Saddened by Sendong

not too happy since yesterday. am feeling distressed with news about Sendong.

Prayer for Those Who Suffer

For those who suffer,

and those who cry this night,

give them repose, Lord;

a pause in their burdens

Let there be minutes

where they experience peace,

not of man but of angels.

Love them, Lord, when others cannot.

Hold them, Lord, when we fail with human arms.

Heal their prayers

and give them the ability to hear you back

in whatever language they best understand.

Amen.

2nd Sunday of Advent

woke up to a rainy Sunday morning. took a bath and went to hear mass at the clubhouse. it's already the second Sunday of Advent. and still in consonance with the Advent readings, today's sermon is about our personal preparation for the Lord's coming- filling in of the uneven roads in our life (making up for what we lack / omissions), making straight the path (giving up vices, admitting our wrongs), levelling the mountains into plains (humbling ourselves, putting out our pride), basically stop sinning or trying our level best not to commit to sin anymore. Father was reminding us about the coming Simbang Gabi and how the clusters are gonna be handling the mass sponsorship.

stopped by the grocery and bought tinapay and cookies. just got back home and cooked breakfast. had a hearty meal of daing, corned beef and scrambled eggs. ang sarap kumain pag umuulan. and the daing smelled of dried pusit. this came from indonesia, one of their delicacies. sarap, ang lutong!

November's Here

kuya had his bday at home last week. he just turned 40. and that's when life begins....

and mommy will be celebrating her birthday in a couple of days. may God bless you both and may He continue to love you and hold you in His warm loving embrace. love you both!

In Retrospect

time flies by so fast

little did i know, christmas is just round the corner and the year is soon to end. what's in store for me next year? i wonder...

Bagyong Pepeng is here

i woke up and it's dark. my niece told me there's brownout.

Mister God's Face

Happy birthday Lolo Francis and Francis Thomas, wherever you both may be!

Mister God, once again I call on you to guide me in this life. I remember my blogs 5 years ago about lolo and Tom-Tom. Here's another excerpt from the book Mister God, This is Anna.

" One day Anna and Fynn attended mass. In the homily Fr. Castle, the pastor, spoke a lot about God. Anna noticed that he spoke a lot about "knowing" God and "seeing" God. And the pastor said that one day we would see God face to face. Anna paid close attention to what the pastor was saying but Fynn noticed that the little girl did not agree.

Suddenly Anna grabbed Fynn by the hand and whispered to him, though loud enough that those nearby could hear: "What will the pastor do when it comes out that God has no face, not even eyes? How then will people see God face to face?" Then she moved even closer and added:

"I'll tell you, Fynn, that Mister God has no face. He sees all of us on earth, every single one. But to do that, He does not have to turn around at all or even squint. See, Fynn, you and I have a front and a back. If I want to see something behind me, I've got to turn around because I don't have any eyes on back. But God only has a front and no back. He can look everywhere without turning."

How I wish I can look at life and understand and accept its mysteries in the simplicity that this little girl can. I just maybe have to start looking up to God without thought of His physical appearance, much less His face-lessness. I have to strengthen my faithfulness.

Need to Heal

Have you heard the story about a big truck getting stuck under a low overhead bridge? Nobody knows what to do until the town fool suggests that they let the air out of the tyres. This done, the truck which is now a couple inches lower, grazes through. See what a little bit of deflation can do? This teaches us a lesson on humility. And we can never be too high or too mighty for the Lord.

Prayer for Inner Healing

Speak clearly, Lord, into my heart.

In the past, I had been busy with life

and I forgot what it meant to really live.

In the midst of my pains and difficulties,

allow me to know you

so that I may understand

what living for you is all about.

I am weak, Lord, and helpless without you.

I surrender to you, Lord,

all my fears and my burdens.

I will focus on your truth

that you will be with me always.

I will never understand your ways

but I know that you have

a purpose for me.

Lord, as I continue this prayer,

gently touch me with your healing hands.

You are the Divine Healer

and the greatest physician of all.

I believe in my heart

that nothing is impossible to you.

