Good day friends, Picture Perfect is back! Well, before this year ends, I want to revive this meme and hopefully I could maintain it for a longer period of time. As for my entry today, this was taken during our Anniversary Celebration in our church. That two pretty ladies who makes fun with my baby bumps are siblings, Jhing and Jizza...

Please link up and show me your best picture that was perfectly taken :)

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Happy New Year everyone.

Before this year ends, let's try to have a self-inventory which will include our attitude towards our work... How fair and honest are we when it comes to performing our specific tasks? Do we keep on complaining? Do we keep on arguing with our office mates? It would be too arrogant for us to say that we did nothing wrong for the whole years' work. We cannot deny the fact that we've been through stressful jobs which could affect our attitude towards work (which sometimes would be negative :)

For 2012, let's try to make a difference. If we do not like our Bosses, then why not dedicate our work towards God instead of men... Just like what have been emphasized in the book of Thessalonians. And as to our Ministry, let us just focus our heart and mind to the main reason why we are continually doing it. Let Jesus Christ be our focus, and let our strength and endurance be drawn from Him. Let us just remember that our labor for Him will never be in vain.

Happy New Year everyone!

(For my fellow Kagay-anons who survived the Tropical Storm Sendong)

Lately, I find it quite tasking to gather all my thoughts and share all my ideas here on my blog. I was completely blank then. Good thing there are those memes who could help me get my blog alive. With the tragic happenings that my city faced lately, it seems like all my energy and effort were also consumed. But then, it shouldn't be that way. Life must go on after all.

Last Saturday, it seems like it was just an ordinary day. All my families were gathered together to celebrate. I got a call from my sister abroad. I wasn't able to wake up at exactly 12 midnight. It was past 1AM when me and Hubby woke up. On the radio and television news, the updates about the missing people and the dead bodies being found were still on the headlines. Relief goods and cash donations still keep on coming. You can also hear a bad news of few evacuees who died during Christmas because they cannot bear the pain anymore with the situation...

We used to view Christmas where everybody should be happy and merry. We used to view it as the only season (aside from our birthday) that we could receive a lot of gifts and blessings from our friends and families. We missed  to realize that Christmas is not all about us. It's about Jesus Christ and the reason why He came into this world more than 2,000 years ago. However, we used to miss the real meaning of Christmas. We are too focused with ourselves that when the tragic night did came and surprised us, we were caught unaware and unprepared. This is the reality that we often missed. Just like a thief, accident and death will come beyond our expectation.

Blessings in disguise, that accident brought people to come together in unison to extend help and be of an encouragement to those who were affected. Even some personalities were spending their Christmas not with their own family but with the victims at the Evacuation Center. The aftermath caused other brethren here and abroad to  share their blessings. The spirit of cooperation and concern were evident. All I could hope for is that no individuals like showbiz personalities and politicians will take advantage of the situation. May the help they were able to extend is 

Showing love on Christmas doesn't really require us much of our resources other than our time and concern for our less fortunate brethren who lost almost everything. Let us continue to pray that God will restore what were lost.

I am not really into action movie but still I would like to share this one. The movie is quite brutal considering that it deals with Assassins but the story is great. 

Main Casts:

• 
  Robert Carlyle 
  
• 
  Ving Rhames 
  
• 
  Kelly Hu 
  
• 
  Ian Somerhalder 
  Miles Slade
• 
  Liam Cunningham 
  
• 
  

The story is quite similar to movies like Death Race and Arena. This is not suitable for young audiences so Parental Guidance should be highly regarded.

I'm back for Friday Fragments... This week isn't that good after what had happened in the entire city of Cagayan de Oro which was severely affected by the Tropical Storm Washi (local name: "Sendong"). It's been a week already yet you can still see the evidences of his wrath... those debris that you can see wherever you go will remind you how devastating it was for most Kagay-anons.

Let me reminisce the events that took place starting last Friday... 

Friday, December 16, 2011- Everybody was so busy for the preparation of the Christmas Fellowship presentation in our office... Our presentation was an Interpretative Shadow Dance where I played the role of Mary, all I have to do is simply walk from one corner to the other end before three of my colleagues will perform the Interpretative Shadow Dance of the music "We Are The Reason". The Fellowship ended up past 10 AM. But as early as 6 PM, the rain poured heavily already but we barely noticed it since we are inside the hotel. When we are about to go home, it took us almost one hour to get a  taxi with my Hubby and as soon as we reached home I easily fall asleep with my ever tired body... 

