December 16. This is one of the most important and wonderful times of the year for children most especially in the Philippines, because this is the official starting date of “Karoling”(Caroling). There are kids who would start to carol on the eve of December 01 onwards but most of what they can get is “Patawad”. They are being told to wait until the “Simbang Gabi” starts before they can carol. Now that Simbang Gabi is just a moment away, nobody can ban those kids from roaming around the neighborhood singing Christmas carols.
I myself have a lot of wonderful experiences of Karoling when I was a kid. We never get tired of visiting almost the same houses every night. We are lucky because during those times we rarely receive “Patawad” even though we had just caroled on them just the other night. And we will continue to visit them night after night until the 24th of December. And just like the previous night they will give us their coins. Maybe they just loved our golden voice as we sang to them “We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year” (winked).
We don’t even have to practice different kinds of Christmas songs. Our specialty songs are “Jingle Bells” and “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit” accompanied by our improvised tambourine and drums, the merrier and the noisier the song, the better, because we can be easily heard. Those two songs were enough for us to earn a lot of coins every night. And you know our favorite houses to carol to? Those who own a sari-sari store. This is because the sari-sari store owners usually have lots of coins to spare for us.
Nowadays it is different, many, if not the entire neighborhood will allow you to carol on them only once. The kids have a high percentage of rejection nowadays. There are determined kids who will sing up to five different Christmas songs with a hope that they will be given a small amount of money in return. They will even sing up to the top of their voices just to be heard but the final confirmation of rejection is when the house owner turns off the light. It is also as if a requirement that they have to prepare different songs, because they don’t want to repeat the same song again and again or at least a block away from the house that they sang that song.
To avoid rejection the kids are regrouping themselves every night so that they will not be branded as a repeater. Once spotted, they can easily reason out that, the other night was a different group while tonight is a new one and tomorrow will be another one. The improvised tambourine and drums are still there though some innovations are added. Some are bringing lighted candles to add an effect to their song. The kids will do everything just to increase the night’s revenue. Who can blame them, it is their time of the year and they have to make the most of it.
Tonight when you hear that familiar song, “Sa may bahay ang aming bati, Merry Christmas na maluwalhati….” spare them your coins, and expect to hear that song again and again for the next nine evenings. You know for sure the joy that those children feel when you give them money. Those smile that flashes on their face as if they are telling you “see you again tomorrow evening”. Remember, you were also on that same situation not so many years ago.
It is normal to say “Patawad” these days, but please don’t turn off the light. After all this only happens for a short time, only nine evenings of the year. We should be thankful instead because we were given a chance to really experience the joy and the spirit of giving and sharing in the form of those simple children singing to us energetically “Ang sanhi po ng pagparito, hihingi po ng aginaldo, kung sakaling kami’y perwisyo, pasensiya na kayo, kami’y namamasko”.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Some Christmas Lights Tips
With the coming of the “ber” months everyone started to get the feel of Christmas. With the wind that started to blow cold nobody can deny that Christmas is just around the corner. And with the much awaited holiday fast approaching, majority of the household members are now excited in bringing out once again the different colorful decors that they used to hang around the house for everyone to see and adore.
Last years’ decors, lanterns, Christmas tree, and Christmas lights can still be used. They just need a little cleaning to wipe away the dust that accumulates due to a year of storage. That way we can save some money instead of buying new ones.
One thing to remember though is to check first the Christmas lights for safety purposes before re-using them. We have been a witness to the so many cases that a house was burned down due to the defective Christmas lights.
Here are some guidelines that you can do if you are re-using your Christmas lights.
1. Check the wirings of your Christmas lights most especially for exposed wirings. They are susceptible to fire most especially if they got in contact with each other and dangerous as well if someone gets in contact with it once it is lighted.
2. If molds have accumulated already in the housing of the light bulb you better discard it and buy now ones, if cleaning or replacing the housing is no longer applicable.
3. Check and replace the busted lights with new ones.
If you are buying new Christmas lights, it is advisable to have a thorough check using the following tips:
1. Check if the wirings are thick enough and cannot be easily broken once you pull them apart and it must conform in accordance to the implemented electrical standards.
2. Make sure that the product contains the “Import Commodity Clearance” (ICC) mark. That is a proof that is has been inspected and had passed the safety and quality testing of the Bureau of Product Standard of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
3. The plug must be hard and thick enough and cannot be easily bended.
4. You can save more on electricity by buying the Light Emitting Diode (LED) Christmas lights because of its low wattage.
Let us have a wonderful and safe holiday this Christmas season.
Last years’ decors, lanterns, Christmas tree, and Christmas lights can still be used. They just need a little cleaning to wipe away the dust that accumulates due to a year of storage. That way we can save some money instead of buying new ones.
One thing to remember though is to check first the Christmas lights for safety purposes before re-using them. We have been a witness to the so many cases that a house was burned down due to the defective Christmas lights.
Here are some guidelines that you can do if you are re-using your Christmas lights.
1. Check the wirings of your Christmas lights most especially for exposed wirings. They are susceptible to fire most especially if they got in contact with each other and dangerous as well if someone gets in contact with it once it is lighted.
2. If molds have accumulated already in the housing of the light bulb you better discard it and buy now ones, if cleaning or replacing the housing is no longer applicable.
3. Check and replace the busted lights with new ones.
If you are buying new Christmas lights, it is advisable to have a thorough check using the following tips:
1. Check if the wirings are thick enough and cannot be easily broken once you pull them apart and it must conform in accordance to the implemented electrical standards.
2. Make sure that the product contains the “Import Commodity Clearance” (ICC) mark. That is a proof that is has been inspected and had passed the safety and quality testing of the Bureau of Product Standard of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
3. The plug must be hard and thick enough and cannot be easily bended.
4. You can save more on electricity by buying the Light Emitting Diode (LED) Christmas lights because of its low wattage.
Let us have a wonderful and safe holiday this Christmas season.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
WHEN NOT ENOUGH IS GOOD ENOUGH, THE LESSONS LEARNED
Today I would like to share the latest article written by Bro. Bo Sanchez. It inspires me a lot, from the very title, to the content of the article, up to his ending story.
One may really wonder how to have not enough is good. How is it possible to say it is good when you feel you are lacking of something. From mans point of view it’s the other way around. Good is never enough for man, because we, humans, always want more. Agree or disagree? But for God if we don’t have enough, that’s the best. That’s good enough, because that is the time that we seek for more of His help and His guidance. If we have more than enough the tendency is we rely much on our own and we may forget God. “They might think that they had won by themselves...” (Judges 7:2) True enough, I have been a witness into such many occasions that an individual claims the victory for himself. And in those times of glory, God has been sidelined.
I would like to take Manny Pacquiao as an example. There are so many lessons that we can learn from him but I would like to focus on three lessons only.
The first lesson is found in his character. One of the best character that Manny Pacquiao has is he is not controlled by his fear. For sure Manny Pacquiao also must have felt fear. That is normal as a human being. But as we can see, he is not afraid to face his opponent in the ring no matter how big is that opponent is because he is in control of his fear.
The second lesson is whenever he wins his bout, he never forgot to give credit to God, almost immediately, right after the fight, while he is still catching his breath. Of course there are a lot of supporters that he needs to thank but he gives back the gratitude to God first.
The third lesson is he is confident that God is with him. Manny Pacquiao didn’t start his boxing career as a big time. We are familiar of that the humble training gym that has been featured many times to show where Manny trained as he is starting his career in boxing. Did it ever went into Manny’s mind whether he had a chance to get even a single championship belt at that time? For sure it went on his mind. And it didn’t stop him from training even with the knowledge that there are already big names in the boxing world. He knows he is not alone. He is confident that God is with him.
No wonder Manny Pacquiao is successful in his boxing career. Of course we can always say that Manny Pacquiao trains very hard that’s why he is successful. No need to contest on that aspect. But the thing is as I have stated above that being in control of his fear, giving credits to God for his achievements and being confident that God is with him really makes the difference.
Control your fear.
Being fearful is normal. All human being feels that way. If you don’t feel fear, I may say you are not human or something is wrong with you.
How many times that you had felt that fear inside of you? Are you in control of your fear or this fear is controlling you?
I, myself, experience fear in many aspect of my life and one of them is my fear in writing. I am afraid that I may not be able to write as good as the other bloggers. True enough there are a lot of bloggers who are far better than me. But if I will let my fear to overcome me then I won’t be able to contribute my idea in blogging. I can never succeed in blogging if I will let this fear controls me. I somehow need to control my fear.
There had been a lot of times that I had procrastinated on so many things that I wanted to do. But if I kept on holding back, I can’t accomplish anything at all.
How do then I overcome this fear inside of me?
I applied one of the idea of Robert Kiyosaki in his book the “Cashflow Quadrant.” Take baby steps. Sounds simple isn’t it? Yes very simple idea but the long term effect is enormous. By taking baby steps means that I am taking cautions. Once I master the baby steps then that is the time that I start learning how to walk but I don’t run yet. I need to be patient. Actually, I am tempted to try to run every time I had learned how to balance myself. The end result for that is I stumble and fall. Then I become fearful again. I have to remind myself again and again, not to take the short cuts. By taking the short cuts I am are just making failure a favor to materialize easier and earlier on me.
So remember, take baby steps, then after a while, walk and not long after that, you can run to your victory. And by the next time you feel fear about the big task ahead of you, just take baby steps first. It works on me, I’m sure it will work on you too.
Give credits to God.
