me.

Jesus, I forgive my CHILDREN
for their lack of respect, obedience, love, attention, support,
warmth, understanding; for their bad habits, falling away from the
church, any bad actions which disturb me.

Lord God, I forgive my IN-LAWS,
MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, FATHER-IN-LAW, SON/DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AND
OTHER RELATIVES by marriage, who treat my family with a lack
of love. For all their words, thoughts, actions or omissions
which injure and cause pain, I forgive them.

Please help to forgive my RELATIVES,
my grandmother and grandfather, aunts, uncles, cousins, who
may have interfered in our family, been possessive of my parents,
who may have caused confusion or turned one parent against the other.

Jesus, help me to forgive my CO-WORKERS
who are disagreeable or make life miserable for me. For
those who push their work off on me, gossip about me, won?t
cooperate with me, try to take my job, I do forgive them.

My NEIGHBORS
need to be forgiven, Lord. For all their noise, letting
their property run down, not tying up their dogs who run
through my yard, not taking in their trash barrels, being
prejudiced and running down the neighborhood, I do forgive them.

I do forgive my CLERGYMAN,
my CONGREGATION and my CHURCH for their lack of support,
affirmation, bad sermons, pettiness, lack of friendliness, not
providing me or my family with the inspiration we needed, for
any hurts they have inflicted on me or my family, even in
the distant past, I forgive them today.

Lord, I forgive all
those who are of different PERSUASIONS, those of opposite
political views who have attacked me, ridiculed me, discriminated
against me, made fun of me, economically hurt me.

I forgive those
of different religious DENOMINATIONS AND BELIEFS
who have harassed me, attacked me, argued with me,
forced their view on me or my family.

Those who have harmed me
ETHNICALLY, have discriminated against me, mocked me,
made jokes about my race or nationality, hurt my family
physically, emotionally or economically, I do forgive them today.

Lord, I forgive
all PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE who have hurt me in any way:
doctors, nurses, lawyers, judges, politicians and civil servants.

I forgive all service people:
policemen, firemen, bus drivers, hospital workers and
especially repairmen who have taken advantage of me in their work.

Lord, I forgive my EMPLOYER
for not paying me enough money, for not appreciating my work,
for being unkind and unreasonable with me, for being angry or
unfriendly, for not promoting me, and for not complimenting me on my work.

Lord, I forgive my SCHOOLTEACHERS
AND INSTRUCTORS of the past as well as the present. For those
who punished me, humiliated me, insulted me, treated me unjustly,
made fun of me, called me dumb or stupid, made me stay after
school, I truly forgive them today.

Lord, I forgive my FRIENDS
who have let me down, lost contact with me, do not support me,
were not available when I needed help, borrowed money and did not
return it, gossiped about me.

Lord Jesus,
I especially pray for the grace of forgiveness for the ONE
PERSON in life who has HURT ME THE MOST.

I ask to forgive
anyone who I consider my greatest enemy, the one who is the
hardest to forgive or the one who I said I will never forgive.

Lord,
I beg pardon of all these people for the hurt I have inflicted
on them, especially my mother and father, and my marriage partner.

I am especially sorry
for the three greatest hurts I have inflicted on each of these.

Thank You, Jesus,
that I am being freed of the evil of unforgiveness.
Let Your Holy Spirit fill me with light and
let every dark area of my mind be enlightened.
AMEN.

Forgiveness is an act of the will, not a feeling.
If we pray for a person, we can be assured that we have
forgiven that person. To help accept an individual and
open ourselves to a particular person more, picture
him with the Lord Jesus and say to the Lord,
“I love him because You love him. I forgive him because You forgive him.”

Forgiveness is a life-long obligation.
Daily we need to forgive those who hurt or injure us.

From the book by Father Robert DeGrandis S.S.J. and Betty Tapscott:
Forgiveness & Inner Healing; Twenty-fourth Printing September 2001.
Permission to copy is granted by Father DeGrandis.
(copyright info must remain in tact.)

Allow the inner light to guide you..

{ May 2, 2008 @ 11:01 am } · { just post it }
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There comes a time when you must stand alone. You must feel confident enough within yourself to follow your own dreams.

You must be willing to make sacrifices.

You must be capable of changing and rearranging your priorities so that your final goal can be achieved.

Sometimes, familiarity and comfort need to be challenged.

There are times when you must take a few extra chances and create your own realities.

Be strong enough to at least try to make your life better.

Be confident enough that you won’t settle for a compromise just to get by.

Appreciate yourself by allowing yourself the opportunities to grow, develop, and find your true sense of purpose in this life.

Don’t stand in someone else’s shadow when it’s your sunlight that should lead the way.