There is no arguing with the fact that there is a dearth of Godly entertainment in our midst today. We Christians are tired of the filth that imposes their twisted values on us, and we are crying out to reclaim the senses deadened by the widespread media philosophy of appealing to our basest of human desires.
If you are like me, looking for good, wholesome entertainment that allows your heart to be softened, to be all the more in tune with the Lord, then you may be looking for movies like All Things New.
In Summer 2008, The Philippines witnessed the birth of the new era of Philippine Entertainment via Ploning. And today, Christian production outfit Good News Productions International is unveiling a premiere screening of its maiden project, All Things New.
What is great about All Things New is not only the fact that it is a movie that awakens us to the realities of our country; it also awakens us to the fact that MIRACLES HAPPEN on a daily basis ON THIS SIDE OF HEAVEN. All Things New is also a testament to the redemptive power of Christ's cross.
I know for a fact that Christ's cross has changed millions of lives through the 2,000 years since the moment He's risen. This movie, All Things New, seeks to capture exactly the miracle of the radically changed life of the individual.
Over and beyond the changed lives, what is so important about the December 5 and 6, 2008 screenings of All Things New is that it allows YOU to partner in changing a life or two.
Thanks to your purchase of a ticket and watching these VIP screening/s, you will be able to help fund the outreach projects of CBN Asia, World Vision, Compassion Philippines, Christians’ Haven, Every Nation Campus Ministries, Real Life Foundation, CCF Backstreet Kids, and Jesus Revolution, in their quest to help uplift the lives of street children.
Help change the life of a street child or two. Take a break from the maddening pile of paperwork you face every week. Watch All Things New, in Podium Cinema 2.
All Things New VIP Screening Nights
Screening Dates: December 5, Friday, 7pm and 9pm
December 6, Saturday, 7pm and 9pm
Venue: Podium Cinema 2
Donor’s Contribution: Php 500
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Revisiting Promises for the Philippines: Promises Being Fulfilled
I was editing my previous post on my cross-posted blogs when I came across a comment that led me to research a Victory Prophet's name. After I deleted the commenter's comment, chastised him for his fear, didn't bother to delete the other posts on my other sites, I also decided to scour the other Google results, as I had found the Jesus Revolution Geocities site.
I know that the Jesus Rev conference was the venue when Cindy Jacobs had imparted God's promises for the Philippines.. I had found the video below on YouTube before, but reading the transcript allowed me to savor the Word for us once more.
This is amazing to me, because a lot of these promises had been coming true before my very eyes. While most Filipinos give in to media lies that we are poor, actually, never has the Philippines experienced greater prosperity than today. Even though our old people look back to the glory days when they could buy a lot of stuff with only Php 10, never had the Philippines experienced such progress that web and TECH companies are hurrying to get a slice of the Philippines' buying public's attention. Never have the businesses been hurrying to run to our shores until today, until this hour of history.
While India had been Asia's darling for outsourcing in the years past, thanks to the thoroughly advanced technical, programming, and mathematical skills of the Indian people, reality bit America real hard, because though Indian labor rates are around 25% of Philippine rates, Indian CSR's had given American customers trouble via their British/Indian accent. What is worse is that, for my field, writing, Indian providers give copy that would actually pave the way for Western customers to pay 2-3x more than what they originally expected to pay.
That is why the businesses are now going on a full speed transfer from other Asian nations and into our shores.
Never has the Philippines been recognized as a key outsourcing provider until today! We have the perfect balance of RATES, and QUALITY SERVICE.
Also, with the news that had been appearing, especially with the oil opening up in our country, I am seeing the promises of God just rapidly coming true.
Also, schools' spiritual doors are opening wide. University of Makati, UP Diliman, Filamer University in Roxas, UP Los Banos, Central Philippine University... A harvest of souls is happening on a wide scale.
Youth are rising up, falling in love with God, and gearing to run for their destiny in Christ. Indeed, FIREBRANDS are rising up in our midst. FIRE is passion. FIRE is who God is. Our God is an all-consuming fire.
A firebrand, in my imagination, was one of those metal thingies that people used to brand cows with; but as according to New Oxford American Dictionary, a Firebrand is: a piece of burning wood. This means that a firebrand, as it gets consumed by the fire, actually touches other pieces of wood and allows them to be consumed by fire, as well.
BUT, on the figurative definition of FIREBRAND, guess what it means? Firebrand: a person who is passionate about a particular cause, typically inciting change and taking radical action.
MAN. Isn't that amazing?!
Hey, I don't believe that we'll be EDSA Umpteewhatever adherents, okay? I'm a passionate girl, but I HATE street rallies. They're like parties of rabid dogs barking up the wrong trees.
Instead, I envision a company of youths who desire to be so radical for JESUS that bus rides are no longer mere modes of transportation. Instead, for these youths, they would be praying for people they see, for institutions they see and discern needs with. These youths would desire change, not only for themselves, but they would desire change for their families, their school, their country, and ultimately their world.
But they would not bark up the wrong trees. They would speak life into their circumstances. They would pray about anything and everything, including where they get their tuition, where they get their next meals, and where they get their shampoos. They would then graduate to depending on GOD for the bigger stuff: the computers they need, the houses they want to have, the gadgets they need, but all with the understanding that they do not ask these of God because they're spoiled kids; they ask these of God because they know they need it, and they can use these for God's greater glory!
BUT MORE SO, these youth would ask for people's hearts. Indeed, they would be FIREBRANDS, people who infect other people wherever they go: infect others with passion, love and DESIRE for JESUS CHRIST.
These youth would be so lovesick for JESUS, that they would be crying day and night for HIS Glory to be made manifest on earth, they would cry out for HIM to come home and claim HIS inheritance. These youth would set aside thoughts of marriage, as long as God doesn't say "go," because they know that God has a partner for them. Instead, they are consumed by a desire to do His will: pray for people, and pray for more FIREBRANDS.
Regarding the Forerunner anointing, I believe that it is alive and kicking. I am a personal witness to friends and family who have been promoted by GOD to other nations: not for their own economic improvement, but so that they would be able keep the Good News, the Message rolling through the countries. Oh yeah, God is allowing us to trek nations like the islands of the Philippines, baby!
If we are quick to do His will, He will promote us!!!
The exposition had been done, and it will continue. More shaking will come upon our systems and our people, those who do evil and are corrupt; but for the blameless and pure before Jesus, BECAUSE OF HIS BLOOD, He is opening their eyes, their ears, and their lips, so that they can hear directly from HIM, and speak His words of Life!!!
And you know what? God told me this Sunday, as I was tantruming inwardly because there were things that I didn't like about the Catholic priest's sermon... As I had wailed to Him in my thoughts ("What on earth am I doin here?!"), in the course of our conversation, He said that regardless of the "flavor" of a Filipino person's being Christian: Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Pentecostal, and even Filipino Jews, HE IS REMAINING IN OUR COUNTRY!!! Because we love and honor HIM!!! Isn't that amazing?!
What's more amazing is that Cindy Jacobs' prophecy is also saying the same thing. Hey, it was just a date between God and me, but He's saying the same thing to me, as He announced via Cindy Jacobs.
And you know what, YOU COULD HEAR HIM TOO.
Seek Him, and you shall find Him.
And with that, without further ado, I bring you Cindy Jacobs' Jesus Rev Prophecy, God's promises for the Philippines.
PROPHECY FOR THE PHILIPPINES
--Cindy Jacobs
The Lord would say to the Philippines -I am shaking everything that can be shaken so that no man can glory in what I will do. For I have waited for a generation that I could raise up a purity and a holiness in. And I am raising up firebrands!
There is a forerunner anointing coming upon the youth of the Philippines that will prepare the way of the Lord, even into the Middle East. Look and see what I will do in Mindanao. For I am going to visit in a way that you cannot imagine! I am coming to Mindanao, says the Lord, as God and the Lord of Hosts, and I am going to start appearing. As a sign that I am going to truly change the nation, I am going to show myself to the guerilla leaders. I am going to come, says the Lord, and I am going to begin at the places in the Philippines that have been the bloodiest; the places where the guerillas' insurrection have been the strongest. And I am going to come with signs and wonders and miracles! I am getting ready to pour out a miracle anointing upon the Philippines such as the earth has never seen! For Indonesia, they had a mighty rushing wind. But in the Philippines they will have the fire from heaven that will begin to fall! And this will be a purging fire! And I will say, I will visit even as if in a day, says God. Do not think that I am not able to come in a day and begin to unravel the iniquities of the nation, says the Lord!