We always say or heard that without God we are nothing. When I was in high school, a friend of mine ask me what does the word “CHRISTIAN” mean. I told him, Christian means the one who follows Christ. He then asked me another question. What if you remove the Christ from the word Christian, what would it mean by then? I was not able to answer him and he explained to me, “CHRISTIAN without Christ means I Am Nothing.” True enough, without God we are nothing. That is why it is very important that we give recognition to God in every accomplishment that we achieve. Whether it is a small achievement or big achievement don’t forget to give God His due credit. Everything that we own comes from Him. There is nothing, absolutely nothing that we can do without His intervention. If we can manage to completely do everything without God, then there is no need for us to pray to Him. The very reason that we kept on praying to God means we are asking for His support, it is therefore a rightful act to give Him back the credits. If someone had done you even a small favor you didn’t fail to say “thank you” to that person, how much more to God your creator.
Be confident, God is with you.
MIZPAH. I not only love this word, I usually use this word as my ending greeting when I write my love letter for my wife. But because of the advent of the internet I rarely write letters of love to my wife nowadays. My old email address has this word as my signature greeting as well. Mizpah means God watches between you and me whenever we are far from each other. With this word alone, I am confident that God is with us, wherever I, my wife and my family are.
The very reason why we feel fear is because we feel that we are alone and we feel that something is lacking. And that usually leads to a loss of our self-confidence. But actually we are not alone. We may not be aware of it. But during those times, God comes in and fill us up. That is called Heavenly intervention. For the not so religiously inclined I will call it adrenalin rush. That is the time that we had done what is seems to be impossible. And we are proud of that accomplishment but don’t forget there is Someone up there that we need to give thanks to. Have a wonderful day.
One may really wonder how to have not enough is good. How is it possible to say it is good when you feel you are lacking of something. From mans point of view it’s the other way around. Good is never enough for man, because we, humans, always want more. Agree or disagree? But for God if we don’t have enough, that’s the best. That’s good enough, because that is the time that we seek for more of His help and His guidance. If we have more than enough the tendency is we rely much on our own and we may forget God. “They might think that they had won by themselves...” (Judges 7:2) True enough, I have been a witness into such many occasions that an individual claims the victory for himself. And in those times of glory, God has been sidelined.
I would like to take Manny Pacquiao as an example. There are so many lessons that we can learn from him but I would like to focus on three lessons only.
The first lesson is found in his character. One of the best character that Manny Pacquiao has is he is not controlled by his fear. For sure Manny Pacquiao also must have felt fear. That is normal as a human being. But as we can see, he is not afraid to face his opponent in the ring no matter how big is that opponent is because he is in control of his fear.
The second lesson is whenever he wins his bout, he never forgot to give credit to God, almost immediately, right after the fight, while he is still catching his breath. Of course there are a lot of supporters that he needs to thank but he gives back the gratitude to God first.
The third lesson is he is confident that God is with him. Manny Pacquiao didn’t start his boxing career as a big time. We are familiar of that the humble training gym that has been featured many times to show where Manny trained as he is starting his career in boxing. Did it ever went into Manny’s mind whether he had a chance to get even a single championship belt at that time? For sure it went on his mind. And it didn’t stop him from training even with the knowledge that there are already big names in the boxing world. He knows he is not alone. He is confident that God is with him.
No wonder Manny Pacquiao is successful in his boxing career. Of course we can always say that Manny Pacquiao trains very hard that’s why he is successful. No need to contest on that aspect. But the thing is as I have stated above that being in control of his fear, giving credits to God for his achievements and being confident that God is with him really makes the difference.
Control your fear.
Being fearful is normal. All human being feels that way. If you don’t feel fear, I may say you are not human or something is wrong with you.
How many times that you had felt that fear inside of you? Are you in control of your fear or this fear is controlling you?
I, myself, experience fear in many aspect of my life and one of them is my fear in writing. I am afraid that I may not be able to write as good as the other bloggers. True enough there are a lot of bloggers who are far better than me. But if I will let my fear to overcome me then I won’t be able to contribute my idea in blogging. I can never succeed in blogging if I will let this fear controls me. I somehow need to control my fear.
There had been a lot of times that I had procrastinated on so many things that I wanted to do. But if I kept on holding back, I can’t accomplish anything at all.
How do then I overcome this fear inside of me?
I applied one of the idea of Robert Kiyosaki in his book the “Cashflow Quadrant.” Take baby steps. Sounds simple isn’t it? Yes very simple idea but the long term effect is enormous. By taking baby steps means that I am taking cautions. Once I master the baby steps then that is the time that I start learning how to walk but I don’t run yet. I need to be patient. Actually, I am tempted to try to run every time I had learned how to balance myself. The end result for that is I stumble and fall. Then I become fearful again. I have to remind myself again and again, not to take the short cuts. By taking the short cuts I am are just making failure a favor to materialize easier and earlier on me.
So remember, take baby steps, then after a while, walk and not long after that, you can run to your victory. And by the next time you feel fear about the big task ahead of you, just take baby steps first. It works on me, I’m sure it will work on you too.
Give credits to God.
We always say or heard that without God we are nothing. When I was in high school, a friend of mine ask me what does the word “CHRISTIAN” mean. I told him, Christian means the one who follows Christ. He then asked me another question. What if you remove the Christ from the word Christian, what would it mean by then? I was not able to answer him and he explained to me, “CHRISTIAN without Christ means I Am Nothing.” True enough, without God we are nothing. That is why it is very important that we give recognition to God in every accomplishment that we achieve. Whether it is a small achievement or big achievement don’t forget to give God His due credit. Everything that we own comes from Him. There is nothing, absolutely nothing that we can do without His intervention. If we can manage to completely do everything without God, then there is no need for us to pray to Him. The very reason that we kept on praying to God means we are asking for His support, it is therefore a rightful act to give Him back the credits. If someone had done you even a small favor you didn’t fail to say “thank you” to that person, how much more to God your creator.
Be confident, God is with you.
MIZPAH. I not only love this word, I usually use this word as my ending greeting when I write my love letter for my wife. But because of the advent of the internet I rarely write letters of love to my wife nowadays. My old email address has this word as my signature greeting as well. Mizpah means God watches between you and me whenever we are far from each other. With this word alone, I am confident that God is with us, wherever I, my wife and my family are.
The very reason why we feel fear is because we feel that we are alone and we feel that something is lacking. And that usually leads to a loss of our self-confidence. But actually we are not alone. We may not be aware of it. But during those times, God comes in and fill us up. That is called Heavenly intervention. For the not so religiously inclined I will call it adrenalin rush. That is the time that we had done what is seems to be impossible. And we are proud of that accomplishment but don’t forget there is Someone up there that we need to give thanks to. Have a wonderful day.
Monday, October 18, 2010
TWO MONTHS NA!
During the past week I am really disappointed. This is so because my application for adsense account is again denied for the nth times. So disappointed that I told myself, I won’t make it. But I am not willing to stop from what I am doing. I just lifted it to my Heavenly Father through prayer. I told Him that I won’t stop because I am only at the beginning stage of blogging.
By the way, it’s been two months now since I started my blogging activities.
Yehey! Happy two months www.jongenese.blogspot.com
“At dahil dyan, may nagtext!” – just borrowed the line from ”Vice Ganda”. Actually I am full of inspirations today and I want to share to you my inspirations.
My first inspiration for today is this prayer from Bro. Bo Sanchez.
Yeah, that’s the text from my Heavenly Father, through Bro. Bo Sanchez. Remember, I got disappointed and I lifted my disappointment to my Heavenly Father and He replied. To top it all He replied just in time for my second month in blogging. Thank you Heavenly Father.
During my first month I have learned the basics in blogging just as I have shared in my previous post. My mentor Jomar Hilario advised me to apply for adsense account sometime after five months. But because I am so “matigas ang ulo”, I didn’t follow his advice. The result, I got denied. The effect, I got disappointed not only once but since I tried five times, I got disappointed five times as well. But those setbacks only fueled my desire to do more and continue to learn my lessons.
What lesson I have learned from this. I learned that I don’t have to do the short cuts. I may be too eager in achieving my goals, but there is still a long way to go. Now I know that my Heavenly Father wants me to go not the long way or to take the short cut, but the normal way. Why? Because He doesn’t want me to miss the experience that I can gain should I do the short cuts. He also doesn’t want me to endure too much should I go the long way. Just the normal way, in order for me to feel and experience everything that He prepares for me along the road. Simply put, He doesn’t want me to miss a thing.
My second inspiration is Bro. Bo Sanchez will be conducting a How to Become Truly Rich Seminar on Nov. 13, 2010. I know I will not be able to attend to that seminar because I am out of the country. So why I am so inspired about that? I will let you discover the reason here.
My third inspiration is when I discovered the website of KaBlogs. They have a contest for OFW bloggers. My first impression is I will join the contest. I want to contribute to their theme: ”Strengthening OFW Families: Stronger Homes for a Stronger Nation”. After browsing through the website I found out that the contest has been going on since the second half of this year and they are about to announce the Top 10 finalist on October 31, 2010. I am already late for this years’ contest and there is one more reason why I cannot join. One of their criteria for joining is the contestant must be at least six month on the blogging world. He,he,he,he, I have to be patient and wait for the next year contest. Take the normal way Jon, no short cuts please. All I can do now is to give my support to the nominees by voting for their entry.
My fourth inspiration is the entry of Mga Kathang Isip ni Kiko. That’s why I voted for him, though you can vote for ten entries from among the nominees. But Kiko’s entry ranks number one from my personal opinion. I can relate to his experiences as an OFW. I should say I am the type of “homesikin”. I missed my famliy so much. I also experienced traveling on Christmas day. In one of my trip for a vacation in the Philippines was scheduled on Dec. 24 and I arrived home on early morning of Dec. 26.
