1 Corinthians 13:1-13

2nd Reading Yesterday

1 Cor 12:31—13:13 or 13:4-13

Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues,
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy,
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

Perstaym ito!

There’s always a first time, sabi nga.

Yesterday, I love my officemates. Yes, all of them. Especially the boss. They’ve cushioned a supposedly very hard fall. In fact I was laughing so hard my side ached. Thank you all. :)

Siyempre ngayong umaga, balik na naman sa dati. :)

Oh well. Life.

~~~

Anyway, may mga bago akong friends. :) They are from SEI. Sila mga teachers ko sa badminton. Sila experts, ako... naku super over mega beginner. :)

Newbie

One of the many goals of our community here in Bicutan is to train its members to be evangelizers. St. Magdalene of Canossa once said that we should make Christ known for Him to be loved. I was very eager and excited at the thought that I’d be able to share to other people all the wonderful things that God has given me. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am articulate and skilled enough to do such work. That was why I was so grateful when Ate Miles invited me to be part of the Formation/Education Team.

So last Monday, we had a meeting in preparation for the Wednesday N2D. Five of us were tasked to read something, make a reflection out of it and then share the reflection to the community. I got this:

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet,
enough trials to make you strong,
enough sorrow to keep you human and
enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past;
you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying
and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so that when you die,
you're the one who is smiling
and everyone around you is crying.

And I shared this:

One of the very distinct characteristics of being human is our being discontented with life. Lahat tayo ay may hiling, may mga dalangin at may mga inaasamasam sa buhay. May mga mabibigat na panalangin, katulad ng: “Panginoon, sana po pagalingin mo ang pinsan ko” at mayroon din naman magagaan katulad ng, “Lord, sana po makita ko ang crush ko”.

It would probably be safe to claim that each and every one of us has at least one wish everyday. Siguro lang. You can and you may correct me if I’m wrong. Nuong nagtalk si Kuya Shen about our relationship with God, mayroon siyang sinabi na gusto ng Diyos na tumawag tayo sa kanya. Siguro through our prayers and petitions, ipinapakita natin na tayo ay tao at siya ay ang ating Panginoong na makapangyarihan sa lahat.

Ngunit naitanong niyo na ba kung bakit lagi may kulang? Kung bakit lagi tayong naghahangad? Bakit may mga problema? Bakit nga ba?

One of the main reasons why God created us was for us to be with Him. Ang buhay natin dito sa lupa ay pansamantala lamang. Ito ay paghahanda para sa susunod nating buhay – ang mas permanente na kapiling siya. Kung sa buhay natin ngayon ay ibibigay na niya lahat, maaaring hindi na tayo maghangad na makapiling siya sa susunod na buhay. Maaring makuntento na tayo sa buhay na imperpekto.

Tayo ay patuloy na hinuhubog ng Diyos ayon sa kanyang nais, ayon sa kanyang plano at ayon sa kanyang pagmamahal. Hinihintay lang niyang sabihin nating “YES Lord! Go ahead Lord! Mold me according to your will and according to your wonderful promises!

And all shall be well. Thank you.

I never thought that I would be able to pull it through. I was so nervous! Grabe! But I did and it was a great experience. :)

Crappy mood

Since Saturday I’ve been having major “reklamo sessions” with my Lord. Hanggang ngayon, I couldn’t stop ranting and complaining on why things happened that way. I couldn’t stop asking, “why Lord?” My heart keeps on defending Him, my brain keeps on fighting. Katulad ng isang sugat na pinilit hilumin ang ilalim ng puso ko ay patuloy na dumudugo. I’m so sad. I refuse to believe that He understands me. But deep in my heart I know He knows more that I could ever imagine and claim to know.

Thank you for being patient with your little girl. Don’t ever get tired of me.

On Food

I consider food as a sacred thing that people share with other people. Bilang Kristiyano, may paniniwala tayong, “the family that prays together, stays together,” bukod dito ay naniniwala rin akong “the family that eats together, stays together.”

People have different ways of showing their love for someone. I grew up in a family where food sharing is one way of showing love to one another. So, it won’t be a surprise if I adopted it. When you are my friend, or when I like you to be my friend, I will share my food with you and vise versa. I do not eat with someone whom I am uncomfortable with. Yeah sure, I will sit with you in the same table but I will not eat with you. That is one of my simple (and probably weird) rules in life.

The last time I saw him, we ate at McDo. He ordered for both of us, Chicken McNuggets. However, in as much as I want Chicken McNuggets that time, I wasn’t able to get passed through my first bite. I ended up wrapping the McNuggets in a tissue paper for him to take out. That was more than a year ago.

The other day, I sent Crush a sandwich. =D

~~~

Lord, I feel so small sometimes
in this big old place
Yeah I know there are more important things,
But don’t forget to remember me.