I am going to visit the military. I am getting ready to come among the young in the military. And the Lord says, there's going to be a revolution of righteousness that comes within the military.
I'm getting ready to dethrone everything that needs to be dethroned, for even the bowls of heaven are full. Oh, I see the bowls in heaven are just getting ready to be tipped over the Philippines and I am going to spill out my glory!
And the Lord says, I will remove the shame that Satan has tried to put upon this nation! And the Lord says, look and see, for even the blood of the martyrs cries out from Saudi Arabia! The blood of the martyrs cries out from those Islamic nations, and my Filipino people that have laid their lives down. Do not think I haven't seen it! Do not think I am looking away! Do not think I do not see you! Do not think I do not see you, Philippines; for I see you! You are the apple of my eye! You are a treasure unto me!
This is the day and this is the hour when I begin to change everything, says the Lord! I'm going to change the judicial system. I'm going to dethrone corrupt judges. I'm getting ready to deal with the police force. I'm going to expose, expose, expose, expose!
And the Lord says, look and see what I will do! For I will open up my treasure chest from the Philippines! And I am going to release finances for the Philippines that will surprise and shake even Hongkong! For I am getting ready to move a distribution of wealth, says God. And I am getting ready to open the oil! I am getting ready to open that which is in the ocean! I'm getting ready to bring forth a revolution even in the economic systems, in the finance systems!
Look to the university in Manila, says God. For I am going to bring a revival that the-Oh my Lord!--- the Lord says, not hundreds, but thousands and thousands and thousands are going to get saved!! The Lord says, can I touch a whole university? Yes I can touch a whole university! I can come with my glory and I can come with my power in ways that you cannot imagine! For I am coming, says God! I am coming and I will remain, says the Lord!
I know that the Jesus Rev conference was the venue when Cindy Jacobs had imparted God's promises for the Philippines.. I had found the video below on YouTube before, but reading the transcript allowed me to savor the Word for us once more.
This is amazing to me, because a lot of these promises had been coming true before my very eyes. While most Filipinos give in to media lies that we are poor, actually, never has the Philippines experienced greater prosperity than today. Even though our old people look back to the glory days when they could buy a lot of stuff with only Php 10, never had the Philippines experienced such progress that web and TECH companies are hurrying to get a slice of the Philippines' buying public's attention. Never have the businesses been hurrying to run to our shores until today, until this hour of history.
While India had been Asia's darling for outsourcing in the years past, thanks to the thoroughly advanced technical, programming, and mathematical skills of the Indian people, reality bit America real hard, because though Indian labor rates are around 25% of Philippine rates, Indian CSR's had given American customers trouble via their British/Indian accent. What is worse is that, for my field, writing, Indian providers give copy that would actually pave the way for Western customers to pay 2-3x more than what they originally expected to pay.
That is why the businesses are now going on a full speed transfer from other Asian nations and into our shores.
Never has the Philippines been recognized as a key outsourcing provider until today! We have the perfect balance of RATES, and QUALITY SERVICE.
Also, with the news that had been appearing, especially with the oil opening up in our country, I am seeing the promises of God just rapidly coming true.
Also, schools' spiritual doors are opening wide. University of Makati, UP Diliman, Filamer University in Roxas, UP Los Banos, Central Philippine University... A harvest of souls is happening on a wide scale.
Youth are rising up, falling in love with God, and gearing to run for their destiny in Christ. Indeed, FIREBRANDS are rising up in our midst. FIRE is passion. FIRE is who God is. Our God is an all-consuming fire.
A firebrand, in my imagination, was one of those metal thingies that people used to brand cows with; but as according to New Oxford American Dictionary, a Firebrand is: a piece of burning wood. This means that a firebrand, as it gets consumed by the fire, actually touches other pieces of wood and allows them to be consumed by fire, as well.
BUT, on the figurative definition of FIREBRAND, guess what it means? Firebrand: a person who is passionate about a particular cause, typically inciting change and taking radical action.
MAN. Isn't that amazing?!
Hey, I don't believe that we'll be EDSA Umpteewhatever adherents, okay? I'm a passionate girl, but I HATE street rallies. They're like parties of rabid dogs barking up the wrong trees.
Instead, I envision a company of youths who desire to be so radical for JESUS that bus rides are no longer mere modes of transportation. Instead, for these youths, they would be praying for people they see, for institutions they see and discern needs with. These youths would desire change, not only for themselves, but they would desire change for their families, their school, their country, and ultimately their world.
But they would not bark up the wrong trees. They would speak life into their circumstances. They would pray about anything and everything, including where they get their tuition, where they get their next meals, and where they get their shampoos. They would then graduate to depending on GOD for the bigger stuff: the computers they need, the houses they want to have, the gadgets they need, but all with the understanding that they do not ask these of God because they're spoiled kids; they ask these of God because they know they need it, and they can use these for God's greater glory!
BUT MORE SO, these youth would ask for people's hearts. Indeed, they would be FIREBRANDS, people who infect other people wherever they go: infect others with passion, love and DESIRE for JESUS CHRIST.
These youth would be so lovesick for JESUS, that they would be crying day and night for HIS Glory to be made manifest on earth, they would cry out for HIM to come home and claim HIS inheritance. These youth would set aside thoughts of marriage, as long as God doesn't say "go," because they know that God has a partner for them. Instead, they are consumed by a desire to do His will: pray for people, and pray for more FIREBRANDS.
Regarding the Forerunner anointing, I believe that it is alive and kicking. I am a personal witness to friends and family who have been promoted by GOD to other nations: not for their own economic improvement, but so that they would be able keep the Good News, the Message rolling through the countries. Oh yeah, God is allowing us to trek nations like the islands of the Philippines, baby!
If we are quick to do His will, He will promote us!!!
The exposition had been done, and it will continue. More shaking will come upon our systems and our people, those who do evil and are corrupt; but for the blameless and pure before Jesus, BECAUSE OF HIS BLOOD, He is opening their eyes, their ears, and their lips, so that they can hear directly from HIM, and speak His words of Life!!!
And you know what? God told me this Sunday, as I was tantruming inwardly because there were things that I didn't like about the Catholic priest's sermon... As I had wailed to Him in my thoughts ("What on earth am I doin here?!"), in the course of our conversation, He said that regardless of the "flavor" of a Filipino person's being Christian: Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Pentecostal, and even Filipino Jews, HE IS REMAINING IN OUR COUNTRY!!! Because we love and honor HIM!!! Isn't that amazing?!
What's more amazing is that Cindy Jacobs' prophecy is also saying the same thing. Hey, it was just a date between God and me, but He's saying the same thing to me, as He announced via Cindy Jacobs.
And you know what, YOU COULD HEAR HIM TOO.
Seek Him, and you shall find Him.
And with that, without further ado, I bring you Cindy Jacobs' Jesus Rev Prophecy, God's promises for the Philippines.
PROPHECY FOR THE PHILIPPINES
--Cindy Jacobs
The Lord would say to the Philippines -I am shaking everything that can be shaken so that no man can glory in what I will do. For I have waited for a generation that I could raise up a purity and a holiness in. And I am raising up firebrands!
There is a forerunner anointing coming upon the youth of the Philippines that will prepare the way of the Lord, even into the Middle East. Look and see what I will do in Mindanao. For I am going to visit in a way that you cannot imagine! I am coming to Mindanao, says the Lord, as God and the Lord of Hosts, and I am going to start appearing. As a sign that I am going to truly change the nation, I am going to show myself to the guerilla leaders. I am going to come, says the Lord, and I am going to begin at the places in the Philippines that have been the bloodiest; the places where the guerillas' insurrection have been the strongest. And I am going to come with signs and wonders and miracles! I am getting ready to pour out a miracle anointing upon the Philippines such as the earth has never seen! For Indonesia, they had a mighty rushing wind. But in the Philippines they will have the fire from heaven that will begin to fall! And this will be a purging fire! And I will say, I will visit even as if in a day, says God. Do not think that I am not able to come in a day and begin to unravel the iniquities of the nation, says the Lord!