Here are the other nine nominees that I voted. Batang Gala, B’log ang Mundo, Gumamela sa Paraiso, Jethro’s Hangout, Yellow Bells, The Journey of the Prodigal Daughter, Rainbow Box, Baul ni Noel, Stay at Home Blessings and Carnation, Life is Beautiful. To all the nominees I wish them good luck. Your contribution to the contest is more than enough to help in strengthening the OFW families. You are already a winner in the heart of every Filipino Overseas Workers around the world.
And last but not the least, my inspiration is you, my dear reader, thank you for bearing with me along the way. I am not a writer, nor a naturally born writer. But you are still with me and I thank you for that. I would like to share this quote with you.
“Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.”
There’s so much to learn in this world of blogging, and I want you to walk beside me. Let’s learn the lessons together.
Have a nice day and God bless…
By the way, it’s been two months now since I started my blogging activities.
Yehey! Happy two months www.jongenese.blogspot.com
“At dahil dyan, may nagtext!” – just borrowed the line from ”Vice Ganda”. Actually I am full of inspirations today and I want to share to you my inspirations.
My first inspiration for today is this prayer from Bro. Bo Sanchez.
During my first month I have learned the basics in blogging just as I have shared in my previous post. My mentor Jomar Hilario advised me to apply for adsense account sometime after five months. But because I am so “matigas ang ulo”, I didn’t follow his advice. The result, I got denied. The effect, I got disappointed not only once but since I tried five times, I got disappointed five times as well. But those setbacks only fueled my desire to do more and continue to learn my lessons.
What lesson I have learned from this. I learned that I don’t have to do the short cuts. I may be too eager in achieving my goals, but there is still a long way to go. Now I know that my Heavenly Father wants me to go not the long way or to take the short cut, but the normal way. Why? Because He doesn’t want me to miss the experience that I can gain should I do the short cuts. He also doesn’t want me to endure too much should I go the long way. Just the normal way, in order for me to feel and experience everything that He prepares for me along the road. Simply put, He doesn’t want me to miss a thing.
My second inspiration is Bro. Bo Sanchez will be conducting a How to Become Truly Rich Seminar on Nov. 13, 2010. I know I will not be able to attend to that seminar because I am out of the country. So why I am so inspired about that? I will let you discover the reason here.
My third inspiration is when I discovered the website of KaBlogs. They have a contest for OFW bloggers. My first impression is I will join the contest. I want to contribute to their theme: ”Strengthening OFW Families: Stronger Homes for a Stronger Nation”. After browsing through the website I found out that the contest has been going on since the second half of this year and they are about to announce the Top 10 finalist on October 31, 2010. I am already late for this years’ contest and there is one more reason why I cannot join. One of their criteria for joining is the contestant must be at least six month on the blogging world. He,he,he,he, I have to be patient and wait for the next year contest. Take the normal way Jon, no short cuts please. All I can do now is to give my support to the nominees by voting for their entry.
My fourth inspiration is the entry of Mga Kathang Isip ni Kiko. That’s why I voted for him, though you can vote for ten entries from among the nominees. But Kiko’s entry ranks number one from my personal opinion. I can relate to his experiences as an OFW. I should say I am the type of “homesikin”. I missed my famliy so much. I also experienced traveling on Christmas day. In one of my trip for a vacation in the Philippines was scheduled on Dec. 24 and I arrived home on early morning of Dec. 26.
Here are the other nine nominees that I voted. Batang Gala, B’log ang Mundo, Gumamela sa Paraiso, Jethro’s Hangout, Yellow Bells, The Journey of the Prodigal Daughter, Rainbow Box, Baul ni Noel, Stay at Home Blessings and Carnation, Life is Beautiful. To all the nominees I wish them good luck. Your contribution to the contest is more than enough to help in strengthening the OFW families. You are already a winner in the heart of every Filipino Overseas Workers around the world.
And last but not the least, my inspiration is you, my dear reader, thank you for bearing with me along the way. I am not a writer, nor a naturally born writer. But you are still with me and I thank you for that. I would like to share this quote with you.
“Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.”
There’s so much to learn in this world of blogging, and I want you to walk beside me. Let’s learn the lessons together.
Have a nice day and God bless…
Saturday, October 9, 2010
PERSONAL MASTERY
Personal mastery is about approaching life from a different perspective. Sometimes people would refer to it as a journey towards continuous improvement. Personal mastery is guided with key principles like vision, personal purpose, creative tension, commitment to truth and understanding the subconscious mind.
One of the most important fundamental aspects of personal mastery is personal vision. Personal mastery when combined personal vision can create a framework or guiding philosophy on how you can operate and live your life. Some people would say that personal vision serves as a guide that would keep you on track.
Followers of personal mastery see that there are great opportunities to improve their growth. Followers recognize that there are many avenues for growth and opportunities like books, tapes, lectures and school courses. People also benefit from organizations in their quest for personal mastery.
Personal mastery is about loving yourself and expressing your gifts to its fullest. Some would think that personal mastery is controlling and limiting one self, but actually it is about understanding your personality. To control or overcome some habits, it would be important to identify how and why those habits arise. The more you suppress things, the more you would have difficulty in conquering and overcoming it.
Personal mastery is self-discipline. It is about taking responsibility for the direction that your life is going to take. You would slowly realize that you can do anything with the aid of your skills and talents. Discipline would clarify and deepen your perspective in life. Those who quest for personal mastery would develop patience and see life objectively.
Personal mastery can actually help you become successful in life. You can say that you have developed personal mastery if you are starting to fully understand your strengths, talents and your purpose in life. Personal mastery enables you to be inspired, energized and happy with your life. You start to show a sense of commitment in changing on how people perceive life and the world. The ultimate thing about personal mastery is that you would always feel that you are guided and supported by God.
It is also important for a person who is in quest for personal mastery to develop integrity, humility, justice and industry. Actually, these are “rules” on how we could conduct ourselves professional, socially and spiritually.
Peter Senge said that attaining personal mastery has no shortcuts or no “quick fixes.” Sometimes it would take a lifetime for personal mastery to be attained. Personal mastery detaches a person from self-interest or selfishness and encourages people towards providing care and service to other people. Also individuals who follow personal mastery see the connections in their surroundings and perceived everything as a whole.
Proactive behavior is also something that personal mastery helps you to develop. Reactive behavior like thinking beforehand that you cannot do things is dealt with when developing personal mastery. Actions and service that you provide are based on how you can creatively maximize your skills.
To summarize it, personal mastery guides you to develop being aware with your beliefs, attitudes and behavior impacts. It also enables you to accept yourself and be responsible with your own action, attitude, and thought.
Experts would say that personal mastery could be truly gained by living purposefully and by living with integrity. Living purposefully would include showing talents, gifts and strengths to achieve goals and be successful. Living with integrity is by integrating your ideals, standards and behavior.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
A MONTH AFTER
It’s been a month since I started blogging, and I say it’s fulfilling. I would like to thank my online mentor, Mr. Jomar Hilario for his untiring effort in sharing to me and thousands of others through the internet, his knowledge on internet marketing and blogging.
I must admit that when I started with this endeavor I have zero knowledge about blogging. As of the moment I can say that I have learned the basics of blogging and I know that there is still a lot that I need to know and discover. I remember the first time that I started blogging; I’m like a child, afraid to take my first step. Now I can walk though I should say that I still have to learn how to run.
After a month of blogging, I was able to create four blogs. My first blog www.jongenese.blogspot.com have now more than 10 post. My other blogs are http://www.pinoyfrugalinvestor.blogspot.com/ www.kwentongdisyertoreload.blogspot.com , www.pinoyinternetworkshops.blogspot.com & www.pinoyphotographer.blogspot.com and I will be creating more blogs, so feel free to visit my blog site at your convenience.
Also, I would like to thank my family, for my wife and my daughter, for their untiring support for me. For my son, Isko, because he is the source of my inspirations. I would like also to take this opportunity to announce that my wife will start blogging 16 days from now. She will launch her first blog post on the occasion of her birthday this coming October.
I would like to thank you as well, my dear reader. For your continuous patronage to my blog. There is still a long way for me to go and without you; I know I won’t be able to go a step further. And if you have something that you want me to blog, just tell me. I will make a research on that topic and I will make that blog especially for you. That will be my way of returning my gratitude to you. You may also want to refer my blog sites to your friends and colleagues. That would be an honor for me and once again I want to thank you for that act of kindness.
Or maybe you might just want to start blogging as well. As my mentor Mr. Jomar Hilario says, you can blog about anything, about your hobby, about your pet, about your kids, about your emotions, about your career, about your love life. There’s an endless topic that you can really blog on. Just give it a try and who knows you might come out a better blogger than me. Besides, blogging is free. There are websites that offer free hosting for your blog such as this one that I am using.
By the way, my online mentor, Mr. Jomar Hilario, offers a 90 day free internet marketing tutorial, that includes blogging. He will guide you, step by step, into creating your very first blog. Feel free to visit his site http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1242060 put me as your referrer. Aside from the 90 day free internet marketing tutorial, he also conducts a one year online mentoring in internet marketing.
God bless….
Friday, September 17, 2010
5 Powerful Mind Success Strategies
Building a business is a fantastic and challenging experience. You can wake up exhilarated to begin your day and go to bed feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. The key to success is to maintain a positive, yes you can do it, mindset.
Easier said than done, right? Here are 5 keys to help you create and sustain a positive mindset so you attain the success you desire.
1. Surround yourself with successful and positive people. The influence people have over our own personal energy is amazing. Moods and attitudes are so easily spread – think about how much of a difference a simple smile from a stranger can make for your day and then magnify it 1000 times to demonstrate the power of positive and successful friends, family and associates. When you have people around you who inspire you, believe in you and want you to succeed, there’s no room for doubts and even when they creep up, they’re quickly swept away.
