What I Lost

Darn. I lost my cellphone again. It must’ve fell from my srub’s sidepockets when I took the cab on my way home from work. I didn’t realize that it got lost until late in the evening. When I tried calling my number, it was already turned off. The sim card must have been removed already.

Yup, this is the second time. Call me silly. But the first time was worst. It was stolen. That was about two years ago when my knapsack was cut by a sharp blade or knife while I was walking in Manila. I only found out later that there was a hole in my bag, and my cellphone was missing. And that phone was the expensive-type. I had to pay it in five installments for five months. But I still have to thank God because I wasn’t hurt by that person who did it.

This time, the phone that I lost wasn’t the flashy-expensive type of phone so I wasn’t really very particular on how much money I lost with losing that phone. I feel that what I really lose was a part of my being.

Losing a phone nowadays is like losing a part of your life. All your friends and relatives’ numbers are there. Unless you write their numbers in an address book, which most of the time we don’t, then we will be able to contact them still. Now I feel I lose some friends whom I can only reach by their numbers.

Some important text messages that I tried not to delete are now gone forever. Now, I just have to consider it like I accidentally deleted them from the trash box.

Pictures unsaved to the computer are now lost as well. That includes short videos taken by the phone as well.

And how will I put together again my To-do list which was saved on that phone. Important dates will be like considered forgotten with losing the alarm reminders that goes with that phone that I lost.

I usually sleep with my phone under my pillow. I feel so secured knowing that I would wake up on time with the alarm. And that somebody can just call me anytime, even during my sleep, for important matters. Yes, I can get another phone and a new number, but it will still take time before I will be able to let everybody know about my new contact number. At this time, I can not be reached by phone yet. How sad.

It seemed my world has revolved around my phone for the last years, and my life’s activities has intertwined with my phone’s functions. It’s like having a partner. I think that is how life is these modern times. Technology has taken over our lives.

One thing is for sure at this time – I will surely miss my old phone, but I need to get a new one 🙂

Advertisement

Heavy Load?

Awesome!!  We complain about the cross we bear but don’t  realize
it is preparing us for the dip in  the road that God can see and we  can’t.  
there will always be sunshine, after  the rain….
But God’s always ready, to  answer your call….
a word from His  lips, can calm every fear…
But  suddenly vanish, dawn’s early  light…
to give you His grace, and send you  His love…

Whatever your cross, whatever your  pain,

Perhaps you may stumble,  perhaps even fall;

He knows every  heartache, sees every tear,

Your sorrows  may linger, throughout the night,

The Savior is waiting, somewhere  above…

God promised a safe landing, not a calm passage.

**************************************************

(forwaded message)

Moving Out

One and a half years ago, I came into this flat alone with only one clothes-filled suitcase. Today, I am leaving this house with more than 20 boxes, and accompanied by a wife and a baby.

Moving out was never easy. Not just because the process was physically-tiring, it is emotionally-draining as well. This flat has been part of my ups and downs especially during the initial stages of my nursing career here in the UAE. The walls have been witness to the many events in my life – including receiving about the news of my baby’s birth in the Philippines, and my wife and baby’s coming in here to live with me.

The dining table was part of the many dinners – alone, with friends, and with family. The bed catches my daily tiredness from work. The kitchen has smelled the different kind of dishes cooked by me, and later on by my wife. How can I forget this place? It is a difficult thing to leave a place you considered your home.

But moving out also means you are moving in somewhere else. And yup, we found a new home at the heart of the city, where a new life will be awaiting us. Moving out means life has to go on, and face the different challenges that lies ahead.

As my family moves out of this place this afternoon, allow me to thank everyone around the neighborhood who has  made our stay homey. I will surely miss this place and the people around. The friendships will be treasured forever.

A Worth of Sacrifice

This short clip is very moving, and a must-watch for everybody, especially those whose faith is down. The first time I watched it, I felt the need to share this to everyone. In times like these, we need something to inspire our souls. Hope you like it.

Special thanks to youtube user Lorente444 and Facebook user Richelle Ho.

Where God Wants Me

This is another old forwarded email worth sharing. I am not sure who the original author is. This is in time for tomorrow’s commemoration of the 9/11 attacks eight years ago. Hope you like it.

**********************************************************

One day I happened to call a man on business whom I will probably never talk to again, but this day God wanted me to talk to him.

He was head of security at a company that had invited the remaining members of a company who had been decimated by the attack on the Twin Towers to share their office space. With his voice full of awe, he told me stories of why these people were alive and their counterparts were dead.

All the stories were just little things.

You might know about the head of the company who got in late that day because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts.

The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning.
He took the various means to get to work, but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive.

So, Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, turn back to answer a ringing telephone… all the little things that annoy me… I think to myself, this is exactly where God wants me to be at this very moment.

May God continue to bless you with all those annoying little things.

*****************************************************************

(video from wesleyschacht)

What I am Thankful For

FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT’S CANNED GOODS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

 FOR THE BABY
WHO CRIES FOR MILK
BECAUSE I AM CAPABLE TO PRODUCE AN OFFSPRING.

 FOR THE TAXES I PAY

BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED.

 FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

 FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

 FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE.

 FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION

 FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH
WHO SINGS OFF KEY

BECAUSE IT MEANS
I CAN HEAR. 
  
  FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR. 

 FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN
CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD. 

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE. 

(Forwarded email/Original author unknown/Some parts edited)

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)

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)

What Will Matter?

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.

All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or owed.

Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.

The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won’t matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.

It won’t matter whether you were beautiful of brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success, but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence, but your character.

What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.

What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.

(forwarded email. Author unknown)