I love Bro. Bo Sanchez! He is a very good preacher. I do believe he’s one of the best around. You can listen to or read his preaching about the gospel without being too preachy. Do you know what I mean?
There are preachers out there who tell you to repent because the Lord will strike you or punish you for your sins. Bro. Bo, on the other hand, preaches about every day life. He preaches about family, friends, attitude, and the power of prayers.
If you haven’t subscribed to him yet, go to www.bosanchez.ph and I guarantee that every letter he sends will impact your life in a positive way.
Blessings come in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes, it comes in a disguise. I would like to say THANKS for all the blessings, big and small, round and square, short and long.
And THANKS also for those that come wrapped in disguise.
Happy Monday and may we all have a great and productive week!
My heart goes out to those people who are struggling to make ends meet. I’ve been there so many times in the past, especially during that time when all my sisters were still in school. There were paydays when it felt like the money I earned for that pay period would just kiss my hand goodbye. There were even paydays when it wasn’t enough and I had to find a kind soul to lend me some money just to make ends meet. Those days I felt like a beggar groveling for a piece of bread.
I am really thankful that I have passed all that. Of course, there are days that I still feel unsure about the state of my finances. But it’s now manageable compared to the past.
I don’t want to ever go back to that situation where it’s always hand to mouth. I pray that whoever’s in that situation right now will find the will to continue on and surpass it. And will have a future free of worries financially.
I love this app in Facebook where you can get quotes from Paulo Coelho. Today I got this quote from him…
The best way to serve God is by going in search of your own dreams. Only the happy can spread happiness.
I believe this. You see, how can you spread positive vibes and happiness to those around you when you are full of negative energy and is depressed or sad. I think it will come out as insincere and forced, don’t you think? I try to stay positive all the time because I easily get depressed. That’s why I don’t read tragic stories as much as possible because it depresses me a lot. And I get affected easily by things I see and hear.
I smile and think positive thoughts. I watch Mr. Bean with Hazel for the simple pleasure of laughing at his silly antics. I watch cooking and travel shows a lot because it gives me positive ideas. These are the things I do to make my day happy.
Prayers, more than the material donation, will help a lot. It was reported that there’s an incoming storm again and it might be just as bad as the previous one. Sigh.
Philippines needs your prayers. Please include us in your prayers when you say them tonight. Or even this very minute. We really need it.
I am a person who’s easy to please. In fact, a delicious meal can make me happy. A good book, a cup of hot coffee, a sweet smile or a hug from Hazel, a couple of opps… even a trip to the mall with my dad and my siblings can bring me happiness. I need not have tons of money to find joy in life. I just need to have enough to give them what they need. I’d be content with that.
A good book and a cup of hot coffee makes me happy.
Anyway, I haven’t been sleeping much for days now. Working hard because it will be tuition time once again by July, which is tomorrow already. I am really tired. My head’s aching, pounding actually. But since I am doing this for the family, I know that I will find the energy to continue working harder.
Life is not about keeping score
It is not about how many friends you have
It is not about if you have plans this weekend or if you are alone.
It isn’t about who you are dating, who you used to date, how many people you’ve dated, or if you haven’t been with anyone at all.
It’s not about who your family is, or how much money they have.
Or what kind of car you drive.
It is not about where you went to school. Or whether you rub shoulders with the rich and famous
It not about how beautiful or how ugly you are.
Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on, or what kind of music you listen to..
It is not about if your hair is blonde, red, black or brown,
Or if your skin is too light or too dark..
It is not about what grades you get or how smart standardized tests say you are.
It’s not about what clubs you’re in, or smoking cigars and sipping cognac
It is not about how good you are at your sport.
LIFE JUST ISN’T.
But.. Life is about being real and not being fake
Life is about dignity and respect
It is about who you love and who you hurt.
It is about who you make happy or unhappy…intentionally.
It’s about keeping and betraying trust and fighting for justice
It is about courage to stand up against and not turn a blind eye to human evil
It’s about friendship, used as something holy or as a weapon.
It about what you say and mean may be hurtful, maybe heartening.
It’s about starting rumours and contributing to petty gossip.
It’s about what judgements you pass and why..
And who your judgements are spread to.
It’s about who you’ve ignored with full control and intention.
It about cowardice, jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge.
It’s about carrying inner hate or love.
It is about letting it grow or spreading it.
But, most of all, it is about using your life to touch or poison other people’s hearts in such a way that never
could have occurred alone.