I am going to visit the military. I am getting ready to come among the young in the military. And the Lord says, there's going to be a revolution of righteousness that comes within the military.
I'm getting ready to dethrone everything that needs to be dethroned, for even the bowls of heaven are full. Oh, I see the bowls in heaven are just getting ready to be tipped over the Philippines and I am going to spill out my glory!
And the Lord says, I will remove the shame that Satan has tried to put upon this nation! And the Lord says, look and see, for even the blood of the martyrs cries out from Saudi Arabia! The blood of the martyrs cries out from those Islamic nations, and my Filipino people that have laid their lives down. Do not think I haven't seen it! Do not think I am looking away! Do not think I do not see you! Do not think I do not see you, Philippines; for I see you! You are the apple of my eye! You are a treasure unto me!
This is the day and this is the hour when I begin to change everything, says the Lord! I'm going to change the judicial system. I'm going to dethrone corrupt judges. I'm getting ready to deal with the police force. I'm going to expose, expose, expose, expose!
And the Lord says, look and see what I will do! For I will open up my treasure chest from the Philippines! And I am going to release finances for the Philippines that will surprise and shake even Hongkong! For I am getting ready to move a distribution of wealth, says God. And I am getting ready to open the oil! I am getting ready to open that which is in the ocean! I'm getting ready to bring forth a revolution even in the economic systems, in the finance systems!
Look to the university in Manila, says God. For I am going to bring a revival that the-Oh my Lord!--- the Lord says, not hundreds, but thousands and thousands and thousands are going to get saved!! The Lord says, can I touch a whole university? Yes I can touch a whole university! I can come with my glory and I can come with my power in ways that you cannot imagine! For I am coming, says God! I am coming and I will remain, says the Lord!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
That's What Friends Are For
After working grueling and crazy 14 to 16-hour workdays in the weeks past, and not really accomplishing much because of the extreme stress I was experiencing, I finally decided to take a break last Sunday, November 23. Thankfully, great best budz Monalisa and Kitchie were kind enough to give in to my request of a hang-out in UP Diliman and have lunch at Mang Jimmy's, a famed favorite hangout in UP, famous for the amazing Sisig, and other cheap, but great-tasting food.
After going to Mass (it was an educational experience, setting foot in a Catholic Mass once more. :p), we promptly headed on to the Shopping Center in order to get batteries for Lis' camera. Alas, and alack, we were out of luck for the cam (ehem; pardon the rhyme)... BUT... We found...
Inggat!!!
Thanks to Inggat, we were able to find Mang Jimmy's much faster than if we just bumped around on UP's sprawling campus. I fully admit, that had Inggat not been providently placed across our paths, my best friends Lis and Kitch would now be my worst enemies, coz I hadn't gone to Mang Jimmy's on my own before, ever. Especially since Lis was way hungry by then. Heheh. :D
Inggat was a wonderful Tau addition to our all-Grav company of three. With her around, the laughters were more gleeful, and the meal in Mang Jimmy's, buttery pusit and bangus, amazing Sisig and Tapa Mix, were all the more delectable.
Mang Jimmy's is almost like a hole-in-the wall resto. The food, especially the Sisig and Tapa Mix, were more than worth their price tag. And though the seafoods' sauce was much too salty for me, the taste was passable.
If you're looking for a decent restaurant with decent surroundings, don't expect it from Mang Jimmy's. The rugged Carinderia-like environment is part of Mang Jimmy's charm. Though I'm a Sisig Hooray fan forever, if you want a calm meal with friends, family, or a special someone, and Sinful SISIG, Mang Jimmy's is the place to go to. Their Sisig is among the best I've tasted; next to Sisig Hooray, I think Mang Jimmy's ties with Iloilo's Breakthrough's Sisig, in my list. :p
To get there, you have to pass by a side road off of Vinzon's hall, Shuster Street. Go straight, cross the main road of Katipunan, go inside the gated path leading to a park/reservoir, where a Manila Water building greets you, head straight, turn towards the left road from the junction, and there's a Mang Jimmy's sign that indicates that you're there already.
I recalled Shuster street, because I was blabbering on like the Energizer Bunny who had a bad case of talkativeness mixed in with the lethal combination of not having seen another being of its kind in ages, and Lis was telling me to "Shush," and we found "Shuster Street." Heheh. :p Good for y'all who want to get to Mang Jimmy's. At least here are more specific directions now. :p
It's really just a residential place that was converted to a resto.
After the meal filled with laughter, we left Mang Jimmy's giggling about a woman who looked eerily like Michael V. (eek). Then we went to take pictures on UP's grounds, had more laughs, bade goodbye to Inggat, and under compulsion, I went with Lis and Kitch to Megamall. I figured it was time to see my Victory Pioneer fam again anyway. :p
I then spent the afternoon with Lis around a Megamall bazaar, then going to church in Victory Pioneer, and coming home at past midnight coz the pplz were so fun and I missed them much. :p Thanx Ate Sam, Ate Ming, Beda, Mary, Keith and the new guy kabarkadas that I've met that night!
Moral of the story: Don't work too hard, make sure Sundays are enjoyable SABBATHS, and give priority to relationships. Money could only give you so much. In fact, it gives more headache than anything. :p
From that point on, I made a decision to have low-tech Sundays: only my iPod and cellphone are allowed for a few hours (Gawrsh. I need rehab for blogging/the Internets. :p), then I'd just have fun all Sunday long. NO WORK FOR 24 HOURS!!! (Unless "work" means just blogging. :p)
I guess this means one thing. I have to make it a point to touch base with people that I love, on the real-interaction realm, at least once a week. Whether it's just in UP Diliman, or I find myself in Victory Pioneer again, I should make it a priority to keep the relationships in my life alive.
I'm not yet ready to go home to Iloilo, that's for sure, but I'm now making it a point to make sure that my life isn't all about acquiring money. It should be more about enriching my relationships.
I hope I get it right this time.
After going to Mass (it was an educational experience, setting foot in a Catholic Mass once more. :p), we promptly headed on to the Shopping Center in order to get batteries for Lis' camera. Alas, and alack, we were out of luck for the cam (ehem; pardon the rhyme)... BUT... We found...
Inggat!!!
Thanks to Inggat, we were able to find Mang Jimmy's much faster than if we just bumped around on UP's sprawling campus. I fully admit, that had Inggat not been providently placed across our paths, my best friends Lis and Kitch would now be my worst enemies, coz I hadn't gone to Mang Jimmy's on my own before, ever. Especially since Lis was way hungry by then. Heheh. :D
Inggat was a wonderful Tau addition to our all-Grav company of three. With her around, the laughters were more gleeful, and the meal in Mang Jimmy's, buttery pusit and bangus, amazing Sisig and Tapa Mix, were all the more delectable.
Mang Jimmy's is almost like a hole-in-the wall resto. The food, especially the Sisig and Tapa Mix, were more than worth their price tag. And though the seafoods' sauce was much too salty for me, the taste was passable.
If you're looking for a decent restaurant with decent surroundings, don't expect it from Mang Jimmy's. The rugged Carinderia-like environment is part of Mang Jimmy's charm. Though I'm a Sisig Hooray fan forever, if you want a calm meal with friends, family, or a special someone, and Sinful SISIG, Mang Jimmy's is the place to go to. Their Sisig is among the best I've tasted; next to Sisig Hooray, I think Mang Jimmy's ties with Iloilo's Breakthrough's Sisig, in my list. :p
To get there, you have to pass by a side road off of Vinzon's hall, Shuster Street. Go straight, cross the main road of Katipunan, go inside the gated path leading to a park/reservoir, where a Manila Water building greets you, head straight, turn towards the left road from the junction, and there's a Mang Jimmy's sign that indicates that you're there already.
I recalled Shuster street, because I was blabbering on like the Energizer Bunny who had a bad case of talkativeness mixed in with the lethal combination of not having seen another being of its kind in ages, and Lis was telling me to "Shush," and we found "Shuster Street." Heheh. :p Good for y'all who want to get to Mang Jimmy's. At least here are more specific directions now. :p
It's really just a residential place that was converted to a resto.