2. Create a mantra or an affirmation. Repeating positive affirmations has been shown to get people through tough times and to actually help them truly believe what they’re saying.
For example, “I am building a powerful and profitable business.” Many of the most esteemed business professionals have used the same affirmation strategy to attain their success. To find the right affirmations for you, consider writing a quick list of your doubts, insecurities and complaints. These can then be quickly turned into affirmations.
For example, if you write that you’re always feeling disorganized then your affirmation would be, “I am organized and in control.” Repeat your affirmations several times a day and feel the power of positive thinking.
3. Capture negative thoughts. We all have negative thoughts from time to time, however, negative thoughts and emotions can derail us and prevent us from achieving all we desire. Of course catching those negative thoughts takes practice and persistence. When you find yourself thinking negative thoughts or having negative emotions, find a trigger to turn them around. The affirmations mentioned above are a great way to turn the negative into the positive. You can also find quick pick me ups like a favorite song, a walk outside in the fresh air, or some exercise to help improve your mood.
4. Set goals/intentions and then be willing to let it go. The law of attraction says that we attract what we focus on the most. However, desperation, needing your business to be a success, sends mixed messages and a lot of negativity into the universe. Set your goals and intentions and then let them go. A certain amount of faith in yourself and in the power of attraction is necessary. Give it a try.
5. Be grateful. Gratitude is perhaps the single most powerful and positive tool for success. When you’re grateful for all of the wonderful things and people in your life the challenges you face seem significantly less important and are more easily dealt with.
Consider keeping a gratitude journal and make a practice of entering into it daily. That way, when you’re facing challenges a quick peek at all the amazing things in your life will make you feel as if you can tackle anything. Additionally, an attitude of gratitude helps you maintain a positive perspective and to face challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles.
Success is within your reach and with the right attitude you can accomplish anything you set your sights on. Embrace these five powerful mind success strategies and you’ll build a better business and live a happier, more satisfying life.
Easier said than done, right? Here are 5 keys to help you create and sustain a positive mindset so you attain the success you desire.
1. Surround yourself with successful and positive people. The influence people have over our own personal energy is amazing. Moods and attitudes are so easily spread – think about how much of a difference a simple smile from a stranger can make for your day and then magnify it 1000 times to demonstrate the power of positive and successful friends, family and associates. When you have people around you who inspire you, believe in you and want you to succeed, there’s no room for doubts and even when they creep up, they’re quickly swept away.
2. Create a mantra or an affirmation. Repeating positive affirmations has been shown to get people through tough times and to actually help them truly believe what they’re saying.
For example, “I am building a powerful and profitable business.” Many of the most esteemed business professionals have used the same affirmation strategy to attain their success. To find the right affirmations for you, consider writing a quick list of your doubts, insecurities and complaints. These can then be quickly turned into affirmations.
For example, if you write that you’re always feeling disorganized then your affirmation would be, “I am organized and in control.” Repeat your affirmations several times a day and feel the power of positive thinking.
3. Capture negative thoughts. We all have negative thoughts from time to time, however, negative thoughts and emotions can derail us and prevent us from achieving all we desire. Of course catching those negative thoughts takes practice and persistence. When you find yourself thinking negative thoughts or having negative emotions, find a trigger to turn them around. The affirmations mentioned above are a great way to turn the negative into the positive. You can also find quick pick me ups like a favorite song, a walk outside in the fresh air, or some exercise to help improve your mood.
4. Set goals/intentions and then be willing to let it go. The law of attraction says that we attract what we focus on the most. However, desperation, needing your business to be a success, sends mixed messages and a lot of negativity into the universe. Set your goals and intentions and then let them go. A certain amount of faith in yourself and in the power of attraction is necessary. Give it a try.
5. Be grateful. Gratitude is perhaps the single most powerful and positive tool for success. When you’re grateful for all of the wonderful things and people in your life the challenges you face seem significantly less important and are more easily dealt with.
Consider keeping a gratitude journal and make a practice of entering into it daily. That way, when you’re facing challenges a quick peek at all the amazing things in your life will make you feel as if you can tackle anything. Additionally, an attitude of gratitude helps you maintain a positive perspective and to face challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles.
Success is within your reach and with the right attitude you can accomplish anything you set your sights on. Embrace these five powerful mind success strategies and you’ll build a better business and live a happier, more satisfying life.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
What is the answer?
“Mama, I don’t want to go to grade 1”. This were the words that my son told to my wife one evening while they were about to sleep. My wife asked him, “Why?” “Because I don’t know the answer”, replied my son. My wife sweetly smiled and replied, “Of course you don’t know the answer because there is no question yet.” “But I already know how to write my name and I know how to read and count, that’s enough already”, defended my son.
My wife shared to me this conversation when we are chatting. This happened sometime in February this year, a month before the school break in the Philippines. My son is in kinder 2 and after that he is already eligible to enter the primary school as grade 1. As I am chatting with my wife discussing about our son, we contemplated our options. We can let him out of school for a year because he is still young. The admission age for grade 1 is at least 6 years old but preferably 7 years old and our son is 5 years old. Besides we are not sure if he will be accepted as grade 1 because of his age. Or we can send him back to kinder 2.
While weighing our options, I remember an event that happened to me when I am 7 years old. During my time, when a child turns 7 years old, he/she can be admitted into grade 1 even if the child had not gone into kindergarten; unlike today that it is a requirement to finish kinder 1 and 2 first before a child can be admitted to grade 1. Since I didn’t go to kindergarten, I found it so difficult to catch up with our daily lessons. However even though I encountered so much difficulty I still did pass grade 1. During the summer vacation the older kids are teasing me while we are playing under the light of the full moon. They told me that once I am in grade 2, we will no longer be allowed to speak in Tagalog, because the module of teaching for grade 2 is English. I am so afraid at that time that I even knelt down and I prayed to the moon. I prayed to the moon that I don’t want to continue my studies anymore because I don’t know how to speak English. That was the very first prayer that I made. However, going into grade 2 is inevitable, and it turned out that only two pupils from our class was able to read and speak in English. They are the president and the vice president of our class.
Going back to my son, I can fully relate to the pressure that he is feeling. It is because I also felt the same thing before. During my vacation to the Philippines last May, I spent a lot of time talking to my son about the excitement of going to school. I tell him stories of wonderful time that I had spent in school when I was a kid. I wish that somehow it can be of help to him to ease his fear of going to a higher grade. But to my dismay, he always says he don’t want to continue studying anymore. My disappointment went to the fullest when my son was refused by the school registrar during enrollment, because of his age. I am left with the option of having my son to stay at home for a year. However we decided that we will send him again to kindergarten. After all, his sister spent three years in kindergarten because, like her brother, she was also too young at that time to be admitted in grade 1.
There was a sudden turn of event that happened during the opening of the school year. My wife went to the school principals’ office because she wants to enroll her niece to kindergarten. Our son was with her at that time. The principal asked my wife why she is not enrolling our son. She told the principal that our son was refused by the other school because he is still young. However the principal insisted that she enroll our son to their school since he can read and he knows how to write already. But the problem is our son didn’t want to. When the school principal told him that they are giving free notebooks and pencil for grade 1 pupils, my son suddenly said yes. And to my wife’s surprise, she immediately enrolled our son. While they were on the line to get his free notebooks and pencil my wife is repeatedly asking our son if he is really sure that he wants to go to grade 1. Our son gave only one consistent answer to her. And that is, “Yes, I want to”.
I cannot control my laughter when my wife told me that story. It’s the freebies that changed the mind of our son. That was good. Because of the free notebooks and pencil he changed his mind. Today whenever I have a chance to chat with my son, I always ask him if he already know the answer. He would simply smile back to me and he will impress me of his ability in reading. With that I know that my son had found the answer. He is enjoying his days in school now as grade 1, just like I enjoyed my days in school especially when I was elected as the vice president of our grade 2 class.
My wife shared to me this conversation when we are chatting. This happened sometime in February this year, a month before the school break in the Philippines. My son is in kinder 2 and after that he is already eligible to enter the primary school as grade 1. As I am chatting with my wife discussing about our son, we contemplated our options. We can let him out of school for a year because he is still young. The admission age for grade 1 is at least 6 years old but preferably 7 years old and our son is 5 years old. Besides we are not sure if he will be accepted as grade 1 because of his age. Or we can send him back to kinder 2.
While weighing our options, I remember an event that happened to me when I am 7 years old. During my time, when a child turns 7 years old, he/she can be admitted into grade 1 even if the child had not gone into kindergarten; unlike today that it is a requirement to finish kinder 1 and 2 first before a child can be admitted to grade 1. Since I didn’t go to kindergarten, I found it so difficult to catch up with our daily lessons. However even though I encountered so much difficulty I still did pass grade 1. During the summer vacation the older kids are teasing me while we are playing under the light of the full moon. They told me that once I am in grade 2, we will no longer be allowed to speak in Tagalog, because the module of teaching for grade 2 is English. I am so afraid at that time that I even knelt down and I prayed to the moon. I prayed to the moon that I don’t want to continue my studies anymore because I don’t know how to speak English. That was the very first prayer that I made. However, going into grade 2 is inevitable, and it turned out that only two pupils from our class was able to read and speak in English. They are the president and the vice president of our class.