Saturday, December 17, 2011- Around 1AM, my hubby's attention was caught by a commotion outside so he went out to check it. Then he learned from the owner of the house (we're renting then) that there's a flood coming. Hubby woke me up and told me about it. He then instructed me to help him put all things in our bed. In less than ten minutes, the water came reaching below my knee just in time for all our things to get elevated. There was a power outage then and what we could rely on for lights are our cellphones only. However, my phone's battery was empty so it's my hubby's phones that were working only.It was quite late that I realized that my feet were soaked on the water almost forgetting the fact that I am pregnant which is not good for the baby. So I sit on a chair with my feet on it while my hubby went to his mother's house to help his sister who was alone during that time. I was so scared then that I just kept on asking God to keep the water from rising. Our land lady called me to stay upstairs and should not get worried to much since it is not really good for my baby. My tummy moves a lot during that time and out of fear, I went upstairs leaving my hubby and the owner of the house downstairs. They monitored the movement of the water which subsided only after a couple of hours. I wasn't able to get enough sleep during that time especially when it rained again. I really thought that what I went through was the worst thing ever but I was surprised when I learned from my church mates that they spent long hours on the roof until they were rescued by some concerned citizen. The entire day was spent with my hubby helping and running an errand for some church mates who were severely affected while I stayed with my brother's house. We went home to my mother so spend the night. 
Sunday, December 18, 2011- I wasn't able to go with my hubby to the church. I just stayed home.
Monday to Friday, December 19-23, 2011- It was a long week indeed and people are too busy going to and fro to extend their help. As for me, I was being faced again with emotional storm. A storm that really test the patience within me... 
Hubby was not feeling well too. But by God's grace we're able to endure that long, rigid week. We finally went back to our place though there are still no water.  
Saturday, December 24, 2011- I stayed at my mother's house to spend the Noche Buena with my nieces and nephew. Everything went well then... 


I was still asleep when the 12 midnight struck. It was already 1AM when I woke up. 


I am glad that God eventually heals all the wounds that is within me... The time that I woke up on the dawn of December 25, my heart was already settled. 

My heart is quite heavy while trying to gather all my thoughts in order to express my feelings deep within me this Thankful Thursday. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, it says there, "Give thanks in all circumstances... Whether we are in a desperate or happy moments, we are happy or sad, God still deserves our great gratitude... Today, my heart isn't right and I am trying to weigh things out on what I should be thankful for aside from God sparing our lives from the recent tragedy. Well, that alone deserves God's glory... But still, my heart isn't right. There's a storm that's going on within me... More than Signal # 2. In as much as I want to forget it, my heart just bleed with the fact that it really hurts me a lot...  don't want to go into detail but one thing is for sure, God will restore my heart in due time. Yes, I've been through this before and I made it. There's no reason that I cannot get through this again this time... 

Lord, just give me the strength that I need. Don't allow hatred nor grudges dwell into my heart. Please help me understand the situation. Please do not allow the enemy to conquer my emotion and use it to his advantage...

Thank you, Lord

One of the things that a couple or a wedding planner should consider if organizing a wedding is the transportation. If you are running out of transportation for the couple or for families or even for the entourage, consider  hiring a vehicle just like Wedding Limo Hire Warrington. Limo is advisable because it is very spacious. The parents of both sides can go together with the couple. Try to reserve one now to make your client's wedding day extra special.

This picture was taken by my younger sister. Isn't it great to stay on a place like this? How I wish someday I can be here and actually feel the snow...

 

Have you watched this movie? If not, you should have to. This is a movie about love, faith and integrity...


Here's the summary:

Rizwan Khan, a Muslim from the Borivali section of Mumbai, suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism that complicates socialization. The adult Rizwan marries a Hindu single mother, Mandira, in San Francisco. After 9/11, Rizwan is detained by authorities at LAX who mistake his disability for suspicious behavior. Following his arrest, he meets Radha, a therapist who helps him deal with his situation and his affliction. Rizwan then begins a journey to meet US President Obama to clear his name.

The story will surely moves you... Don't fail to watch it.

Few days from now and it will be Christmas already. Some will be celebrating it together with the whole family while those who were victims of the Tropical Storm Sendong will be spending it most likely at the evacuation center if no relatives or friends will be going to adopt them.

Homeless and hopeless, this would be the common feeling of the majority. I do not know how the government will address this kind of problem. Hundreds of families were affected and finding them a shelter of their own is not that easy (Not unless those realty owners will have the heart to donate a parcel of their lands that is away from the prone- to- flood areas). It's nice to note that there are so many concerned citizens who have took the initiative to extend their help by giving foods and clothing. Speaking of foods, noodles, uncooked rice and canned goods are okay however, for those who cannot cook because they were not able to save any cooking utensils, perhaps, a ready-to-eat foods are more practical though it is quite tasking and needs more helping hands to do so. 