Heal my innermost being,

my spirit and my soul.

I know, Lord, that there is an end

to my loneliness and sickness

because you died on the cross

and rose from the dead.

From now on I just want to live

with a loving heart

and not with a grumbling heart,

from now on, Lord,

I just want to live with a faithful heart

and not with a fearful heart.

In the mighty name of Jesus.

Amen.

Loving Koreanovela

Lazy Wednesday

i sure am feeling lazy today. but have promised myself to do the laundry. have finished the quilt cover and now spinning the tees and blouses while listening to Cruisin' 4 tracks. wooh, brings me back to yesterday.

Ang Babae

Ito ay hango sa isang sulatin sa Storyteller's Minute. Nakuha nito ang aking atensyon habang ako'y naghahanap ng mababasa kanina. Hindi ko tiyak kung kelan ito isinulat kung kaya't ako'y nag-iisip kung 'Totoo pa rin kaya ito magpasahanggang ngayon?'

Flower Bud Moment

was watching one heavy drama this summer (Knovela addictus ako nitong huli) and this poem flashed in the credits. just wanna quote it here as it seemed to echo one post i made some years back (credits to the author below)...

EVERY MOMENT IS A FLOWER BUD
by Jung Hyun Jong

I sometimes do regret
that occasion at the time,
could have been treasured.

That person at the time,
that thing at the time,
could have been a jewel.

I should have been more deeply entrenched,
I should have spoken more,
I should have listened more intently,
I should have loved more passionately.

Like a mute,
Like a deaf person,
Did I let it pass
like an absent-minded person?

I should have loved that moment
more ardently
A moment is everything.

Like a flower bud,
A flower bud that blossoms
as much as my ardor.
Like a flower bud.

Feeling Nostalgic

suddenly nostalgia struck me.

attended a get-together with lb pips at the 70's Bistro last sat. saw some celebs as well. pero bakit ganun? feeling sad ako....

Rainy Day Tuesday

Back to Square One

well, that's how it's gonna be really....

Oratio Imperata

just blog-hopped and started dreaming of summer back home, beaches and swimming frenzy...

but alas, my heart is troubled. eversince the tsunami that hit Japan, I could not stay still. i keep fearing of a time when a calamity will hit my country, especially where my family is, and I am not there with them. it is so hard to be away from our loved ones and even small news of bad things happening to people we know, or not know at all, is enough to keep us teetering on our toes fearful that the next one to meet such ill fate may be a loved one.

makes me long for home all the more.

may I offer the following prayer, lifted from my prayer book, Straight from the Heart,

The Oratio Imperata: A Prayer in Times of Calamities, Deluge and Pestilence.

Almighty Father,

we raise our hearts to you

in gratitude for the wonders of creation

of which we are part,

for your providence

in sustaining us in our needs,

and for your wisdom

that guides the course of the universe.

We acknowledge our sins

against you and the rest of creation.

We have not been good stewards of Nature.

We have confused your command

to subdue the earth.

The environment is made to suffer

by our wrongdoing,

and now we reap the harvest

of our abuse and indifference.

Global warming is upon us.

Typhoons, floods, volcanic eruption,

and other natural calamities occur

in increasing the number and intensity.

We turn to you, our loving Father,

and beg forgiveness for our sins.

We ask that we, our loved ones

and our hard earned possessions

be spared from the threat of calamities,

natural and man-made.

We beseech you to inspire us all

to grow into responsible stewards

of your creation, and generous neighbors

to those in need.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

March-ing Out

The month is Marching out already. Sandstorms are signs that the weather's a-changing. Kuwait is pretty much hit by serious sandstorms these past few days. But not here in Dubai. It's getting cold at sundown. And that's another of the tell-tale signs for changing weather. Soon the air is going to be hot at any time of day.

This is one of those times when i start dreaming of our Philippine beaches. Hooo...

Off Again

again, wandering the streets of rigga on my day off.

.. and eating at KFC.

.. and stealing glances on that DJ bag.

.. and paying my phone and internet bills.

.. and calling home.

.. and doing the laundry.