Going back to my son, I can fully relate to the pressure that he is feeling. It is because I also felt the same thing before. During my vacation to the Philippines last May, I spent a lot of time talking to my son about the excitement of going to school. I tell him stories of wonderful time that I had spent in school when I was a kid. I wish that somehow it can be of help to him to ease his fear of going to a higher grade. But to my dismay, he always says he don’t want to continue studying anymore. My disappointment went to the fullest when my son was refused by the school registrar during enrollment, because of his age. I am left with the option of having my son to stay at home for a year. However we decided that we will send him again to kindergarten. After all, his sister spent three years in kindergarten because, like her brother, she was also too young at that time to be admitted in grade 1.
There was a sudden turn of event that happened during the opening of the school year. My wife went to the school principals’ office because she wants to enroll her niece to kindergarten. Our son was with her at that time. The principal asked my wife why she is not enrolling our son. She told the principal that our son was refused by the other school because he is still young. However the principal insisted that she enroll our son to their school since he can read and he knows how to write already. But the problem is our son didn’t want to. When the school principal told him that they are giving free notebooks and pencil for grade 1 pupils, my son suddenly said yes. And to my wife’s surprise, she immediately enrolled our son. While they were on the line to get his free notebooks and pencil my wife is repeatedly asking our son if he is really sure that he wants to go to grade 1. Our son gave only one consistent answer to her. And that is, “Yes, I want to”.
I cannot control my laughter when my wife told me that story. It’s the freebies that changed the mind of our son. That was good. Because of the free notebooks and pencil he changed his mind. Today whenever I have a chance to chat with my son, I always ask him if he already know the answer. He would simply smile back to me and he will impress me of his ability in reading. With that I know that my son had found the answer. He is enjoying his days in school now as grade 1, just like I enjoyed my days in school especially when I was elected as the vice president of our grade 2 class.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
RETIREMENT
Yesterday I got the chance once again to watch one of my favorite shows “Kwentong Disyerto” in TFC (The Filipino Channel). This show is hosted by Mickey Ferriols and TJ Manotoc. I used to watch this show before every Friday but it’s been months since the last time that I watched it.
Anyhow their topic yesterday is about retirement. Their topic is so timely because we got a lot of OFW’s who is about to retire in the near future. I am also planning to retire from being an OFW and start a new career in the Philippines.
One of the things that inspire me is the program of Philhealth. Majority of us OFW may not have the knowledge of the Philhealths’ program. All we know is we kept on paying the Philhealth of P900.00, an amount that covers one year of medical insurance and we get nothing from it. Besides who wants to be sick, just to enjoy the benefit from the agency? No one would be willing, right? I consider my contributions to Philhealth as my thanksgiving because I am not getting sick as well as my beneficiaries. That alone is enough for me. But yesterday Philhealth announced that there is a program that an OFW can enjoy provided they met the two requirements by the agency. First requirement is if an OFW reaches the age of sixty. Second is, the OFW must have completed the 120 monthly contributions. As I understand it, Medicare contribution is counted.
The 120 monthly contributions is equivalent to ten years of religious paying of your contribution. If you are working abroad for more than ten years now then you already got one of their requirements. All you need to do is to wait till you reach the age of 60. That’s good news for everyone, isn’t it? After all it is at this age that one start to become a frequent visitor of the hospital. According to Philhealth, it is through this program that they can return the benefits that the contributor did not enjoy when he is paying his contribution while he is young and energetic. For more information about the program, you can email them at owp@philhealth.gov.ph Also Mr. Ringo Danao, Philhealth representative, will visit Saudi Arabia this September to talk about the Philhealth program among the OFW.
For the younger generations of OFW’s their advice is to start planning for their retirement on day one of their career and I agree to that. Lessons must be taken from previous generation in which majority of our OFWs don’t have a retirement plan. One reason for this is the belief that when we grow old, the younger generation will take good care of us. This is because Filipino have a very close family ties. So we tend not to plan for the future retirement and concentrated all of our resources to our immediate and present needs.
Another reason is most of us are “SSS” (Social Security System) members. We are contended to live our golden years on SSS pension. But come to think of it. How much is your SSS pension when you retire? Is that enough for your needs? I know a lot of senior citizen today and they are having a hard time with their small pension to cope up with today’s standard of living. If an OFW is paying the highest amount of contribution today, then he can expect around ten thousand pesos (P10,000) up to eleven thousand pesos (P11,000) pension when he retires. If that amount is not enough to sustain your monthly needs today, then how do you think it can sustain you in the future. In order to supplement the pension benefits of their members, SSS offer another product, the SSS Flexi-fund. This is a voluntary, provident fund for OFWs. For more information on flexi-fund, feel free to visit their website, www.sss.gov.ph
OWWA and Colayco foundation have their own programs for the OFWs as well. OWWA is providing different kinds of assistance to an OFW retiree while the Colayco foundation offers seminar about financial literacy to help an OFW where they can invest their hard earned money. You can know more about OWWA and the Colayco foundation by visiting their website, www.owwa.gov.ph and www.colaycofoundation.com
So if you are planning to retire in the near future or had just started your career abroad, then this is the right time. As Mr. Armand Bengco, Colayco foundation representative, says “it is never been too early, from day one of your career you must think of your retirement”. Given the proper instrument, the right agency and organization like OWWA, Philhealth, SSS and Colayco foundation, an OFW can prepare for himself a better retirement plan in the future.
Anyhow their topic yesterday is about retirement. Their topic is so timely because we got a lot of OFW’s who is about to retire in the near future. I am also planning to retire from being an OFW and start a new career in the Philippines.
One of the things that inspire me is the program of Philhealth. Majority of us OFW may not have the knowledge of the Philhealths’ program. All we know is we kept on paying the Philhealth of P900.00, an amount that covers one year of medical insurance and we get nothing from it. Besides who wants to be sick, just to enjoy the benefit from the agency? No one would be willing, right? I consider my contributions to Philhealth as my thanksgiving because I am not getting sick as well as my beneficiaries. That alone is enough for me. But yesterday Philhealth announced that there is a program that an OFW can enjoy provided they met the two requirements by the agency. First requirement is if an OFW reaches the age of sixty. Second is, the OFW must have completed the 120 monthly contributions. As I understand it, Medicare contribution is counted.
The 120 monthly contributions is equivalent to ten years of religious paying of your contribution. If you are working abroad for more than ten years now then you already got one of their requirements. All you need to do is to wait till you reach the age of 60. That’s good news for everyone, isn’t it? After all it is at this age that one start to become a frequent visitor of the hospital. According to Philhealth, it is through this program that they can return the benefits that the contributor did not enjoy when he is paying his contribution while he is young and energetic. For more information about the program, you can email them at owp@philhealth.gov.ph Also Mr. Ringo Danao, Philhealth representative, will visit Saudi Arabia this September to talk about the Philhealth program among the OFW.
For the younger generations of OFW’s their advice is to start planning for their retirement on day one of their career and I agree to that. Lessons must be taken from previous generation in which majority of our OFWs don’t have a retirement plan. One reason for this is the belief that when we grow old, the younger generation will take good care of us. This is because Filipino have a very close family ties. So we tend not to plan for the future retirement and concentrated all of our resources to our immediate and present needs.
Another reason is most of us are “SSS” (Social Security System) members. We are contended to live our golden years on SSS pension. But come to think of it. How much is your SSS pension when you retire? Is that enough for your needs? I know a lot of senior citizen today and they are having a hard time with their small pension to cope up with today’s standard of living. If an OFW is paying the highest amount of contribution today, then he can expect around ten thousand pesos (P10,000) up to eleven thousand pesos (P11,000) pension when he retires. If that amount is not enough to sustain your monthly needs today, then how do you think it can sustain you in the future. In order to supplement the pension benefits of their members, SSS offer another product, the SSS Flexi-fund. This is a voluntary, provident fund for OFWs. For more information on flexi-fund, feel free to visit their website, www.sss.gov.ph
OWWA and Colayco foundation have their own programs for the OFWs as well. OWWA is providing different kinds of assistance to an OFW retiree while the Colayco foundation offers seminar about financial literacy to help an OFW where they can invest their hard earned money. You can know more about OWWA and the Colayco foundation by visiting their website, www.owwa.gov.ph and www.colaycofoundation.com
So if you are planning to retire in the near future or had just started your career abroad, then this is the right time. As Mr. Armand Bengco, Colayco foundation representative, says “it is never been too early, from day one of your career you must think of your retirement”. Given the proper instrument, the right agency and organization like OWWA, Philhealth, SSS and Colayco foundation, an OFW can prepare for himself a better retirement plan in the future.
THANK YOU
If we will just stop for a while and think of the things that we need to give thanks, I am sure we will have an endless list. Saying “thank you” for the things that we receive means a lot for the giver. It shows our heartfelt appreciation for the things given to us, no matter how small or big it is.
Thank you is a simple phrase, consisting of two words, eight letters put together. The two words represent the two entities involve herein, the giver and the receiver. Eight means “wala lang”, it is my favorite number. Why? It is because I was born on the 8th day of May. Now you know my birthday so I would like to thank you in advance for your gift to me.
Thank you can be spoken in a different language, like “Merci”, “Gracias”, “Danke”, “Shoukran”, “Arigato”, “Kamsahamnida”, “Sheshe”, “Donnobadh”, “Sukria”, “Salamat”
Today I would like to make a list of the things that I want to give thanks to and I invite everyone to share their list here and let’s start making an endless list of the things that we need to give thanks to.
1. I would like to give thanks for my family. They are always safe even though I am not around with them.
2. I would like to give thanks all my answered prayers and petitions.
3. I would like to give thanks for the health that I am enjoying now.
4. I would like to give thanks because I haven’t been involved in any vehicular accident whenever I am travelling.
5. I would like to give thanks for the financial knowledge that I had learned.
6. I would like to give thanks for the job that I have now and thank you that our company is not affected by the financial meltdown.