Don’t forget to remember me
Carrie Underwood

~~~

If I Stand
Jars of Clay

There's more that rises in the morning than the sun
And more that shines in the night than just the moon
There's more than just this fire here that keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger than this room

And there's a loyalty that's deeper than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs that I can sing
Stuff of Earth competes for the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise that you will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You
So if I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home

And there's more that dances on the prairies than the wind
And more that pulses in the ocean than the tide
There's a love that's fiercer than the love between friends
More gentle than a mother's when her baby's at her side

And there's a loyalty that's deeper than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs that I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes for the allegence
I owe only to the Giver of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise You will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home

And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for home

Relieved

Hay… January pa lang super dami na ng work. Super! Meetings, papers, and business letters everywhere, all of which are/will be used in preparation for the OYS 2nd National Convention and the NAST 29th ASM.

Plus, I’m still in panic mode though I can feel its power over me dwindling. Buti naman! Aba, pano ba naman, I'm 3 weeks late in submitting my thesis proposal. Yup, thesis proposal. Why? Because after 2 months of supposed to be thinking and researching period I still do not have a topic. That was until yesterday, thanks to Joel.

Actually, the gratitude should go first to those who suggested topics weeks ago pa. But since I couldn’t find the devcom angle, I didn’t adopt any of it. So first, thank you to Joseph, who’s always, as in always talaga, willing to help and give out resources - work and studies related. He suggested doing a study related to Mount Banahaw. He gave me the contact info of those who are involved and the website to check for reference. Next on the list is the husband and wife team of Kuya Jim and Loriedel. I emailed Loriedel, she forwarded the message to Kuy Jim, who is a DevCom practitioner and he gave me several topics such as: bird flu awareness campaign in the country, HIV awareness and the likes. Thank you ng madami. :)

So, ok na? Not yet. I still have to start and finish the proposal but the 50% of the work is done. I now know where to start.

~~~

I love Rascal Flatts. Panalo sa lyrics! :)

I found you find strength in your moments of weakness.
For once I am at peace with myself.

“I’m moving on”
Rascal Flatts

Cause when push comes to shove,
you’ll taste what you’re made of
you might bend till you break
cause it’s all you can take,
on your knees you look up,
decide you’ve had enough
you get mad
you get strong
wipe your hand
shake it off
then you stand.

“Stand”
Rascal Flatts

~~~

I’m currently reading a book about teachers. It is supposed to be a love story and I bought it for the very simple reason that I like the cover. Yup, that’s me. I look at book covers. I don’t want those with half naked man and almost naked woman in a very provocative position. I would probably die of embarrassment should you see me reading one of those books. I am not saying that I do not read those books; I do, but definitely not in public. No way man!

Anyway, I found this and I would like to share it with you.

Most of the time, the kids who lash out are just using a teacher for a target because they can’t get at the real ones. Maybe they’ve had a fight with the old man, or they’ve just broken up with the love of the moment, or they’re afraid they’re going to get benched at the next game. It’s not about us. We’re just in the way.

The Wiz
Learning Curve, p. 94

The philosophy does not only apply to teachers. I think it applies to all. In one-way or another, we became the kid who lashes out and in some ways we became the teacher who’s being lashed. When you just get fed up about something and you cannot get the “real enemy” you just pour out the anger at the person closest to you. Sad no? This could go under the heading, “why do we always hurt the ones we love.”

~~~

Crush

I have a crush. After ng may-ari ng tsinelas, may crush ulit ako. :) pero hindi pedeng sabihin kung sino and I don’t think I will ever have the guts to tell anyone about it. As in never. Kaya dito na lang. It will be safer here. No one will know who that person is. I just have to let it out para mawala na rin sa system ko. Hindi kasi puede. I know somebody na may-may gusto rin sa kanya – though gut feel lang. Atsaka basta hindi talaga pwede. I just feel special whenever kausap ko siya (though very seldom). No mushy chenes or whatever, but you will know na nagke-care siya. :) basta, can’t explain. Hard to explain, rather. O ayan, enough said. Sana lang mawala na… para ok. Hay…

Happy New Year!

I hope I’m not too late in greeting you this time. :)

Me, I welcomed the New Year with a smile. I'm thankful for everything that happened in 2006 - yup! good and bad - because God is so good. :)

I had two resolutions last year. The first one was not to be late, which like any other resolutions, did not happen. The second one I cannot say but I think I was able to work on it. And very much happy with the result. Although sometimes the ghost still lingers, there is nothing that I cannot handle. :)

This year I added a few things in the “wishful thinking” list:
1. I will revive the “not to be late” resolution. Will TRY really really hard, promise.

2. Be “more visible” to my friends. Yeyeah, I know. I should have done this before pa but because of jumbled priorities, I only saw them twice or trice last year. This year, kahit at least four matatanggap ko na :)

Anyway, Loriedel and I are planning to organize our 10th year High School Reunion this coming April. Sana lang matuloy.

3. Avoid procrastination. ‘Nuff said :)

Chinese forecasters say that 2007 will be a very good year for those who were born under the sheep/goat sign kaya super hopeful ang lola niyo. :)

~~~

On a completely different topic…

I just finished watching Josh Groban’s concert ulit - for the nth time this year.



And man, he rocks! :) The voice and the angelic face don’t exactly match pero wow! Super amazing. Nakaka-mesmerize panoorin. Hay…