Children of Substance

Check this picture out! I’m sure you all know that it’s Inigo on the last frame. But can you guess who are on the first two pics? That’s me and my wife! You can see from our son the traits that he got from us. Life is such a miracle!

Vacation at Last!

Today is the start of my 3-week holiday! I am so happy coz I badly needed this break to unwind after all that’s happening in my work area. I need to chill out a bit, to get my concentration back. Nurses who work in a very stressful work environment like mine should really get long breaks once in a while to keep their sanity intact. I think I deserve one at this point in time.

Before, I usually fly home to the Philippines to spend a long vacation there. But since my wife and baby are here already, I am not doing that anymore and instead I am taking a local leave. There are not much plans to go around the place, but just to probably visit a couple of malls and shops. It is still too hot to spend the time outdoors and we’ll probably wait until the end of summer before we start visiting zoos, and parks.

Here’s my plan for the next three weeks:

1.  Spend more time at home just chillin’ out, relaxing, and sleeping 🙂 This is also an opportunity for me to be with my family more. I’ll also try to do a lot of cleaning and probably housekeeping of my paperworks.

2.  Arrange some stuff related to my family’s stay here e.g. opening  files in the clinic for my wife and baby, obtaining their insurance cards, applying for their local recreation IDs, and the national UAE ID system.

3. Visit the malls which  I like my wife and baby to see e.g. Bawadi Mall, Deira City Center, IKEA, Festival Mall etc.

4.  Check out flats we could rent so we could transfer soon.

5.  Go back to the gym! I have been saying this for the last two months, but because I was always too tired from work, I didn’t get the extra energy to continue working out.

So it’s recharging time now! If you need an on-call… I am not here! Hehe!

PUTO (Steamed White Cake)

This is my first try in baking a puto! It was made easy by White King Puto Mix which was also available here in the UAE.

I just followed the cooking directions written on the box, and used our rice cooker to steam the mold. I used cheese instead of butter as topping. And presto! a delicious classic puto! My wife and baby loved it!

Take Hold of Every Moment

A friend of mine opened his wife’s  underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package:  

“This, – he said – isn’t any ordinary package.”  

He  unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.  

“She got this the first time we went to  New York , 8 or  9 years ago. She has never put it on. Was saving it for a special  occasion. Well, I guess this is it.” He got near the bed and placed  the gift box next to the other clothings he was taking to the funeral  house, his wife had just died. He turned to me and  said:

“Never  save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a  special occasion”.

I still think those words  changed my life.

Now I read  more and clean less.

I  sit on the porch without worrying about anything.

I spend more time  with my family, and less at work.

I understood that life  should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived  through. I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day..  I’ll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if i feel like  it.

I don’t save my special  perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to. The words  “Someday…” and “One Day…” are fading away from my dictionary. If  it’s worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it  now. I don’t know what my friend’s wife would have done if she knew she  wouldn’t be there the next morning, this nobody can tell. I think she  might have called her relatives and closest friends.

She might call  old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I’d like to think she  would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It’s these small things  that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had  come I would  regret it, because I would no longer see the friends I would meet,  letters… that I wanted to write “One of this  days”.

I would regret  and feel sad, because I didn’t say to my brother and sisters,son and  daughters , not times enough at least, how much I love them.  

Now, I  try not to delay, postpone or keep anything that could bring laughter  and joy into our lives..
And, on each morning, I say to myself that  this could be a special day.

Each day,  each hour, each minute, is special.

(forwarded email)

Inigo with Daddy

Some bonding moments with Inigo. Mommy is behind the camera.

The Ant and the Contact Lens

A  true story by Josh and Karen Zarandona

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was very scared, she went with her group to a tremendous Granite cliff.

In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took a hold on the rope,and started up the face of that rock.Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda’s eye and Knocked out her contact lens.

Well, here she is, on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn’t there.

Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff.

She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that Bible verse that says, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.” She thought, “Lord, You can see all these mountains.You know every stone and leaf, and you know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.”

Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff.One of them  shouted out, “Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?”

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it on its back.

Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words,”Lord, I don’t know why you want me to carry this thing. I can’t eat it,and it’s awfully heavy. But if this is what you want me to do, I’ll carry it for you.”

I think it would probably do some of us good to occasionally say,”God, I don’t know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it’s awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will.”

God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my saviour. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil.4:13)

 

(forwarded email/photo credits: art.com, lgadb.org and guardianangel.in)

Special Sauce

 

I was sitting at the drive-through window at McDonald’s this weekend (ok, eat out a lot). I did the usual thing, I drove up to the menu and ordered.

I proceeded to the first window and paid, then drove to the second window and waited for the order. After sitting there for a few minutes, the clerk slid back the window and asked, “Will you please pull over to the side; your order is not ready.”

I was a little upset and even impatient, but I pulled over and waited. I thought, “How come other folks ordered and drove straight through and I have to wait.” I waited for another two or three minutes. 