Well, in view of this dilemma (yup, I could really considered it as  a dilemma), some people took the initiative to have a campaign for cooking pot. Well, of course for those who are not able to make it here personally at CDO, you can donate a cash. the aim is to collect 1,000 cooking pots for those severely affected families.

Please join the campaign and care to pass this message.

God bless!

...after the tragedy? 

Words are not enough to console those who lost not only their belongings but also their love ones. Tropical Storm Sendong's wrath leaves Kagay-anons in total mess. There are still lots of people who are missing, some dead bodies remain unclaimed. It is so difficult to have this kind of burden, seeing those who were severely affected became so helpless. I wasn't able to roam around the city but by merely hearing and watching the news, you will really felt for those brethren who is in total agony. We are slightly affected too but the things that I felt that night was way too far compared to those who were living near the river, whose house were being washed out by the flash floods.Indeed it is so difficult to describe the whole scenario. People were wailing,calling for their love ones, desperately seeking for help. It is hard to imagine enduring such situation in the wee hour of the morning where there is a total power failure. Some were caught unaware, really unprepared. Nobody expected it to happen, or if they did, nobody thought it would be that worst. Among those who were casualties are children, pregnant women, old ones. Cars were totally wrecked, overturned, and washed away from the owner's residences. Animals were not even spared.

I commend for those concerned citizen who extended their time and effort to help. Also for those City officials who were truly sincere with their eagerness to help... I just hope that those politicians who were trying to ride into the situation for their political will and hidden agenda be enlightened enough. I can name a few who is trying to make a name in exchange of their "heartfelt" donations. God knows the motives of your heart, you cannot fool Him. My salute to the Vice- President of the Philippines whose humble presence was not smeared with any political hidden agenda. You can really felt his sincerity and concern for the victims.

For those businessmen engaging in water refilling business, it is such a sad scenario that some of them are making business beyond the normal situation (a refill with a price double than the suggested retail price). I just hope they can empathize with those victims instead of choking them to the extent. There is a water scarcity in the entire city. People are squeezing their resources just to get safe drinking water. Indeed, businessmen applied the law of supply and demands, wherein if the demands are high but the supplies are low, the price will surely go higher. But there should be an exemption to this- hope they can realize it.

Christmas is barely one week from now. I do not know how those victims were able to celebrate it. Will they have it at the evacuation center or will they able to get a shelter of their own by that time? It is hard to share to them that Christmas is not all about what we have, it's not all about us, it's about the One who were sent to save us.It is all about Jesus Christ. Maybe only few will be able to understand it especially that they are such in  a horrible situation. This 28th of December, we are supposedly be celebrating a Christmas Party in our office but we changed our mind. We just cannot afford to have fun while others are in a helpless situation. 

Just like Job who experienced more than the current situation that we have felt right now, I know from deep within that God allow things to happen for a reason. May we not lose that faith. No matter how painful our situation might be right now, let's hang on to the truth that God is still in total control.

God bless everyone.

with Julie, Christian and Ptr. John... AND Me???

Who took this picture? I am caught unaware. LOL! This was taken a year ago I guess... 

I've been struggling for years on how to overcome my emotion when I am provoked. Most often, I uttered words which I would regret afterwards... I tried to justify my action by thinking logically or practically. Nevertheless, I still get to hurt someone else' feelings after what I have done. I admit, I easily lose my temper. But this will not happen only if I am not provoked to have such feelings. I tried to be patient as much as possible but there are just some people who really tried your patience harder and before you knew it, you have already exploded to the extreme. We should somehow consider all our actions in a way or manner that we cannot provoke other people. There are things that can be settled immediately without necessarily going through that heated conversation or arguments. Insensitivity is one of the leading causes of factions. People who are unmindful, prideful, selfish and those who will only accept orders from the bosses are the same people who will likely cause misunderstanding among an organization. Sad to say, they too can cause others to succumb in extreme anger. Such attitude becomes a threat to an organization. Cooperation should be the main focus of every members of the group and not selfishness, so to speak.

If we used to believe in the Ten Commandments, then it's time to add one for all of us to remember:

11th Commandments:

               

Thou shall not provoke anyone to commit undesirable temper.

It's my first time here and I would like to feature "Fireproof" as my entry for this week's episode.


This movie is ideal for young couples and even the old ones who went through marital conflicts that may lead to separation. The moral of the story is indeed very clear: to love unconditionally and to keep the marriage life alive and above all to save marriages under constant pressures and confusions.

Leading the role are Kirk Cameron and Erin Bethea. It's a very heartwarming story with so much lessons to learn.

Watch its trailer here.