YUP...LOVE IS SOMETHING GOD DOES VERY WELL

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😔Aawww gee.....this one brought a tear to my eyes. Because it is so true. Has anyone ever thought about it? Can you ever imagine if God wasn't there --- where would you be in the midst of life's trials, burdens, struggles, mishaps particularly those you don't know about;  those hidden from your sight and understanding. Or even those which impact is hardly felt by you or not at all.  Or perhaps didn't hurt you as hard as it should have.  Unbelievable and yet true. San'g bundok na problema na pala ang tumama sa'yo, di mo alam. San ka nalang dadamputin kaya kung wala si God!? (A popular fall-back expression by the old folks.)

Aminin (a favorite expression used by my niece) ...... God has done so much for you...far beyond your human understanding. Yet it's done. He did it. He saved you many times- in many ways- for many reasons. You needn't have to know. Because....God by whatever name you know him..... HE just loved you and loves you so much beyond measure!!! Love....is something HE does very well.

Yeah .....God loves us.🥰😍 Awesome!!!

SOMETIMES PAIN IS A GOOD TEACHER

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A friend asked me this question.............. 'What do you do when bad happens to you?' .I looked at her and said.. 'You've been hurt bad?' .. 'Hey, I'm doing the asking here.' she retorted in jest.

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As every person is a story you can be very sure that hurt and pain along with other things complete a person's personal history. Each bit did its part to shape the person for better or for worse and this definitely will impact people who come close to the territory or happen to be near it or get drawn to it by some unexplained circumstance. People collide with one another by some mysterious force but its reason not fully or always understood. Not yet anyway. This human collision does get us bruised.. battered... shaken up... hurt... wounded and scarred. Unhappy memories are then created which sadly can still prick even long after the experience is gone. Some may say forgiven, but many more will say not forgotten.

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Bad can hurt. We all know it as it comes to us in many different forms, ways, means, intensity, appearances, reason or intent, sometimes unintended, sometimes disguised, but we see its purpose of hurting us and turning our world upside down--- rewriting our story in its entirety or in part. It doesn't draw a pretty picture, particularly if you can see it in the heart --- torn, tattered, messed up, beaten, dreary and weary. It made me think ......

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Maybe there is no answer. Maybe one just lives through the experience..... try to respond to it in the best manner possible..... draw strength where strength can be found within or without..... become the change which is eventually going to happen anyway like it or not. But something within, something bigger than yourself, makes you want to try to transform this experience into a treasure - your treasure - that would matter for a very, very long time. For you... for your life. Because, truth is, you owe it to yourself to do just that.

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My friend threw me that question but I think she didn't expect an answer. The answer which, I believe, she wasn't seeking but one which she already knew ------ 

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Bad has its way of making us grow.

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DON'T LET ANYONE DOUSE YOUR FIRE

 I have a friend who (sadly) thinks life is such a mess and nothing is worth anything, at all. Well... she's been through a lot, her emotions bruised with scars to show. She's not easy to get along with, admittedly. But then who would be!? No one can come out of a tough life unaffected and still be in one piece. Nope. That ain't happening. Because it breaks you. Life ..... sometimes can be so mean. 

A broken soul is a lonely one. 

But.....

That doesn't make you the only one. There are other lonely souls out there, too. Yet you'll never know .... neither can you tell. Truth is, we each have a piece of brokenness inside us. Our hearts carry invisible burdens which weigh us down, slow our progress, wearies our soul.  

And yet....

We get up mornings, shake the dust off, take a deep breath, and head off to face the new day with.what we know...and...what we have. 

Everyday. Walang paltos yan. Again and again...and... again. Because that's who we are.... that's how we were created by Someone up there. 

Tough.

Nobody can douse our fire.

Don't let it.

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IS LIFE ONLY ABOUT ONE THING

 A friend once asked me "Is a widow's life a lonely life?" Let me ask you this question: "Is life only about marriage?....or one thing?"

If a person is living a train-track kind of mind, the possibility is high. Like mom would say "You can't put all your eggs in one basket. When you drop it, you'll break them all." Life is good with a mindset of being determined, focused, and other stuff that would take you to your dreams. 

But the rest of life and living will need ---  

a broad and broader understanding of life happening as it happens or not happens to you..adaptability..steady glimmering hope..courage..with undying faith and belief in the Divine. Plus self-love...not egotistical but gentle and kind. In fact, be kinder to...yourself above all. Because your life is lived by you. Not by somebody else nor by other people's standards. No. It's just you. Your successes your mistakes. Your life. You live it.