7. I would like to give thanks for our investments.
8. I would like to give thanks for all the reminders that I receive through my dreams. For all the things that I must do and the things that I must not do.
9. I would like to give thanks for the people around me. For the help and assistance that they have given to me when I needed it most.
10. I would like to give thanks for the inspirations I am getting from my five year old son.
11. I would like to give thanks for the little things in my life that gives me comfort.
12. I would like to give thanks for the trials that help me grow and stronger.
13. I would like to give thanks for the wonderful time I had with my family during my vacation.
14. I would like to give thanks for the 3 days off from work.
15. I would like to thank Bro. Bo Sanchez for the daily inspiration that he sends me through Kegyrma.
16. I would like to thank Sonny Lanorias for the help on his post about setting up the Networkedblog widget.
17. I would like to thank Blogging Experiment for the help on his post about the stand alone pages.
18. I would like to thank you for sharing your list here. God bless.
Thank you is a simple phrase, consisting of two words, eight letters put together. The two words represent the two entities involve herein, the giver and the receiver. Eight means “wala lang”, it is my favorite number. Why? It is because I was born on the 8th day of May. Now you know my birthday so I would like to thank you in advance for your gift to me.
Thank you can be spoken in a different language, like “Merci”, “Gracias”, “Danke”, “Shoukran”, “Arigato”, “Kamsahamnida”, “Sheshe”, “Donnobadh”, “Sukria”, “Salamat”
Today I would like to make a list of the things that I want to give thanks to and I invite everyone to share their list here and let’s start making an endless list of the things that we need to give thanks to.
1. I would like to give thanks for my family. They are always safe even though I am not around with them.
2. I would like to give thanks all my answered prayers and petitions.
3. I would like to give thanks for the health that I am enjoying now.
4. I would like to give thanks because I haven’t been involved in any vehicular accident whenever I am travelling.
5. I would like to give thanks for the financial knowledge that I had learned.
6. I would like to give thanks for the job that I have now and thank you that our company is not affected by the financial meltdown.
7. I would like to give thanks for our investments.
8. I would like to give thanks for all the reminders that I receive through my dreams. For all the things that I must do and the things that I must not do.
9. I would like to give thanks for the people around me. For the help and assistance that they have given to me when I needed it most.
10. I would like to give thanks for the inspirations I am getting from my five year old son.
11. I would like to give thanks for the little things in my life that gives me comfort.
12. I would like to give thanks for the trials that help me grow and stronger.
13. I would like to give thanks for the wonderful time I had with my family during my vacation.
14. I would like to give thanks for the 3 days off from work.
15. I would like to thank Bro. Bo Sanchez for the daily inspiration that he sends me through Kegyrma.
16. I would like to thank Sonny Lanorias for the help on his post about setting up the Networkedblog widget.
17. I would like to thank Blogging Experiment for the help on his post about the stand alone pages.
18. I would like to thank you for sharing your list here. God bless.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
DAYS OF FISHING
I grew up in one of the coastal town of Bataan. During my childhood days the main source of income in our town is fishing. It is the same with the other neighboring towns. It is normal that every family owns at least one “banca”, a small fishing boat. However, we don’t own one because my father is not a fisherman. He is a security guard, but he always goes on fishing during his day off.
I am about nine years old when I first join with my father in his fishing trip. We use to borrow the boat of his “kumpare”, a friend of my father. He teaches me of how to properly handle the bait and wait for the fish to take it. And once the fish take the bait I have to pull it as hard and fast as I could. But since I am not yet that sensitive to fish bite, I would end up losing my catch most of the time. There are occasions that I am waiting for too long without knowing that I already have a catch. I am always reminded by my father to check on my bait and when I raised it up, there’s usually three fish dangling in my bait. It is because the fishing lines that we are using have three hooks attached to it.
I am always into a competition with my father when fishing. I used to separate my catch from my father’s catch. After fishing we will count our catch and whoever catches more fish is the winner. I remember beating my father only once, when I caught around seventy fish while he is five fish short. We had gone fishing for only four hours that day and we need to go back home immediately because the sea suddenly turns rough and a heavy rain is about to fall. But most of the time my father out do me in fishing.
Though most of the fisherman used to go out to the sea all night long, there is still a lot of fisherman who is out during day time. This is so because there are plenty of catch during those days. Even an inexperienced fisherman is assured of a good catch for the day.
The memory of a wonderful sight of the sea at night time is still fresh in my mind, where you can see a street of lights from afar. Those lights are from the fishermen, they will be staying there until early in the morning. And when the morning comes, there will be another batch of fishermen who will be out in the sea for fishing. Round the clock the sea provides a living for their family.
Today, there are still fishermen in my town but not as many as before. Most of the family depended now on employment, locally or abroad that offers much greater revenue than fishing. The reason for this is the development and advancement of technology. Our town now has become an industrial town.
I remember the song popularized by a local band, Asin, during my high school days. A part of the song goes like this,
“hindi na masama ang pag-unlad at malayu-layo na rin ang ating narating ngunit masdan mo ang tubig sa dagat dati'y kulay asul ngayo'y naging itim”.
(Advancement through development is not bad and we had achieved a lot, but look at the sea, the water that was once blue, are now polluted.)
The sea that once provides a living is still there. The fish is not gone but not as plenty as before. The family who still depends on fishing needs to go farther in hope of a bountiful catch.
It is also my dream that I can go out for fishing with my son. I want him to feel the joy that I felt when I had my first catch. He is five years old now and I hope that by the time that he reaches ten, we can go out to the sea on weekend and have fun fishing. I believe that the day for fishing is not gone and it will never be. The sea will always be there, the fish are waiting for our bait. And I hope we don’t have to go farther in order to catch one. Happy fishing everyone.
I am about nine years old when I first join with my father in his fishing trip. We use to borrow the boat of his “kumpare”, a friend of my father. He teaches me of how to properly handle the bait and wait for the fish to take it. And once the fish take the bait I have to pull it as hard and fast as I could. But since I am not yet that sensitive to fish bite, I would end up losing my catch most of the time. There are occasions that I am waiting for too long without knowing that I already have a catch. I am always reminded by my father to check on my bait and when I raised it up, there’s usually three fish dangling in my bait. It is because the fishing lines that we are using have three hooks attached to it.
I am always into a competition with my father when fishing. I used to separate my catch from my father’s catch. After fishing we will count our catch and whoever catches more fish is the winner. I remember beating my father only once, when I caught around seventy fish while he is five fish short. We had gone fishing for only four hours that day and we need to go back home immediately because the sea suddenly turns rough and a heavy rain is about to fall. But most of the time my father out do me in fishing.
Though most of the fisherman used to go out to the sea all night long, there is still a lot of fisherman who is out during day time. This is so because there are plenty of catch during those days. Even an inexperienced fisherman is assured of a good catch for the day.
The memory of a wonderful sight of the sea at night time is still fresh in my mind, where you can see a street of lights from afar. Those lights are from the fishermen, they will be staying there until early in the morning. And when the morning comes, there will be another batch of fishermen who will be out in the sea for fishing. Round the clock the sea provides a living for their family.
Today, there are still fishermen in my town but not as many as before. Most of the family depended now on employment, locally or abroad that offers much greater revenue than fishing. The reason for this is the development and advancement of technology. Our town now has become an industrial town.
I remember the song popularized by a local band, Asin, during my high school days. A part of the song goes like this,
“hindi na masama ang pag-unlad at malayu-layo na rin ang ating narating ngunit masdan mo ang tubig sa dagat dati'y kulay asul ngayo'y naging itim”.
(Advancement through development is not bad and we had achieved a lot, but look at the sea, the water that was once blue, are now polluted.)
The sea that once provides a living is still there. The fish is not gone but not as plenty as before. The family who still depends on fishing needs to go farther in hope of a bountiful catch.
It is also my dream that I can go out for fishing with my son. I want him to feel the joy that I felt when I had my first catch. He is five years old now and I hope that by the time that he reaches ten, we can go out to the sea on weekend and have fun fishing. I believe that the day for fishing is not gone and it will never be. The sea will always be there, the fish are waiting for our bait. And I hope we don’t have to go farther in order to catch one. Happy fishing everyone.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
MY FIRST SHARE
It’s been more than a year since I started to invest in the “stock market”. And I should say
that the return is satisfactory. My desire for investing started after I
read the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert
Kiyosaki.
At first I ask around through friends about the treasury bonds. Getting not so much information about treasury bonds, I shifted my attention
to mutual funds. I spend about five
months monitoring the mutual funds
through the NAVPS website. A mutual fund is a good “investment
scheme” because it is a pooled fund and your investment is managed by
the fund manager. This is good most especially if the investor don’t have much information on which share of stock they
should buy.
Then through some forum in the internet, the “stock market” got my attention.
I should say that my introduction to the “stock
market” is timely because of the recession. The stocks are all
undervalued at that time. It’s like entering into a market and all the goods
that are for sale are in a bargain price. Since I am new and I’m not familiar
with the real value of the shares in “stock
market”, I did found it hard which share I should be buying. To ensure
some profits I bought the company that is about to give “dividends”. At least
through “dividend” I can have an outright income.
There is a feeling of delight when finally I was able to buy
some shares with my initial investment of PHP25k. However, that feeling
suddenly change when the value of the share went down the following day and I
am losing 3% of my investment. And to make the situation worse, it
continue to go down on the first two weeks since I made my first purchase. I am
losing around 25% of my investment. There is a panic inside of me. What
if the price continues to go down in the coming days?