After the meal filled with laughter, we left Mang Jimmy's giggling about a woman who looked eerily like Michael V. (eek). Then we went to take pictures on UP's grounds, had more laughs, bade goodbye to Inggat, and under compulsion, I went with Lis and Kitch to Megamall. I figured it was time to see my Victory Pioneer fam again anyway. :p
I then spent the afternoon with Lis around a Megamall bazaar, then going to church in Victory Pioneer, and coming home at past midnight coz the pplz were so fun and I missed them much. :p Thanx Ate Sam, Ate Ming, Beda, Mary, Keith and the new guy kabarkadas that I've met that night!
Moral of the story: Don't work too hard, make sure Sundays are enjoyable SABBATHS, and give priority to relationships. Money could only give you so much. In fact, it gives more headache than anything. :p
From that point on, I made a decision to have low-tech Sundays: only my iPod and cellphone are allowed for a few hours (Gawrsh. I need rehab for blogging/the Internets. :p), then I'd just have fun all Sunday long. NO WORK FOR 24 HOURS!!! (Unless "work" means just blogging. :p)
I guess this means one thing. I have to make it a point to touch base with people that I love, on the real-interaction realm, at least once a week. Whether it's just in UP Diliman, or I find myself in Victory Pioneer again, I should make it a priority to keep the relationships in my life alive.
I'm not yet ready to go home to Iloilo, that's for sure, but I'm now making it a point to make sure that my life isn't all about acquiring money. It should be more about enriching my relationships.
I hope I get it right this time.
Insight: On Life And Pimples
Just so I have a "patent" on this thought:
When God tries to leach issues out of us, it could be likened to trying to press pus out of a pimple...
And the more impacted the pimple, the more painful it is to press pus out of it; but there is greater relief that is experienced the moment pus DOES get popped out.
Heheh. Lorie's Gross Philosophy in its finest.
When God tries to leach issues out of us, it could be likened to trying to press pus out of a pimple...
And the more impacted the pimple, the more painful it is to press pus out of it; but there is greater relief that is experienced the moment pus DOES get popped out.
Heheh. Lorie's Gross Philosophy in its finest.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
My Pisay Journey Part 2: The Cosmic Denouement
I had been inspired to write the previous blog entry because I had been thinking about Reinabelle Reyes for two nights now. When I had asked Lis, coz she was friends with a Pisay Dil batchmate (whom I never got to meet) about Reina, I decided to Google "Reinabelle Reyes" in order to find out what she was up to nowadays.
I was happily surprised to know that she made world news, as she and her team in Princeton discovered how common Quasars are.
Though, in my journey as a Christian, I had sworn off planetary sciences because people are more important than stars, something, in one of my visions, had been related to black holes. And seeing that MY BATCHMATE, MY BATCH'S VALEDICTORIAN actually discovered and understood how common Quasars are, and gave a new level of understanding as to how black holes operate, I... Was mutedly shocked... And though not totally surprised, coz I already had clues about finding out, because I had impressions of Reina and I had that vision with the "stellar" significance I was... Bowled over with the fact that God had used a batchmate of mine, someone in close proximity in my history of people I've come into close contact with, to confirm that vision.
After that mild shock, I was happily distracted with talking to Derek, talking to Lis, writing the other blog post, Talking to Gigi, and now I'm here, letting you know that hey, a Pisay scholar discovered Something Significant in Astronomy! One more reason to keep the Pisay budget alive, Philippine Government! See, there is fruit to the crazy Imeldific legislation, after all!
I am proud of Reinabelle Reyes-Coronado. I am happy that she had put our country on the Worlwide Map. I am happy that she gives our Senate one more reason to keep Pisay alive.
She and Ma'am Josette Biyo are beautiful stars in the annals of fame in Pisay. I would like to give them honor and I would like to give God praise for putting women who blazed trails for Philippines and Pisay.
Who would have known that mysterious, introverted, thought-immersed Reina would someday do this? Who would have known that quirky, funny Ma'am Biyo (with whom I've had only one close encounter with, but it gave me a good glimpse into what a fun person she actually is) would someday have a PLANET named after her? No one but God. :D
I am glad to be part of the school that gave birth to great men and women. I am glad to be part of a family who, above the intellectualism and whatever, continue to go back to the one thing that matters in being in Pisay: EXCELLENCE.
Reina, thank you for being. Thank you for your humble pursuit of excellence. Congratulations for this feat, and may God bless you, keep your marriage in the palm of His hands, and keep your heart afire for excellence, and your passion for scholarship..
He did say in Daniel:
Daniel 2:20-21 (New International Version) “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
Daniel 2:20-21 (New Living Translation)
“Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.
Daniel 2:20-21 (New American Standard Bible)
Daniel said, "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. "It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding."
Daniel 12:3 (NIV) Those who are wise [Or who impart wisdom] will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
Again, congrats, Reina, and may you be gifted with more wisdom, understanding, and a greater appreciation for the God who created this universe!
I was happily surprised to know that she made world news, as she and her team in Princeton discovered how common Quasars are.
Though, in my journey as a Christian, I had sworn off planetary sciences because people are more important than stars, something, in one of my visions, had been related to black holes. And seeing that MY BATCHMATE, MY BATCH'S VALEDICTORIAN actually discovered and understood how common Quasars are, and gave a new level of understanding as to how black holes operate, I... Was mutedly shocked... And though not totally surprised, coz I already had clues about finding out, because I had impressions of Reina and I had that vision with the "stellar" significance I was... Bowled over with the fact that God had used a batchmate of mine, someone in close proximity in my history of people I've come into close contact with, to confirm that vision.
After that mild shock, I was happily distracted with talking to Derek, talking to Lis, writing the other blog post, Talking to Gigi, and now I'm here, letting you know that hey, a Pisay scholar discovered Something Significant in Astronomy! One more reason to keep the Pisay budget alive, Philippine Government! See, there is fruit to the crazy Imeldific legislation, after all!
I am proud of Reinabelle Reyes-Coronado. I am happy that she had put our country on the Worlwide Map. I am happy that she gives our Senate one more reason to keep Pisay alive.
She and Ma'am Josette Biyo are beautiful stars in the annals of fame in Pisay. I would like to give them honor and I would like to give God praise for putting women who blazed trails for Philippines and Pisay.
Who would have known that mysterious, introverted, thought-immersed Reina would someday do this? Who would have known that quirky, funny Ma'am Biyo (with whom I've had only one close encounter with, but it gave me a good glimpse into what a fun person she actually is) would someday have a PLANET named after her? No one but God. :D
I am glad to be part of the school that gave birth to great men and women. I am glad to be part of a family who, above the intellectualism and whatever, continue to go back to the one thing that matters in being in Pisay: EXCELLENCE.
Reina, thank you for being. Thank you for your humble pursuit of excellence. Congratulations for this feat, and may God bless you, keep your marriage in the palm of His hands, and keep your heart afire for excellence, and your passion for scholarship..
He did say in Daniel:
Daniel 2:20-21 (New International Version) “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
Daniel 2:20-21 (New Living Translation)
“Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.
Daniel 2:20-21 (New American Standard Bible)
Daniel said, "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. "It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding."
Daniel 12:3 (NIV) Those who are wise [Or who impart wisdom] will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
Again, congrats, Reina, and may you be gifted with more wisdom, understanding, and a greater appreciation for the God who created this universe!
My Pisay Journey Part 1: The Rough Road to Healing
For those of you who never knew, I am from Pisay. It is the Philippines' premier high school, and we get paid to break our brains.
I broke my brain and my heart in Pisay. So many things happened to me that the pain still echoes dimly. If ever there was a part of my heart that had had an open door to rejection, it was increased in Pisay Diliman; because Manila high schools had a social structure much like the Heathers. Pisay was a milder version, because we were preoccupied with remaining in school; if we had grades lower than 2.5 or around 75% to 80%, we were in danger of being hauled off to the Guidance Office.
Pisay broke my ego; as a young achiever in elementary, I was hailed as a "genius" by my classmates in SPED. It was already a a school for fast-learning children, but for the first few years of my life there, I never left the top 3. I was even #1 for the first two years.
And even as I plummeted from #1 to #7, graduating 5th Honorable Mention (#7, coz you still need to count the Valedictorian, Salutatorian, then go to 1st to whatever Honorable Mention), my classmates and their parents still hailed me as the smartest kid on the block...