Be like that magnificent tree and hill in that photo.....standing tall and proud, uniquely amazing....yet still so much part of the greater panorama of things. Fact is, you and everything are by Divine Design.🥰 Appreciate it with a grateful heart ❤ 

Have a blessed day, folks.

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IMAGES RUNNING THROUGH MY MIND

 

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A few days back I was in a dilemma pondering what to paint 🤔 And as I have said, you don't immediately start painting even if the canvas is right infront of you ready and able.😁 Parang katulad ng kasabihang - "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak". Gusto mo nang simulan pero ayaw sumunod ang kamay mo .. LOLS 😄

Now ... today I finished the painting. A scene which played in my mind for a bit though I wasn't quite sure I'd do. Because....it was just an image running in my mind along with other images scrambling for front page. Gulo noh?!? Haha..

Anyway... as an old saying goes "All's well that ends well." 

It's been a good day.😚☺

I hope yours was, too.

Godbless. 

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LESSONS FROM LIFE

LESSONS FROM LIFE 

I am not what I used to be -- my old self which worried at every nitty-gritty detail of a mess-up, mine or somebody's else's. I don't fret if the house is a mess, at least not anymore. But cleaning up goes on normally as it should. I save not for a special occasion because I've learned that everyday is a special occasion. So then I would buy ice cream, cakes, pretty clothes, shoes, bags and use them for no special reason. It doesn't have to be my birthday to look pretty or be happy. 

Flaws, imperfections, weaknesses, or differences displayed by other people now amuse me rather than annoy because I have understood that we are all different and that being so does not make one person better or less than the other. It just makes us different. People's foibles are now better understood and forgiven, including mine. I draw close to people I like.. and if I don't like someone I simply stay away and forget that person. No point in having someone like that stick around to ruin my parade. I try not to go crazy when plans bomb out or when appointments are missed. Because if and when they do, certainly it must be for some reason. Eventually something much better takes its place. It always does. Better to see it with a positive eye, otherwise it's bound to cause more stress in trying to figure out what happened.

I believe in miracles and blessings which certainly come plenty if one takes pains to find out or see it. I indeed seek for blessings because my mom said I should. You see mom would always tell me that .. "there is always one when you come looking for it... and sometimes even when you aren't looking." -- Blessings though don't always come wrapped in gorgeous ribbons or other fancy trimmings or make a huge dramatic entrance into your life. Nope. Sometimes it's just there beside you or within you making you feel... peace calm serene joy hope strength courage inspiration faith... Something you thought you'd never experience as the rest of your world comes tumbling down or has already.

I am happy where happiness finds me.... and if sorrow should come I'd probably cry too. Oh yes, probably hurt and ache, grieve, be miserable... but I know better now that these things are fleeting and would easily pass just like all of life. Besides things which I have no control over are no longer mine to worry about. Troubles are plenty it's true; nobody's spared of it, but we can choose how to face them. Thus if solutions seem nil, then I leave them at the foot of the Cross for God to handle. He's better at it, you know. So much better. 

Much learned at 75..... with still more learning up ahead.  And know too that sometimes in life you'll get to learn..relearn..unlearn...until wisdom finally gets you. Also...mistakes are okay, they're there for a reason -- as tools for learning. 

I owe much to the big guy upstairs.⛪ Thank you, Dad!!!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Memories from the corner of my mind......🎶

You know, some think that people who pray are locos. I know a few who think it's a waste of time.  I remember Mom... My mother was a person of prayer. (But then mothers are!) She would rock the heavens with every issue of her life. She surely kept God busy...very busy. As a kid I  saw how her eyes glistened when answers came. Also how tears would roll down her weary eyes when none came.

 Yeah...sometimes God does that...delays it a bit for some reason He alone knows. But she prayed some more. Yup...she did. Dozens of candles lit at the altar...dozens of trips to church were made. She never gave up.

Armed with prayer she was David fighting bravely the Goliaths of her imperfect life. ... She died fighting to the end.

Oh the memories are flooding in now and ....will somebody hand me a hankie please?!. Lols ☺😊.... But she was my superhero... and I miss her so.  By the way .... ....HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! .... .... (December 11th)

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GIVE TO OTHERS. GOD WILL GIVE YOU MORE

It's quite easy to turn your back to the misery of others. But not so when misery hits you. Then you wish that friends wouldn't turn their backs on you. 

-"Love one another as much as i love you." - God

 Love will turn the tide. Believe this because it's been done for ages, by many, in different circumstances, with the smallest or greatest of hearts and hands. Love breaks down all barriers -- real, perceived, or  imagined. 