Only YOU choose the way those hearts are affected…
There are still good samaritans out there. Let me tell you about my cousin’s experience with a kind hearted person…
Yong was aboard a plane going to Singapore for a stopover. He’s bound for the Middle East. Before going to the airport that day, he called up the recruitment agency asking about food arrangements. He was told that the meals during the stopover were free. Believing the agency, he brought little money because he saved most for his final destination.
My cousin is very friendly. He will talk to everyone, regardless of what they look like. He doesn’t discriminate. He talked to the person beside him on the plane. At one point in their conversation, he asked the American about the food arrangement during the stopover and he was told that the meal was not free. Yong called the flight attendant asking about the meal and was told the same thing.
He was now worrying about the stopover, which was more or less 9 hours, if I am not mistaken. He only brought so much money, not enough to tide him over for 9 hours. Not even enough for a meal, knowing how costly airport meals are. But he kept this all to himself.
Do you know what happened? Upon arriving at Singapore airport, the American approached him suddenly and handed him some money. Not much but more than enough for someone like my cousin who needed the money to buy some food. He cried, unashamed. The American will be staying in Singapore for a short spell and bid my cousin goodbye, wishing him luck with his journey abroad. What a kind soul!
However brief their meeting was, he will never be forgotten, that’s for sure.
Just when you think the world is full of bad people, one will break away from the group and would show kindness. There are still good samaritans out there, we just have to look deeper to see them.
I haven’t posted a Blogger Inspired entry in months. The last time I posted one was in July of last year.
Anyway, I am a subscriber of a blog called Marc and Angel Hack Life. I love this blog so much! Their entry for yesterday is entitled How to Make All the Difference in the World. The entry is about an old woman who scrubs the shells of a couple of turtles to help them swim better. Marc sees the old woman doing this every Sunday when he jogs around the area. He asked the old woman what difference it makes that she helps a couple of turtles when “99% of these turtles don’t have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells.” According to the old woman, “Sweetie, if this little guy could talk, he’d tell you I just made all the difference in the world.”
The entry just made me think of my dad…
My dad loves helping other people. No matter if he doesn’t get anything in return. A simple thank you would suffice. What he wants to see is for our neighbors to rise above their stations in life. Just this past couple of days, he’s been helping a number of jobless men in our little area get legitimate jobs abroad through my aunt (his sister) who has a recruitment agency. Two will be leaving before March ends. Four more will be following suit.
You see, you never know that the difference you make in a person’s life could spell the whole world to him. It can be the start of something big. For that person, you just made all the difference in the world. A difference need not be something grand. It need not be something that can affect a hundred people in one fell swoop. It can be a simple gesture to someone.
Make a difference in your own simple way. I hope I am making a difference in other people’s lives, too.
One of my most favorite songs in this world is Everything by Lifehouse. When I have some tasks to finish at night, I open my YouTube account and choose videos of songs I like. For some time now, I have been noticing this video of Everything that instead of the video from the band itself, it has a skit about good versus evil. You can see it below…
My favorite song was interpreted differently! I love this skit. Very inspirational. No wonder this skit was performed in churches in the US. You better watch it if you have time. For a good dose of inspiration for those who are wavering in their faith.
The video will make you feel His presence once more. You know, we always give priority to our lovelives, money, vanity, vices. We forget that we also need to say thanks to Someone who guides us every step of the way. This video will remind us that He is just there, behind all our priorities, waiting for us to acknowledge Him, even every now and then.
I am also posting the complete lyrics of Everything (after the jump) so you can read the whole song while watching the video. (more…)
It is easy to say these things, I know. Harder to put into practice. But if we just keep in mind that happiness starts within ourselves, we could somehow reach that plane where we are experiencing real happiness. Or something close to that.
Are you taking care of it? In this tough time, we all need to hold on to our faith. With the recession, the Gaza bombings, the natural calamities hitting us left and right…
This coming January 9th is the Feast of the Black Nazarene. Are you going to Quiapo? My dad, my sister and I go every year. We attend the first mass of the feast day. Hopefully, we can go again as planned.
In everything that happened to me and my family, we only have our unwavering faith in Him to hold on to. And I intend to hold on for as long as I live.
I am not a perfect person. Who is? I am not really kind but I try to be good. I believe that what you do to others will come back either to bless you or haunt you. My outlook of life is that simple. When I help others, that’s because I felt mercy or I am just returning a favor done to me. Most of the time, I am just paying it forward. Much like what I do when I help new bloggers who ask for help. I help them not to make myself look good but because I know how it is to be a newbie, who doesn’t even know a simple HTML code. Someone helped me before and I promised myself that when someone needs my help, I will give it without asking for anything in return.