As I have learned, those losses are only paper loss as long
as you keep your share. But something inside of me, is asking, for how long you
want to keep it. I have to sell my share right away in order to minimize my
loss. But deep inside of me I want to keep my share, somehow the price can
still recover, and all I have to do is to wait. In about a month after my first
purchase, the share price of my stock started to recover. That’s the only time
that I got relieved and I am happy because I didn’t sell my share. I did
receive my “dividends” and earned more because my share continues to
appreciate.
I treasure that experience of holding on while my whole self
is in the panic. As Mr. Robert Kiyosaki
says in his book, we need to master our emotion. “Stock market” sentiment is volatile; when the “stock market” dives, it sinks
with your investments. So is your emotion. If you panic and sell your
share then that is the time that you had a real loss, but if you keep your
share, you will only have paper loss.
I let my wife to do the “stock trading” in our other
purchase, so she can also experience the same thing that I had felt. And when
she is in the panic mode I told her to hold on and do not sell. I shared to her
everything that I had learned from Mr. Robert
Kiyosakis’ book. And it’s good that she listens to me.
Now she’s doing most of our “stock trading” activity in the “stock market”. I just give her some
advice on which share to buy and which share to sell. We also kept on buying
the shares with “dividends”.
SISIW
“Pa, ibili mo ako ng sisiw.” (Papa, buy chicks for me.) That is the request of my five year old son to me during my vacation. I was so delighted by that request. It has been my desire to have poultry in our backyard, but my wife strongly disagrees with the idea. The number one reason is our son is asthmatic, second is our neighbor might complain of the unpleasant odor coming from the chicken dung.
I replied to that request of my son with a big “YES!” Luckily, my brother in law has a chicken cage that’s idle, so I took that after getting his permission to use it. Then we went right away to buy fifteen chicks. I let my kids to choose those fifteen chicks. You can see the joy in their eyes as they took turns in picking the chicks. After buying the chicks, my kids are too eager to go back home so they can start feeding them. But my wife needs to go and attend to her commitments, so I have to convince our kids to be patient and besides the chicks are not yet hungry.
My kids are a natural pet lover. I guess most of the kids are like that. We have that same nature when we were as young as them before. We got dogs, cats and birds as pets before. We even have turtles and “golden kuhol” (golden snail) as pets. Though I doubt you can call snail as pet. Anyhow we give too much care for them that’s why they become our pet.
Let’s go back to my kids. My kids, most especially my son, is not allowed to have pet, because of his condition, though he love it so much to have one. They only have a dog named “Patchi” in which my son used to kiss and hug whenever my wife is not around. They are contented of sharing with our neighbors pets from time to time because we cannot have more pets at home.
There is also one occasion that my kids spent all of their money in “pabunot” (this is a set of small rolled paper with number inside, if you get the same number as tagged in the prize, then you win that prize) in which the prize is a chick with different color, this is now popular most specially during the town fiesta. The man with the pabunot took pity to my kids because they didn’t win any prize at all, gave them one chick as a consolation. They are very happy at that consolation. They would carry the chick wherever they go. They would let the chick to sleep in their bed at night for fear that the cat might eat it. But since the chick is not designed to that lifestyle, it didn’t survive for another week.
Now that we just bought fifteen chicks, my son was so happy. He immediately calls all his “kalaro” (playmates) to show them his new pets. They began giving names to each chick. All the fifteen chicks got named in less than a minute. They even want to put a lace in each chick’s leg in order to identify them among the others but I told them that it is not possible. When evening time comes, my son told me to put the chicks inside our house. Maybe he is worried to leave them outside all night. I told him that they are safe because the cage is their home.
For the days onwards we would be spending our time watching the chicks grow. Every morning, my son, straight from his bed, would go to the cage to check on the chicks. My wife who used to disagree with this idea now enjoys spending time with the chicks. This becomes one of our bonding moment as we clean the cage of the dung, replace the feeds and the drinks of the chicks and we would record their weekly weight gain, one by one.
We even set up a place near the cage in which we can have our breakfast and lunch. Our auntie was so inspired by this idea that she also bought 10 chicks and give to her brother to raise. When I returned here in Libya the chicks are about three weeks old. I did missed them as well that I would regularly ask my wife of their weight improvement. They would even show one on the cam for me to see. I was so happy because all of the fifteen chickens did made it up to their 45th day, there was no casualty.
It was holiday in the Philippines, when the time comes to dispose the chicken and my kids are at home. They cried when they saw what’s being done to their pets. My son run to his bedroom and wept. My wife had a hard time explaining to him that it has to be done. That evening, my wife prepared chicken for dinner. The kids asked if that was their chicken. My wife says no, though it was.
Today my wife bought another fifteen chicks to raise just in time for her and our sons’ birthday celebration next month. I was surprised because she doesn’t want it before. She told me that she enjoy raising the chicken because time passes so quickly and that helps her a lot in coping with her longing for me. And unlike before that she thought it was so difficult raising the chicken, she told me, “Sisiw lang pala mag-alaga.”
I replied to that request of my son with a big “YES!” Luckily, my brother in law has a chicken cage that’s idle, so I took that after getting his permission to use it. Then we went right away to buy fifteen chicks. I let my kids to choose those fifteen chicks. You can see the joy in their eyes as they took turns in picking the chicks. After buying the chicks, my kids are too eager to go back home so they can start feeding them. But my wife needs to go and attend to her commitments, so I have to convince our kids to be patient and besides the chicks are not yet hungry.
My kids are a natural pet lover. I guess most of the kids are like that. We have that same nature when we were as young as them before. We got dogs, cats and birds as pets before. We even have turtles and “golden kuhol” (golden snail) as pets. Though I doubt you can call snail as pet. Anyhow we give too much care for them that’s why they become our pet.
Let’s go back to my kids. My kids, most especially my son, is not allowed to have pet, because of his condition, though he love it so much to have one. They only have a dog named “Patchi” in which my son used to kiss and hug whenever my wife is not around. They are contented of sharing with our neighbors pets from time to time because we cannot have more pets at home.
There is also one occasion that my kids spent all of their money in “pabunot” (this is a set of small rolled paper with number inside, if you get the same number as tagged in the prize, then you win that prize) in which the prize is a chick with different color, this is now popular most specially during the town fiesta. The man with the pabunot took pity to my kids because they didn’t win any prize at all, gave them one chick as a consolation. They are very happy at that consolation. They would carry the chick wherever they go. They would let the chick to sleep in their bed at night for fear that the cat might eat it. But since the chick is not designed to that lifestyle, it didn’t survive for another week.
Now that we just bought fifteen chicks, my son was so happy. He immediately calls all his “kalaro” (playmates) to show them his new pets. They began giving names to each chick. All the fifteen chicks got named in less than a minute. They even want to put a lace in each chick’s leg in order to identify them among the others but I told them that it is not possible. When evening time comes, my son told me to put the chicks inside our house. Maybe he is worried to leave them outside all night. I told him that they are safe because the cage is their home.
For the days onwards we would be spending our time watching the chicks grow. Every morning, my son, straight from his bed, would go to the cage to check on the chicks. My wife who used to disagree with this idea now enjoys spending time with the chicks. This becomes one of our bonding moment as we clean the cage of the dung, replace the feeds and the drinks of the chicks and we would record their weekly weight gain, one by one.
We even set up a place near the cage in which we can have our breakfast and lunch. Our auntie was so inspired by this idea that she also bought 10 chicks and give to her brother to raise. When I returned here in Libya the chicks are about three weeks old. I did missed them as well that I would regularly ask my wife of their weight improvement. They would even show one on the cam for me to see. I was so happy because all of the fifteen chickens did made it up to their 45th day, there was no casualty.
It was holiday in the Philippines, when the time comes to dispose the chicken and my kids are at home. They cried when they saw what’s being done to their pets. My son run to his bedroom and wept. My wife had a hard time explaining to him that it has to be done. That evening, my wife prepared chicken for dinner. The kids asked if that was their chicken. My wife says no, though it was.
Today my wife bought another fifteen chicks to raise just in time for her and our sons’ birthday celebration next month. I was surprised because she doesn’t want it before. She told me that she enjoy raising the chicken because time passes so quickly and that helps her a lot in coping with her longing for me. And unlike before that she thought it was so difficult raising the chicken, she told me, “Sisiw lang pala mag-alaga.”
Monday, August 16, 2010
I miss my baby Daren Joyce
Every night, my wife used to wait for me to have a chat on the internet. It is so because I have a limited internet connection. My internet connection starts at 4:00pm, that’s 10:00pm in the Philippines. And we can start chatting at 5:00pm, my local time. During the time that she's waiting for me to be available, she spend her time by scanning our pictures and she’s uploading it in the Facebook account of our daughter, Daren.
It happened one time that I open my Facebook account and I’ve noticed the update on my daughters’ account. I open and view her photo album. Inside are her photos when she was one year old, then when she turned two years old and so on. Also included in the album is our picture taken few days before I left for Libya. She was 1 year old and 3 months at that time. Viewing those pictures, all I can utter is, “I miss my baby Daren Joyce.” Yes, I really miss my daughter…. a lot. I miss when I am watching her taking her first step. How she falls and tries to get up again and walk. And when she finally made a few steps from me, she would look back to me and flash her sweet smile, as if saying, “Papa I can walk now, see.” I miss when she reaches out to me so I can carry her. I miss those times when we go to the beach, on how I run after as she makes her way to the water while her cousins are afraid.
There was a time that she even thought that she don’t have a father. She was almost two years old at that time. She went to her Mama and told her, “Why is it that the other kids have Papa, but for me, I don’t have one.” My wife told her that she got one but is working in Libya. Upon hearing that, she jumps and shouts, “Yehey, I have a Papa.” How I wish I am there to share with her that joyful moment.