.. and watching news from back home.

.. and waiting for Imortal on primetime tv.

.. and then logging on to post on my blogsite.

this is the life of an OFW.

So Grateful

many thanks to my mom and dad for everything! you're God's gift to me. and to the rest of my family (kuya, chi, nicole and esmuky), too. you're my lifeline. love you all!

Thank You

Resisting Temptation

the D Shopping Fest has started last 2oth Jan and will be on till the 20th of Feb. So many SALEs happening everywhere... problema ko nga lang walang pang-shopping. wehehe...

kaya pasyal pasyal na lang ang drama ng lola niyo. naglalakad ako lagi sa gabi dito sa aming street kung saan ang happening every year. parade every night, fireworks pagdating ng 8:30 sa gabi, tapos rides galore. nagmistulang isang peryahan ang whole stretch ng rigga road. as usual, nauuwi sa bargain hunt ang lakad ko. di naman bawal tumingin-tingin e, at sabay pisil-pisil na rin, kilatis-kilatis kunyari bibili.

haaay. i'm trying to save kasi. pero hanggang try lang yata talaga ako. waaa! o tukso, layuan mo ako!

let's see. if there's a will, there's a way.

kailangan ko ng mas matibay at mas solid na visualization!!! naman!! begin with the end in mind, abigail!

Stormy Weather

it was very dark when i went down from my flat to go to work. immediately i flagged the first cab i spotted just as it was rounding the curb towards our building. i thought i should hurry before it rains. it looked like it's gonna be heavy.

just three blocks from my place, however, i noticed it was not rain that came. the wind was picking up. and i mean picking up, like all sorts of things that can go along with it... scraps of paper, cardboard boxes, plastics, and sand- lots and lots of sand. a sandstorm was brewing and i didn't even recognize it for what it was. hardly had i seen it face-on. always i've watched sandstorms from afar. but this time, i was on it. i was so afraid. man! suddenly, the whole surrounding turned dark. i felt like i was inside a tornado. but this was dry and all sand.

the taxi driver's head was moving left and right every so often. i realized then that i was not the only one scared to be on the streets at that time. we could hear the howling of the wind and when we got near the workplace, we had to stop for the signal to go green, and the big sheet streamer at the tunnel was banging against the wall. it was just scary.

when i got off, me and just about everyone were scurrying to get inside the buildings. trees were falling on the cars at the parking areas. whew! it was really dangerous being out.

it was the first time in my life that i experienced that. i was so scared.

NEVER SAW BLUE LIKE THAT - SHAWN COLVIN

i was at a F21 shop here in deira city center when this song suddenly played on air.

and suddenly i was back to my college days. watching julia roberts' movies. runaway bride. etc...

An OFW's Prayer

Feeling melancholic but once again, let me post here a prayer lifted from the prayer book that my mom gave me. It's from Straight from the Heart, a St. Paul's publication.

Dear Lord,

source of hope and our salvation,

guide me as I travel,

lead me on the right path,

and never let me depart from you.

Grant me a safe journey from the home

I leave behind to my destination:

may I find true friends as well as

a decent and rewarding job;

may I enjoy the beauty of the place;

may I appreciate the grandeur

of your creation.

Watch over me

and lead me safely back home:

keep me away from harm and danger;

spare me from embarassment and humiliation;

deliver me from scandal and shame.

Stay by my side

and always remind me of my true home:

as a pilgrim, I am just passing by in this world;

as your creature, I must return to you;

as your servant, I must lead others to heaven.

Watch over those whom I leave behind.

Protect my family and loved ones

while I am away.

Keep us always safe

in the palm of your hands.

Watch over all of us

though we live far apart.

With your grace and blessing,

may we see each other in the future:

to enjoy once again each other's company,

to hear and listen to our own life stories,

and to accompany one another

on the road that leads to you.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Some More Bakes

here's a few more attempts i did at baking... ",)

me and my sweet tooth!!!

Happy New Year 2011

Happy New Year to everyone! All the best for this new year! May we all have inner peace and joy throughout the year... God bless!