But Pisay broke my ego.
When I was swimming in the pool of the Philippines' intellectual crèmè de la crèmè, I lost my identity as "the smartest one"... For how could you stand out from the crowd of "the best"?? I lost a sense of who I was, among people hailed to be better than I am.
Among future scientists, doctors, physicists, top vets, I was just me, manic-depressive Lorie, who slept in Physics Lab floors and Earth Sci class, on top of the counters and tables, as my teachers droned on and on.
I loved the sciences as a child. I was 8 when I got my first microscope and I loved looking at pretty slides of microscopic flowers and... Pond water. I loved decapitating ants and squishing roaches. I wouldn't touch lizards nor rats though. Anything that looked like it had a brain is off-limits to me. I killed all insects I came across, and played with their poor bodies to death, save for spiders. I felt like they had brains too. I'd torture Daddy Longlegs, though. I'd split their bodies apart and let them walk on just a leg or two.
I'd read my Grade 4 science books and be able to recite pages from memory. I won a class contest, Boys vs. Girls, single-handedly, on the Skeletal system, with minimal participation from my teammates.
That incident sparked the Boys to study harder and cream us all, when I got cocky on the Muscular System.. Hey, as far as I'm concerned, the Gluteus Maximus is the only memorable muscle. Pardon the Freudianity of it all.
Then came high school. All the flurry of geniuses, teachers that didn't know what on earth they were teaching, teachers that KNEW what they were teaching (Thanks Sir Bimbo Marte! Thanks Ma'am Arre!), lessons that broke my brain, realizing that I am "not good enough" to be a part of this lot of gifted people...
It got me lost.
No more the identity of being the best. No more the understanding that I am special. I was just pathetic obese ol me who could not survive Biology or CHEM.
So after a year of sleeping in classes, on countertops, and on Physics lab floors, I went home to Iloilo.
Pisay Iloilo gave me the acceptance I needed. From the hostile "Heathers" like milieu in Pisay Dil, I got the family I needed in Pisay.
Incidents like my mom rushing to give me my lab coat amidst our incessant fights, hours of counseling with my Chem teachers (Thanks Ma'am Paciente!), mercy from Sir Ongcol for finally letting me pass Chem in order to graduate, getting that first flat 1.0 on an essay on the Jewish Holocaust from Sir Cerbo, being mentored by Ma'am YZ, Sir Barre and Sir Siena, hours of talking with Ma'am Val Gerochi, Ma'am Eileen Ocampo, challenging Ma'am Barlas as to the importance of stupid Algebra and Trigonometry (Then realizing today that I can apply Calculus' concepts of permutations and Algebra's one to one correspondence.. Or is it Geometry? In my job in WRITING for a certain software...), the three Filipino Beauties: Ma'am Sunico, Ma'am Silario, Ma'am Sinfuego, Ma'am Guiloreza with whom I share my faith in God, Sir Cario who taught me that I could be good in Turbo Pascal after all, Sir Quiros, who tutored me for a while, Sir Redoblo, whose guts I hated (haha we can laugh at this now, Sir, when you read this, if ever, hahaha!), hours hanging out in "Tita Becky" (Director Rebecca Yandog)'s office, Sir Lando Libutaque and Sir Pacaco of hated and dreaded P.E. (but I loved Health class. :p), Ma'am Cuenca, Ma'am Mena-Navarro, Ma'am Magno, Sir Cadornigara (whose beautiful shiny head is sooo memorable), Sir Olvido (Who thought I'd join Greenpeace; nu-uuuh! BTW, that talk with your bro is probably one of the most memorable moments in my existence.), Sir Almero, Ma'am Salinel... You guys really made me feel loved, despite my messiness.
One conversation with Ma'am Salinel was very healing for me: she told me that she was warned by my other teachers about me: I was demanding and I was sooo hungry for knowledge, but hard to please; but whose comment that I was actually a nice student really helped me understand that my teachers actually thought highly of me...
These people in Pisay Iloilo helped me understand who I was more; they helped me feel accepted. And while I still go blank at the thought of possibly needing to study the Periodic Table of Elements in the future, knowing how to comprehend HTML and CSS now gives me confidence that I can "do all things through Christ who strenghtens me."
Pisay Dil, despite the fact that the only memories that remain are those of my classmates in Diamond, some of my dormmates, the ACTS facilitators and Ma'am Taruc, who was a gentle presence in the dorm, the quirky teachers, the mataray but lovable dorm manager Ma'am Daniel, and her motherly co-manager (I forgot the name), Computron and Sacha Chua, the beautiful Saturday afternoons in the campus, as well as the misadventures, will always be a major part of my growth. Even through the pain and angst of adolescence, the rude awakening to social systems that were hostile to my sensitive heart, these memories remain poignant and fond. Pisay will always be a part of my makeup.
Pisay Iloilo is always going to be my family. With Graviton being so bonded because we were driven to excel in the class plays we presented, with the fact that we were constantly told that we are so-united that we needed to resort to having that "lunch buddy" program... Look where we are now, guys! We're one big happy family with our own reunions! There is mutual respect and love. And we... Beat what they said about us. We are still here. We are still going strong. And we are the bestest buddies of each other!!!
And lastly, it's funny how God orchestrates families. I never knew it would be so uncanny as the way He created this... But my bestest bestest buddy, my best friend non-parallèle, is.......
FROM PISAY.
Throughout the angst, the pain, and everything, I now understand that it wasn't Pisay which brought me pain; Pisay was a place that God had brought me to, in order to experience a lot of things; be taught a lot of lessons, and understand one thing: Love knows no boundaries. It is not bounded by negative things said to us, in terms of Graviton being blahblahblah. Love is not bounded by the evil experiences we had gone through. Love is not bounded by the things we needed to overcome. It is not bounded by batches, by campuses, God brings people together in order to love Him and love each other anyway.
Diamond 01 people, thank you. Your acceptance has really helped me overcome some things I had gone through. Thank you that despite my messiness, I was, and still am, a friend to some. Thank you also to those I had befriended apart from Diamond: to Jaja Campos, with whom I had shared a lot, including hosting, and my first shot at an online presence, haha! To Connet, now a comrade in the work-at-home biz, to Celina (Papic), Michelle, and Reina, whose excellence inspired me... To Derek, for your forgiveness and friendship; for caring. To MK, Michelle and Rachel, who were good roommates to me, and to KC, who has forgiven me despite the fact that I was mean to her.
And mostly, I am thankful for Vanek. For that moment in a coffee house in UPLB. For stepping out in faith and inviting me to Victory UPLB. Without you, I won't be standing here today, poised to go to church to Victory QC tomorrow. I would like to give you my profuse thanks, and the honor that you deserve as the woman who helped close the deal in my journey to God's arms.
I am thankful I have my Graviton family, from whence my bestest friends come. I am thankful for Jaja, for bringing us together via Grav Yahoo Groups... I am thankful for Kitchie and Monalisa, who provide instant company and instant sanity-in-a-box in this Anomic metro, I am thankful for Pam, who is lost in all the crazy med work. I am thankful for Thessa, who taught me that friendships could happen between "the weird girl" and the "popular girl". For Hedy, who taught me that I could still be forgiven. For the people I have not named, who had been a source of friendship nonetheless.. For Rafi, who was instrumental in letting me get published in Central Echo and in securing my partnership with Shelly. For Ervin, who took a chance in trusting me; thank you for the respect and the trust. You are a cherished presence in my life. And for Paula, who taught me the value of loving a person despite her PMS... And mine. :p
Thank you all, for passing through my life, and thank you more for those who remain.
But most of all, I am thankful for Gigi, whose presence in my life was sanity-inducing, despite what we had individually gone through.
Even through the miles, even through what we had to overcome, even through the obstacles that kept us from being nice to each other at times, thank you for loving me with whatever you could manage before. Thank you for the better-than-buttercaramel-ice-cream moment over Skype today. It sure healed me.
This is my Pisay story. From pain and angst, from the journey of losing my so-called identity as the so-called "smart girl," from finding, losing and finding the love of learning once more, my Pisay experience gifted with a big basket of love and happy people who love me and I have a chance to love. For friendships that lasted, even through discouragements. For friendships that go beyond the hair and skin care advice; for spiritual sisterhood that has lasted through turmoil and strife... And journeyed on to healing.