I also do this offline. I was once so down financially. My family was. I still struggle from time to time but I know there are others who suffer more than I do. When I was down, a friend of mine was there to help me every time I needed it. I promised myself that when the time comes and I am more financially well and someone asked for my help, I will not hesitate to give it.
For others, this attitude is self-serving. But for me, that’s just a simple rule of life… what goes around, comes around. Pay it forward and it will all come back to you down the road. I am thankful and blessed because I was able to realize that life is this simple. Either you turn your back to those who are in need (and somehow expect this to happen to you along the way) or you can exert a little more effort to extend a helping hand and be blessed in return.
In every little thing that happens in our lives, we could choose how we react to it. I have learned that with everything that happened to me and my family.
Let me share with you my choice… Happiness.
When my brother got sick with leukemia, our finances were really down. Every cent we had was intended for my brother’s chemo sessions. We were all for it. If every cent we had could save him, so be it, we were giving him every last cent we had. And we did. But 6 months after he was diagnosed, he died. I was in second year college then.
I was always distracted. I remember my Accounting professor asking me why I was not participating in class anymore. I just kept it all to myself. I was debating whether to stop from college for a while and concentrate on working instead. I was accepted as a bookkeeper in a foreign company that time. Office hours was after lunch until 9pm. I could have chosen work instead of finishing college but my dad got angry with me when he found out. We stood as a family in that trying time of our lives. We pulled our resources and I was able to finish college.
Three years ago was another trying time in my life. My mom died. She battled with her kidney problems for 3 years before she died. Again, our finances took a dive. My faith took a dive as well. Why us? We already lost a brother and then my mom??? It was a very difficult time.
But just like the cartoon in this post, I opted to react differently. I was depressed at first but I realized that God would not give me what I could not handle. I also thought that time that my mom already suffered so much. It would be better for her to be in her Creator’s side rather than suffer some more just to be with us.
I chose to be happy despite the setbacks that happened. I chose to keep the faith. I just kept thinking that God is more focused on me than on others. And I always tell myself that “this too shall pass”.
Time and again I have been besieged with doubts. About my finances, mostly. But time and again, I found that God can be such a softie when it comes to me :D I am not proud to say that I really need assurances from time to time. I guess we all do. In my case, when I find that I am working myself into a big mass of worry over the state of my finances, I pray that He guide me and lead me back to the path of trust and faith in Him. Here I am. Back on track. I just needed a good night’s sleep and a few assurances from Him.
Come on, let’s have some early Monday morning fun. Just to get rid of that Monday sickness
Do you recognize these lines?
“Michael, I love you. I’ve loved you for nine years. I’ve just been too arrogant and scared to realize it. And, well, now I’m just scared. So, I realize this comes at a very inappropriate time but I really have this gigantic favor to ask of you. Choose me. Marry me. Let me make you happy.”
“It is at times like this that I know what my purpose is in life. I am here to love you, to hold you in my arms, to protect you. I am here to learn from you and receive your love in return. I am here because there is no other place to be.”
“I would rather have had one breath of her hair, one kiss from her mouth, one touch of her hand, than eternity without it. One.”
“Look, I guarantee there’ll be tough times. I guarantee that at some time, one or both of us is gonna want to get out of this thing. But I also guarantee that if I don’t ask you to be mine, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life, because I know, in my heart, you’re the only one for me.”
When I started blogging, I had only a handful of friends. Devilicious is one of them. She is one of the reasons why blogging has become enjoyable for me. I was really lucky to have met her. These days, she is not as active as she once was. And then I met the others. Some, I still talk to until now. Some, I lost communication with.
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When someone is in your life for a REASON…
It is usually to meet a need. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrong doing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered. And now it is time to move on.
When people come into your life for a SEASON… (more…)
Most of us are resistant to change. It could be a new house, a new work place, or a new medical condition. Change is normally not easy to cope with. This is especially so if we were very comfortable in the position we were previously in.
Change may make us feel uneasy, uncomfortable, wistful of the past, and generally unhappy.
The most important thing to remember is to give yourself time. You’ve probably been through many phases of change in the past. Each time, you probably took some time to adjust to the changes.
Don’t expect yourself to be some super flexible organism which adapts in a jiffy. Chances are, you need time. Give yourself that time.
My Own Utopia was conceived when my main blog became too "commercialized". I needed a more personal place, my own utopia, where I can write about my personal experiences, the blessings that come my way, my faith, inspirations in my life, and other things that has a more personal tone.
Filed under Dose of Inspiration 