It seemed like hours before the clerk finally ran out, tapped on the window, and handed me the order. Of course I asked, “Hey, what took so long?” 

She replied, “You wanted the Special Sauce, which meant it had to be especially made for that sandwich. It doesn’t usually come with that one.

This scene is a reflection of our prayer life. We make our request to the Lord. Our menu is His Word, where He has listed promise after promise. We stand before Him and request and plead and, sometimes, even beg. 

We go to the first window and pay, sometimes with fervent prayer, sometimes with prolonged suffering, sometimes with obedience, and sometimes not at all.

We then move to the second window and wait for our order. If God doesn’t answer within a few minutes, we become upset. 

You know the phrase, “Jesus, it’s 5:00p.m. Friday; I prayed to You yesterday, and You still haven’t answered. I can’t wait much longer.”

Why is it taking Him so long? I’ve seen people drive up before me and they received their orders right away! We even go so far as to tap on the window and ask if He has forgotten our order. We become impatient. We become upset. We become downright mad.

Lord I asked for a mate ten days ago and I don’t see him/her anywhere.

Lord, I’ve been asking for a new job for two years; others have passed me by.

I’ve been waiting on a financial blessing for ten and I still have more months than money.

Where are You and why haven’t you blessed me?

And just when you think He is giving you the answer, He pulls back the royal curtain of Eternity, and states, “Please pull over to the side and wait a while longer.”

This once frustrated me to no end, made me mad, made me want to give up, made me want to holler; that is, until the clerk brought out my sandwich.

Then, the revelation became clear.

Do you know why the Lord has put you on the side? Do you know why you have had to wait for this blessing longer than before?

Do you know why He has put you through more this time than ever? Do you know why it seems as though He has not heard you and He does not care?

Do you know why it seems like you have had to go through more tears, more pains, and more struggling this time?

Because this blessing is a Special Sauce Blessing!

This is an Overflowing, Pressed-Down, Shaken Together Blessing! You made a Special Order and God has been putting together a Special Sauce Blessing for you and He has to prepare it for you!

That mate you wanted . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!

That job you wanted . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!

That financial blessing . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!

That peace on the job . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!

That house . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!

That deeper anointing . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!

That promotion . . . He’s putting together a Special Sauce!

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end … [and a Special Sauce]. Jeremiah 29:11

How many people have driven away before the clerk brought their food, and how many people have missed their blessings because they did not wait?

Hang on there. Keep on waiting. You made a Special Order, now wait on God’s Special Sauce!

(forwarded email/author unknown)

Excellent Coverage by ABS-CBN

As much as I wanted to become part and witness yesterday’s funeral of one of the greatest Filipinos ever lived – President Corazon Aquino, my hands were tied to being an OFW in another country. For me, it was history taking place and I want to be there.

But thanks to the modern times, the latest technology allow Filipinos from across the globe to watch as-it-happens, the latest in the funeral of the late president. ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel made it happen by providing live feeds from the Philippines.

The whole day, I was just sitting in our living room, watching on TV, as the coffin was moved from the Manila Cathedral to Manila Memorial Park. It was my first time to watch a funeral like that – the people on the streets were fervent with their emotions and the full military honors given at the memorial park was so moving.

I should say, ABS CBN did a very good job in covering the entire event. The cameras were strategically and artistically placed and the live studio anchors and field reporters did a splendid performance. I was so amazed by how they were able to plan all these before-hand with such little time to prepare. It was an excellent coverage, and thousands of Filipinos outside the Philippines who watched it on TV via The Filipino Channel surely appreciated this effort by the broadcast company.

Kudos to ABS-CBN and the people behind this. Thank you for keeping the Filipinos around the world updated. It was as if we never left our country.

Thanks, Tita Cory

President Corazon Aquino (January 25, 1933 - August 1, 2009)

I was 10 years old during the 1986 EDSA Revolution.  I did not have a clear grasp of what’s happening in the country that time, but I was already a witness to the nation’s history in the making. School classes were suspended for several days so I was basically left to watching tv and listening to the radio.

The Filipino people were binded by the courage to fight against dictatorship and won democracy through a bloodless revolution led by the then politically inexperienced homemaker and mother of five, Maria Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. Since then, I realized her contribution to the contry’s reshaping and to the freedom we are enjoying up to this time.

President Aquino served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She is, not only the country’s, but Asia’s first female president. Her administration was not the best, but she gave all her effort to keep the nation intact, after a very bad regime. What was more impressive was she was able to surpass several attempts to take away her leadership and maintained her power and fortitude.

She inspired the whole world and several other people power movements from across the globe started to fight against being oppressed and for freedom.

President Aquino’s awards and distinctions are numerous and include: Woman of the Year Time Magazine, the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, the United Nations Silver Medal and the Canadian International Prize for Freedom (wic.org).

She makes me so proud to become a Filipino. Her contribution to the country’s history can never be quantified. I think she deserves full honor and respect on her passing today. Thanks, Tita Cory. May the country continue to carry the inspiration you are leaving behind.