I praise God for using my educational heritage and weaving it to become part of my spiritual heritage...
And hey, Jaja and Gigi just told me that it's Thanksgiving next week. This is pretty timely, then. :D Thanks, everyone! I love you all!!!
I broke my brain and my heart in Pisay. So many things happened to me that the pain still echoes dimly. If ever there was a part of my heart that had had an open door to rejection, it was increased in Pisay Diliman; because Manila high schools had a social structure much like the Heathers. Pisay was a milder version, because we were preoccupied with remaining in school; if we had grades lower than 2.5 or around 75% to 80%, we were in danger of being hauled off to the Guidance Office.
Pisay broke my ego; as a young achiever in elementary, I was hailed as a "genius" by my classmates in SPED. It was already a a school for fast-learning children, but for the first few years of my life there, I never left the top 3. I was even #1 for the first two years.
And even as I plummeted from #1 to #7, graduating 5th Honorable Mention (#7, coz you still need to count the Valedictorian, Salutatorian, then go to 1st to whatever Honorable Mention), my classmates and their parents still hailed me as the smartest kid on the block...
But Pisay broke my ego.
When I was swimming in the pool of the Philippines' intellectual crèmè de la crèmè, I lost my identity as "the smartest one"... For how could you stand out from the crowd of "the best"?? I lost a sense of who I was, among people hailed to be better than I am.
Among future scientists, doctors, physicists, top vets, I was just me, manic-depressive Lorie, who slept in Physics Lab floors and Earth Sci class, on top of the counters and tables, as my teachers droned on and on.
I loved the sciences as a child. I was 8 when I got my first microscope and I loved looking at pretty slides of microscopic flowers and... Pond water. I loved decapitating ants and squishing roaches. I wouldn't touch lizards nor rats though. Anything that looked like it had a brain is off-limits to me. I killed all insects I came across, and played with their poor bodies to death, save for spiders. I felt like they had brains too. I'd torture Daddy Longlegs, though. I'd split their bodies apart and let them walk on just a leg or two.
I'd read my Grade 4 science books and be able to recite pages from memory. I won a class contest, Boys vs. Girls, single-handedly, on the Skeletal system, with minimal participation from my teammates.
That incident sparked the Boys to study harder and cream us all, when I got cocky on the Muscular System.. Hey, as far as I'm concerned, the Gluteus Maximus is the only memorable muscle. Pardon the Freudianity of it all.
Then came high school. All the flurry of geniuses, teachers that didn't know what on earth they were teaching, teachers that KNEW what they were teaching (Thanks Sir Bimbo Marte! Thanks Ma'am Arre!), lessons that broke my brain, realizing that I am "not good enough" to be a part of this lot of gifted people...
It got me lost.
No more the identity of being the best. No more the understanding that I am special. I was just pathetic obese ol me who could not survive Biology or CHEM.
So after a year of sleeping in classes, on countertops, and on Physics lab floors, I went home to Iloilo.
Pisay Iloilo gave me the acceptance I needed. From the hostile "Heathers" like milieu in Pisay Dil, I got the family I needed in Pisay.
Incidents like my mom rushing to give me my lab coat amidst our incessant fights, hours of counseling with my Chem teachers (Thanks Ma'am Paciente!), mercy from Sir Ongcol for finally letting me pass Chem in order to graduate, getting that first flat 1.0 on an essay on the Jewish Holocaust from Sir Cerbo, being mentored by Ma'am YZ, Sir Barre and Sir Siena, hours of talking with Ma'am Val Gerochi, Ma'am Eileen Ocampo, challenging Ma'am Barlas as to the importance of stupid Algebra and Trigonometry (Then realizing today that I can apply Calculus' concepts of permutations and Algebra's one to one correspondence.. Or is it Geometry? In my job in WRITING for a certain software...), the three Filipino Beauties: Ma'am Sunico, Ma'am Silario, Ma'am Sinfuego, Ma'am Guiloreza with whom I share my faith in God, Sir Cario who taught me that I could be good in Turbo Pascal after all, Sir Quiros, who tutored me for a while, Sir Redoblo, whose guts I hated (haha we can laugh at this now, Sir, when you read this, if ever, hahaha!), hours hanging out in "Tita Becky" (Director Rebecca Yandog)'s office, Sir Lando Libutaque and Sir Pacaco of hated and dreaded P.E. (but I loved Health class. :p), Ma'am Cuenca, Ma'am Mena-Navarro, Ma'am Magno, Sir Cadornigara (whose beautiful shiny head is sooo memorable), Sir Olvido (Who thought I'd join Greenpeace; nu-uuuh! BTW, that talk with your bro is probably one of the most memorable moments in my existence.), Sir Almero, Ma'am Salinel... You guys really made me feel loved, despite my messiness.
One conversation with Ma'am Salinel was very healing for me: she told me that she was warned by my other teachers about me: I was demanding and I was sooo hungry for knowledge, but hard to please; but whose comment that I was actually a nice student really helped me understand that my teachers actually thought highly of me...
These people in Pisay Iloilo helped me understand who I was more; they helped me feel accepted. And while I still go blank at the thought of possibly needing to study the Periodic Table of Elements in the future, knowing how to comprehend HTML and CSS now gives me confidence that I can "do all things through Christ who strenghtens me."
Pisay Dil, despite the fact that the only memories that remain are those of my classmates in Diamond, some of my dormmates, the ACTS facilitators and Ma'am Taruc, who was a gentle presence in the dorm, the quirky teachers, the mataray but lovable dorm manager Ma'am Daniel, and her motherly co-manager (I forgot the name), Computron and Sacha Chua, the beautiful Saturday afternoons in the campus, as well as the misadventures, will always be a major part of my growth. Even through the pain and angst of adolescence, the rude awakening to social systems that were hostile to my sensitive heart, these memories remain poignant and fond. Pisay will always be a part of my makeup.
Pisay Iloilo is always going to be my family. With Graviton being so bonded because we were driven to excel in the class plays we presented, with the fact that we were constantly told that we are so-united that we needed to resort to having that "lunch buddy" program... Look where we are now, guys! We're one big happy family with our own reunions! There is mutual respect and love. And we... Beat what they said about us. We are still here. We are still going strong. And we are the bestest buddies of each other!!!
And lastly, it's funny how God orchestrates families. I never knew it would be so uncanny as the way He created this... But my bestest bestest buddy, my best friend non-parallèle, is.......
FROM PISAY.
Throughout the angst, the pain, and everything, I now understand that it wasn't Pisay which brought me pain; Pisay was a place that God had brought me to, in order to experience a lot of things; be taught a lot of lessons, and understand one thing: Love knows no boundaries. It is not bounded by negative things said to us, in terms of Graviton being blahblahblah. Love is not bounded by the evil experiences we had gone through. Love is not bounded by the things we needed to overcome. It is not bounded by batches, by campuses, God brings people together in order to love Him and love each other anyway.
Diamond 01 people, thank you. Your acceptance has really helped me overcome some things I had gone through. Thank you that despite my messiness, I was, and still am, a friend to some. Thank you also to those I had befriended apart from Diamond: to Jaja Campos, with whom I had shared a lot, including hosting, and my first shot at an online presence, haha! To Connet, now a comrade in the work-at-home biz, to Celina (Papic), Michelle, and Reina, whose excellence inspired me... To Derek, for your forgiveness and friendship; for caring. To MK, Michelle and Rachel, who were good roommates to me, and to KC, who has forgiven me despite the fact that I was mean to her.
And mostly, I am thankful for Vanek. For that moment in a coffee house in UPLB. For stepping out in faith and inviting me to Victory UPLB. Without you, I won't be standing here today, poised to go to church to Victory QC tomorrow. I would like to give you my profuse thanks, and the honor that you deserve as the woman who helped close the deal in my journey to God's arms.