During my first vacation, I was able to see in her eyes the pride of having a real Papa. Her joy at that time is at its peak. I remember the time when I was about to go back to Libya. She is sitting quietly besides me, watching me wrapping my luggage with masking tape. She was on tears when we finally say goodbye to each other. In order to lessen the loneliness they went to sleep. But when my daughter woke up, she immediately took all her toys and wrapped them with masking tape. My wife asked her, “What are you doing?” She replied without looking to her Mama, “We are going to Libya to be with Papa, he’s waiting for us.” It brought me to tears, when my wife told me that story. How I wish I can be with my family at that moment.
There a lot more wonderful story of my daughter, some of them captured through the pictures and sad to say I was not there. Now our daughter is 10 years old. Time really passed by so quickly and I missed her growing up.
To my Daren Joyce, I miss you so much, anak. My promise, before you enter high school, I will be there to be with you, to be with Mama and to be with your brother, Isko. I love you.
It happened one time that I open my Facebook account and I’ve noticed the update on my daughters’ account. I open and view her photo album. Inside are her photos when she was one year old, then when she turned two years old and so on. Also included in the album is our picture taken few days before I left for Libya. She was 1 year old and 3 months at that time. Viewing those pictures, all I can utter is, “I miss my baby Daren Joyce.” Yes, I really miss my daughter…. a lot. I miss when I am watching her taking her first step. How she falls and tries to get up again and walk. And when she finally made a few steps from me, she would look back to me and flash her sweet smile, as if saying, “Papa I can walk now, see.” I miss when she reaches out to me so I can carry her. I miss those times when we go to the beach, on how I run after as she makes her way to the water while her cousins are afraid.
There was a time that she even thought that she don’t have a father. She was almost two years old at that time. She went to her Mama and told her, “Why is it that the other kids have Papa, but for me, I don’t have one.” My wife told her that she got one but is working in Libya. Upon hearing that, she jumps and shouts, “Yehey, I have a Papa.” How I wish I am there to share with her that joyful moment.
During my first vacation, I was able to see in her eyes the pride of having a real Papa. Her joy at that time is at its peak. I remember the time when I was about to go back to Libya. She is sitting quietly besides me, watching me wrapping my luggage with masking tape. She was on tears when we finally say goodbye to each other. In order to lessen the loneliness they went to sleep. But when my daughter woke up, she immediately took all her toys and wrapped them with masking tape. My wife asked her, “What are you doing?” She replied without looking to her Mama, “We are going to Libya to be with Papa, he’s waiting for us.” It brought me to tears, when my wife told me that story. How I wish I can be with my family at that moment.
There a lot more wonderful story of my daughter, some of them captured through the pictures and sad to say I was not there. Now our daughter is 10 years old. Time really passed by so quickly and I missed her growing up.
To my Daren Joyce, I miss you so much, anak. My promise, before you enter high school, I will be there to be with you, to be with Mama and to be with your brother, Isko. I love you.
LOVE
Last night I had a chance to watch once again the program Love in Asia, on KBS World, a Korean channel. It is actually a story of Koreans who is married to a South East Asian wife. Somehow the wives are already fluent in speaking in Hangul, the Korean native language, when their story is featured in the program.
I was touched when they tell their story on how they had endured to adopt the culture of their husband. Their struggle in dealing with their in-laws and the number one hindrance is the communication because they don’t speak their language at that time. There is also a segment in the program that the couple together with their kids is given a chance to visit the wife’s native country. This is the most touching moment because the woman who’s been separated to her parent got a chance to meet them once again even for a short period of time. You can really feel the excitement in her face as they approach their village. The tight embrace given to her parents, who from her eyes suddenly got a lot older because of the long time of separation and the tears that are freely flowing from their eyes can really melts someone’s heart. It’s a joyful reunion that every family members, neighbor and friends will gather for the night to welcome her and her family.
It is also inspiring to see how the husband deals with his in-laws. This is in a way to let the husband understand how his wife had undergone such a difficulty when she is adjusting to his culture. Even though he cannot communicate with his in-laws, it is his action of love for them that do the talking and the message is well received on the other end.
I really enjoy watching this program whenever I had a chance, because my wife had that same experience of long time of separation. Her family lives in Zamboanga City, Southern part of the Philippines, while my family is in Bataan, Central region of Luzon. I remember when I first met my in-laws, that was during our wedding. I cannot forget that moment when they hug each other. Time seems to stop at that very moment. You cannot just see but feel from them that longing from each other. My wife left for Manila when she was 12 years old and after 11 years of separation they meet once again.
Through the program I can’t help but to really appreciate my wife more and more. Being alone with no other immediate family member of her own, she somehow managed to endure the hardship of dealing with in-laws. And it is all because of LOVE.
Going back to the program, once again they have shown that love really conquer every barrier, because it has no boundaries at all. And I agree with the host parting words, “I LOVE YOU, is the most beautiful words that can be utter in any language.” And to my wife let me tell you this once again, I LOVE YOU TART.
I was touched when they tell their story on how they had endured to adopt the culture of their husband. Their struggle in dealing with their in-laws and the number one hindrance is the communication because they don’t speak their language at that time. There is also a segment in the program that the couple together with their kids is given a chance to visit the wife’s native country. This is the most touching moment because the woman who’s been separated to her parent got a chance to meet them once again even for a short period of time. You can really feel the excitement in her face as they approach their village. The tight embrace given to her parents, who from her eyes suddenly got a lot older because of the long time of separation and the tears that are freely flowing from their eyes can really melts someone’s heart. It’s a joyful reunion that every family members, neighbor and friends will gather for the night to welcome her and her family.
It is also inspiring to see how the husband deals with his in-laws. This is in a way to let the husband understand how his wife had undergone such a difficulty when she is adjusting to his culture. Even though he cannot communicate with his in-laws, it is his action of love for them that do the talking and the message is well received on the other end.
I really enjoy watching this program whenever I had a chance, because my wife had that same experience of long time of separation. Her family lives in Zamboanga City, Southern part of the Philippines, while my family is in Bataan, Central region of Luzon. I remember when I first met my in-laws, that was during our wedding. I cannot forget that moment when they hug each other. Time seems to stop at that very moment. You cannot just see but feel from them that longing from each other. My wife left for Manila when she was 12 years old and after 11 years of separation they meet once again.
Through the program I can’t help but to really appreciate my wife more and more. Being alone with no other immediate family member of her own, she somehow managed to endure the hardship of dealing with in-laws. And it is all because of LOVE.
Going back to the program, once again they have shown that love really conquer every barrier, because it has no boundaries at all. And I agree with the host parting words, “I LOVE YOU, is the most beautiful words that can be utter in any language.” And to my wife let me tell you this once again, I LOVE YOU TART.
When someone's praying for you
There are numerous times that I received a request from a friend of mine asking me to include them in my prayers. My answer to them is always a, “Yes I will”. Even my wife asks me more than a couple of time to pray for something in which I did so willingly.
I have to admit that I am not strong when it comes to prayer. This is one aspect of my life that I need to develop. It is because whenever I pray, I got a lot of destruction. There are a lot of things that pops out in my mind during prayer. I also tried praying without closing my eyes and I found out that there’s less destruction. Those things that keep on popping out in my mind are all gone. The only destructions are the things around me but somehow I can manage to control some of them during my prayer. I also pray in a manner that as if I am just talking to a person beside me. In this way I can express a lot more things that I need to pray for.
As I see it personally, prayer is like a skill within our self that needs honing. We need to make it a habit to pray every day. It is through prayer that we can voice out to our Heavenly Father even our inner most desire.
It is also a delightful experience whenever I am hearing testimonies of answered prayer. It is a proof that God listens to our prayer and He grants our request. But the most wonderful feeling is when I have learned that someone is praying for me. I cannot express the feeling when I read the passage below:
Dear jon,
Thank God for your loved ones this Sunday.
Praying for you,
Bo Sanchez
That simple phrase above sends an overwhelming feeling inside of me. I felt the strength to move forward and give me hope for the day. I started to feel this way when I joined the Kerygma family of Bro. Bo Sanchez. They are sending inspiration on a daily basis to my email account together with prayer. This prayer, even in its simplest form, really touched my heart and I know it’s the same thing with anyone else. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that someone is praying for you every day. Amen.
I have to admit that I am not strong when it comes to prayer. This is one aspect of my life that I need to develop. It is because whenever I pray, I got a lot of destruction. There are a lot of things that pops out in my mind during prayer. I also tried praying without closing my eyes and I found out that there’s less destruction. Those things that keep on popping out in my mind are all gone. The only destructions are the things around me but somehow I can manage to control some of them during my prayer. I also pray in a manner that as if I am just talking to a person beside me. In this way I can express a lot more things that I need to pray for.
As I see it personally, prayer is like a skill within our self that needs honing. We need to make it a habit to pray every day. It is through prayer that we can voice out to our Heavenly Father even our inner most desire.
It is also a delightful experience whenever I am hearing testimonies of answered prayer. It is a proof that God listens to our prayer and He grants our request. But the most wonderful feeling is when I have learned that someone is praying for me. I cannot express the feeling when I read the passage below:
Dear jon,
Thank God for your loved ones this Sunday.
Praying for you,
Bo Sanchez
That simple phrase above sends an overwhelming feeling inside of me. I felt the strength to move forward and give me hope for the day. I started to feel this way when I joined the Kerygma family of Bro. Bo Sanchez. They are sending inspiration on a daily basis to my email account together with prayer. This prayer, even in its simplest form, really touched my heart and I know it’s the same thing with anyone else. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that someone is praying for you every day. Amen.
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