I am thankful I have my Graviton family, from whence my bestest friends come. I am thankful for Jaja, for bringing us together via Grav Yahoo Groups... I am thankful for Kitchie and Monalisa, who provide instant company and instant sanity-in-a-box in this Anomic metro, I am thankful for Pam, who is lost in all the crazy med work. I am thankful for Thessa, who taught me that friendships could happen between "the weird girl" and the "popular girl". For Hedy, who taught me that I could still be forgiven. For the people I have not named, who had been a source of friendship nonetheless.. For Rafi, who was instrumental in letting me get published in Central Echo and in securing my partnership with Shelly. For Ervin, who took a chance in trusting me; thank you for the respect and the trust. You are a cherished presence in my life. And for Paula, who taught me the value of loving a person despite her PMS... And mine. :p
Thank you all, for passing through my life, and thank you more for those who remain.
But most of all, I am thankful for Gigi, whose presence in my life was sanity-inducing, despite what we had individually gone through.
Even through the miles, even through what we had to overcome, even through the obstacles that kept us from being nice to each other at times, thank you for loving me with whatever you could manage before. Thank you for the better-than-buttercaramel-ice-cream moment over Skype today. It sure healed me.
This is my Pisay story. From pain and angst, from the journey of losing my so-called identity as the so-called "smart girl," from finding, losing and finding the love of learning once more, my Pisay experience gifted with a big basket of love and happy people who love me and I have a chance to love. For friendships that lasted, even through discouragements. For friendships that go beyond the hair and skin care advice; for spiritual sisterhood that has lasted through turmoil and strife... And journeyed on to healing.
I praise God for using my educational heritage and weaving it to become part of my spiritual heritage...
And hey, Jaja and Gigi just told me that it's Thanksgiving next week. This is pretty timely, then. :D Thanks, everyone! I love you all!!!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
What Amazes Me (Fritzl Case Follow Up 2)
'He is the killer of my son.'
That was how Elizabeth Fritzl described her father, who had raped and kept her captive for 24 years. This manner of describing the man who had given her personal torment for two whole decades and then some, is a stark message to me. This woman no longer thought about her own torment; she was more concerned about the fact that this evil man killed her own child... And his.
I also found it remarkable that she apparently loves her children, as the previous article I posted had testified. For a rape victim to love her own children, this is a miracle. For an incest/captivity victim, I am bowled over.
She gave birth to her children all unaided. That she finally decided to just be meek and go through the abuse is beyond me.
I don't know what God was trying to communicate to us via allowing this, but if He could show beauty via the Holocaust, the glory of how He rescues despite allowing, even ordaining this degree of evil, He surely could create a redemptive story out of this... Evil.
I pray that Elizabeth, especially her mother Rosemary, and her children, would heal from all of this. I pray that God would give Fritzl time to understand his sins. And even if God would give him mercy, I pray that he still reaps the extreme consequences of the evil he agreed with.
Lord, please keep Elizabeth, her mom and kids, to grow increasingly in victory and in knowledge of You. Heal them completely, in Jesus' name.
That was how Elizabeth Fritzl described her father, who had raped and kept her captive for 24 years. This manner of describing the man who had given her personal torment for two whole decades and then some, is a stark message to me. This woman no longer thought about her own torment; she was more concerned about the fact that this evil man killed her own child... And his.
I also found it remarkable that she apparently loves her children, as the previous article I posted had testified. For a rape victim to love her own children, this is a miracle. For an incest/captivity victim, I am bowled over.
She gave birth to her children all unaided. That she finally decided to just be meek and go through the abuse is beyond me.
I don't know what God was trying to communicate to us via allowing this, but if He could show beauty via the Holocaust, the glory of how He rescues despite allowing, even ordaining this degree of evil, He surely could create a redemptive story out of this... Evil.
I pray that Elizabeth, especially her mother Rosemary, and her children, would heal from all of this. I pray that God would give Fritzl time to understand his sins. And even if God would give him mercy, I pray that he still reaps the extreme consequences of the evil he agreed with.
Lord, please keep Elizabeth, her mom and kids, to grow increasingly in victory and in knowledge of You. Heal them completely, in Jesus' name.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
If this ain't OVERCOMING, I dunno what is! (Fritzl Case Follow-Up)
Remember the sick news that we learned months ago, when an Austrian man was found out to have locked his daughter for decades and was found to have SIX children with her?!
Well, I've told God that I wanted to follow up that story months from then and learn of what motivated Fritzl to do what he did.
I found out in here. I learned that he was abused as a child by his mother. His mother called him names, like telling him he was "Satan," and a good for nothing. As he grew up, he was being beaten until he bled. And in the end, when he was already capable of torment, he locked his mom up in the top room of his house, bricked the window, and for the rest of her life, she ever saw the light of day again.
If you think that he transferred his hatred of his mom to his daughter, he did not. He simply got enamored with the way she looked.
In an interview in the series of links I have below, he declared that he just saw his daughter as "his wife and partner."
UGH.
He also declared that he was "born to be a rapist."
He actually dressed up whenever he went down to his daughter, in the dungeon that he had forced her to build. With her hands.
How could a brilliant mind, which had been capable of devising an electric door and other gizmos and contraptions be so attuned to evil, that he believes his only purpose in life was to rape hapless women?
And the only reason why he finally let Elizabeth go out was that she had prematurely aged already (What do you expect, genius, no oxygen! PLUS, you were committing incest, right? So you actually thought a woman would remain beautiful even though sheer evil is being forced on her?! Garrrrrh! No words cannot express!), and may have kept his interests no longer.
Words cannot express. Words cannot express. Words cannot express the derision I feel for him. I wish I could personally use a shaving razor to cut little sections of his flesh while he's fully conscious. Then I'll squeeze lemon juice on those wounds. Then I'll sprinkle salt on the raw flesh. I'll space my cuts 1 inch apart, all throughout his body. Then I'll boil him in oil. Then I'll bake him in burning sulfur.
I certainly hope that there would be no space in God's merciful heart for him. But as far as I know God, sometimes, He still forgives repentant mass killers. Like Paul.
But if there's anything that gives me enormous relief in this story is the story I share below. Elizabeth and her children are now enjoying life playing. They have tough times ahead of them, especially Elizabeth, but apparently, she had good company in the cellar.
Because as they left the dungeon/house, Elizabeth's son Felix, when he first saw the moon, asked, "Is that God up there?"
I believe that despite the twisted circumstances, Elizabeth taught her children about God, because how could the captive boy ask about someOne he didn't know of?
And according to this story, Elizabeth is continuing to teach her children about the beauty of life.
I believe that when Elizabeth finally got a breath of fresh air, after 24 years of captivity, she also understood, without a doubt that there IS a God.
This article below may well be the strongest testament to that.
Austrian sex dungeon victim Elisabeth Fritzl is 'teaching her children how to play'
Incest victim Elisabeth Fritzl is teaching her children to how to play after they spent their entire lives imprisoned in their underground dungeon.
Psychiatrists found Elisabeth's three 'cellar children' had no concept of 'play' after a lifetime spent in the cell constructed by their sick father.
So brave Elisabeth is showing them how to swim, run and even rollerblade, hospital staff revealed today.
And her son Stefan has been so overwhelmed by the natural world that he wants to become a gardener, explained one of his police bodyguards.
Elisabeth spent 24 years in the dungeon in Amstetten, Austria, where she was repeatedly raped by her evil father Josef Fritzl, who fathered seven children, one of whom died days after birth, with her.
Three were taken to live upstairs with him while the others - Felix, five, Kerstin, 19, and Stefan, 18 - were condemned to a life in their mother's cell.
Now Elisabeth is teaching them how to do all the things normal children take for granted as they live together in a specially adapted villa in the grounds of a psychiatric hospital.
One of the family's police bodyguards revealed how Stefan would simply stop and stare at trees when he saw them for the first time.
'I remember when we went for a walk on the clinic premises for the first time.
'When Stefan stood under the massive trees there, he looked up into the treetops and said he wants to become a gardener.
'He was simply so fascinated by them and could not believe how huge they grew.
'He was fascinated by the fact that the branches loom so high in the air,' one of their protection team Franz Prankl told Austrian media.
And Elisabeth often startles patients and staff at the clinic when she races around the grounds with her children on rollerblade skates.
Fritzl
Monster: Josef Fritzl was the father of Elisabeth's seven children
Hospital official Fritz Lengauer told Austrian media: 'She does a lot of inline skating and they're always overtaking people walking in the grounds and they usually have no idea who they are.'
Passers-by at the family's villa say they can hear the sound of children laughing and screaming with delight as they play together.
'It lifts your heart to hear these children playing and having so much fun after such a sad start in life. Their mother is a miracle worker.
'You can hear them splashing and just screaming their heads off at the thrill of being outside,' said one.
Bodyguard Prankl said Elisabeth's courage has been passed on to all her children.
'I always asked myself how she can be so strong. Where does she get this energy which gets carried over to the children?
'I think Elisabeth was always sure she would be released from her torture imprisonment one day.'
Miracles happen every day. :)
Well, I've told God that I wanted to follow up that story months from then and learn of what motivated Fritzl to do what he did.
I found out in here. I learned that he was abused as a child by his mother. His mother called him names, like telling him he was "Satan," and a good for nothing. As he grew up, he was being beaten until he bled. And in the end, when he was already capable of torment, he locked his mom up in the top room of his house, bricked the window, and for the rest of her life, she ever saw the light of day again.
If you think that he transferred his hatred of his mom to his daughter, he did not. He simply got enamored with the way she looked.
In an interview in the series of links I have below, he declared that he just saw his daughter as "his wife and partner."
UGH.
He also declared that he was "born to be a rapist."
He actually dressed up whenever he went down to his daughter, in the dungeon that he had forced her to build. With her hands.
How could a brilliant mind, which had been capable of devising an electric door and other gizmos and contraptions be so attuned to evil, that he believes his only purpose in life was to rape hapless women?
And the only reason why he finally let Elizabeth go out was that she had prematurely aged already (What do you expect, genius, no oxygen! PLUS, you were committing incest, right? So you actually thought a woman would remain beautiful even though sheer evil is being forced on her?! Garrrrrh! No words cannot express!), and may have kept his interests no longer.
Words cannot express. Words cannot express. Words cannot express the derision I feel for him. I wish I could personally use a shaving razor to cut little sections of his flesh while he's fully conscious. Then I'll squeeze lemon juice on those wounds. Then I'll sprinkle salt on the raw flesh. I'll space my cuts 1 inch apart, all throughout his body. Then I'll boil him in oil. Then I'll bake him in burning sulfur.
I certainly hope that there would be no space in God's merciful heart for him. But as far as I know God, sometimes, He still forgives repentant mass killers. Like Paul.
But if there's anything that gives me enormous relief in this story is the story I share below. Elizabeth and her children are now enjoying life playing. They have tough times ahead of them, especially Elizabeth, but apparently, she had good company in the cellar.
Because as they left the dungeon/house, Elizabeth's son Felix, when he first saw the moon, asked, "Is that God up there?"
I believe that despite the twisted circumstances, Elizabeth taught her children about God, because how could the captive boy ask about someOne he didn't know of?
And according to this story, Elizabeth is continuing to teach her children about the beauty of life.
I believe that when Elizabeth finally got a breath of fresh air, after 24 years of captivity, she also understood, without a doubt that there IS a God.
This article below may well be the strongest testament to that.
Austrian sex dungeon victim Elisabeth Fritzl is 'teaching her children how to play'
Incest victim Elisabeth Fritzl is teaching her children to how to play after they spent their entire lives imprisoned in their underground dungeon.
Psychiatrists found Elisabeth's three 'cellar children' had no concept of 'play' after a lifetime spent in the cell constructed by their sick father.
So brave Elisabeth is showing them how to swim, run and even rollerblade, hospital staff revealed today.
And her son Stefan has been so overwhelmed by the natural world that he wants to become a gardener, explained one of his police bodyguards.
Elisabeth spent 24 years in the dungeon in Amstetten, Austria, where she was repeatedly raped by her evil father Josef Fritzl, who fathered seven children, one of whom died days after birth, with her.
Three were taken to live upstairs with him while the others - Felix, five, Kerstin, 19, and Stefan, 18 - were condemned to a life in their mother's cell.
Now Elisabeth is teaching them how to do all the things normal children take for granted as they live together in a specially adapted villa in the grounds of a psychiatric hospital.
One of the family's police bodyguards revealed how Stefan would simply stop and stare at trees when he saw them for the first time.
'I remember when we went for a walk on the clinic premises for the first time.
'When Stefan stood under the massive trees there, he looked up into the treetops and said he wants to become a gardener.
'He was simply so fascinated by them and could not believe how huge they grew.
'He was fascinated by the fact that the branches loom so high in the air,' one of their protection team Franz Prankl told Austrian media.
And Elisabeth often startles patients and staff at the clinic when she races around the grounds with her children on rollerblade skates.
Fritzl
Monster: Josef Fritzl was the father of Elisabeth's seven children
Hospital official Fritz Lengauer told Austrian media: 'She does a lot of inline skating and they're always overtaking people walking in the grounds and they usually have no idea who they are.'
Passers-by at the family's villa say they can hear the sound of children laughing and screaming with delight as they play together.
'It lifts your heart to hear these children playing and having so much fun after such a sad start in life. Their mother is a miracle worker.
'You can hear them splashing and just screaming their heads off at the thrill of being outside,' said one.
Bodyguard Prankl said Elisabeth's courage has been passed on to all her children.
'I always asked myself how she can be so strong. Where does she get this energy which gets carried over to the children?
'I think Elisabeth was always sure she would be released from her torture imprisonment one day.'
Miracles happen every day. :)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Slow Fade by Casting Crowns
"Slow Fade"
Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day
Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
Saw this from Gigi's Friendster, and I thought to repost... I believe that we are in a season when fathers return to their families and husbands and wives understand what is more important. If there's anything that ripped the fabric of America's society apart, it's the permissiveness with which they had allowed godless thinking to pervade their shores.
On one hand, it seems like they have it all bad, on the other hand, here in our shores we also battle a different enemy: religiosity. We tend to embrace dogma over the heart of what Jesus preaches... I'm guilty of legalism myself, and it's a daily battle and submission to the Lord of my heart.
I choose sanity. I choose to be faithful to Him, and to the one I had given my human heart to. I choose to submit my relationships to Him and to ask Him to fool-proof these and to keep these in the palm of His hands. I choose to trust: to see things as He sees them, and to keep believing that I see Him because my heart had been purified, and He finds me blameless.
I choose to listen to the voice of my Shepherd, and not the voice of the crowd (Matthew 9:25), I choose to not allow myself to be condemned, because my Father in heaven has said: "Has anyone condemned you? Go and sin no more."
I may stumble, I may fall, but I will not be moved, because the Man/God who is more than a Good Samaritan keeps picking me up. I am thankful for His grace in my life. I am thankful that He keeps His promises. I am thankful that He is called Faithful and True. :)
He is the Love of my life, my GOD, my Savior, my Jesus Christ.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Update: Love Letter to God and A Quotable Quote
A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'
DAD: 'Yeah sure,what itis?' replied the man.
SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.
SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'
SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'
The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.
Are you asleep, son?' He asked..
'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.
I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'
The little boy sat straight up smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.
The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.
The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.
'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.
'Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.
It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.
If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.
I just wanted to share this with you. This is from Kuya Elim Garak. I've read this before, and I may have reposted this, but still, it's an apt story for my season of late. :D
To me, this is a reminder that I should spend time with Dad... God... And play. I've worked so hard lately that it took me around over 1 week of stressed-rest, and 3 days serious rest, and some serious personal reorganizing.
Dad, remind me never to miss out on my "fun hours"... It's fun reading the Bible with You beside me, sharing my seat.. It's fun learning new things with You around.. It's fun knowing that I always have You around to be with me and guide me, and to help me deal with my temper when the crowd's voices just drown out Yours.. (Matthew 9:25)
Dad, thank You that you are not a no-fun God who is "All work and no play"... Thank You that You are a God who cares about my sanity as well. Thank You that you are a God who gives me vacations, and who gives me happy treats...
Thank you that your discipline is comforting and directive: that even though the correction is stern, your children do not bleed from your Rod. In fact, these comfort us and grow us up to the people you've intended for us to be.
Thank you that your Voice and wisdom are pure. Thank you that you even pay me for the time I spend with you...
I love you lots, Lord. :D
--Lorie
P.S. Quotable quote from Gigi:
"You remind me that I still have a heart... And I remind you that you still have a brain."
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