Be that person you were designed to be. Maybe it will be tough for some as they hurt from life's pricks and thorns. But, truth is, there's no ifs and but's there;  the Divine plan is to be kind. (And just a bit of info  - Let God deal with that 'unpleasant' part of your life. He's better at it than we could ever be on our own.)

You see, I have learned that in the early stages of our lives as we grow or mature and develop... we would be engrossed in the I-Me-My-Mine of its living. Then it comes to this point when we are charged with a new direction:  to turn to others. In unselfish care, compassion, understanding, empathy, sympathy, and service. That includes all of creation. Give to others,  God will give you more.

How do we know? The Divine plan takes its course. In bits and pieces or sometimes in grander scale. You're part of it, like it or not.

But if course the free will is still there;  the choice is still up to you. But you still have to conquer it. 

God is a respecter of men and women. He always is. But He expects you to know the Divine plan, too.

Lifted from a Tagalog song:

Pananagutan 

Lyrics by Fr. E. P. Hontiveros

"Walang sinuman ang nabubuhay

Para sa sarili lamang

Walang sinuman and namamatay

Para sa sarili lamang

Tayong lahat ay may pananagutan sa isa't isa

Tayong lahat ay tinipon ng Diyos

Na kapiling nya

....."

Translation:

Nobody lives just for himself 

Nobody dies just for himself 

All of us are responsible for one another 

God has gathered everyone to be with Him 

.....

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MEANT FOR A HIGHER PURPOSE

To quote:

"I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you." ----- Oprah Winfrey

Unquote. 

🌿So what is our calling?  Have we ever stopped to figure that out? 

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🌵Honestly, sometimes we don't know it. Some discover it in midstream alongside something else going for them. Sometimes it comes to others later in life, much later. But then again who can tell why this is so?  Why God so chooses what time you should or shouldn't?   Yet the goal is still the same.

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🌴The essential thing, I guess, is to do what is being asked of us as best as we can. That is after we have found out what it is, of course. That is the challenge and task HE has set out for you.. me.. and everybody to do. And pronto!

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🌱No, it's not to be another Oprah Winfrey or a Helen Keller or a John F. Kennedy or other highly esteemed personality who have made their indelible mark on us and on the world.   But then why not? - That too is something fantastic and on a grander scale yet.

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🍃But usually it is in being what we do best with what life and God has given us.   Just as we are in our ordinary puny lives.  And that could mean being a ...... mother,  leader,   priest,   father,   son or daughter,   friend,   student or teacher,  bus driver,  carpenter,  sailor,  pilot,   employee or social worker,   nurse or care giver,  businessman,  NGO,   street sweeper, etc.  But this also means that we give it our best shot, whoever we are-whatever we do.   If it be a street sweeper, be one that does an excellent job of sweeping the streets that when people  walk by your street they will admire the work of the hands that did it!

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🍃It is in knowing that what we have is not there for keeping.  It is meant for something much bigger than you and me. 

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🍂I've said this before, I know.... and you will always hear it from me a hundred more times, my dear friends.  But I really do believe that each one on this planet has a task to do to better this life or help better this world.

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🍃Yet let us not forget, too, that we are our own enemies because we are so inclined to forgetfulness. We forget a lot of things we should be remembering and tend to take a lot more for granted......... like birthdays,   anniversaries,   grandparents,   good old friends,   appointments,   favors,   believing in the greater good,   hope,   faith,   trust,  courage,   standing strong on our values,  not following the herd,  refusing the bad that mess up our lives,   being thankful for those wonderful memories which lend meaning and reason to our otherwise ordinary mundane lives.  

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☘We often forget to be kind,   friendly,   compassionate,   sympathetic, generous,   helping,   understanding,   tolerant,  human and humane, non-judgmental,   forgiving,   trusting where trust so inspires,   believing in a greater good,    to aim to build and not destroy,  savoring the simple pleasures of life and living. 

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🌾We forget to learn where and when learning presents itself.  Parang bang sinasabi natin na okay na ako kasi graduate na'ko eh.

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🍀We essentially forget that we don't belong to ourselves. The  I - Me - My - Mine  of life and living has a limited shelf life.  Better for our own good to understand soonest that we are here for a higher purpose.  And our world revolves on this.

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⚘Like we also forget to remember to thank HIM for HIS blessings then and now and too in the future yet to come, if we be allowed to see that far..

🍁Let's find our calling.   Know our calling.   Embrace it.   Enrich it.  Make it our gift back to God.   

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Blessings to you all, in Christ.

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RATHER IT'S WHAT YOU PUT INTO THOSE YEARS

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This says it all. Yup...to the ladies out there (and yes...the gentlemen too) who find more candles being lit on their birthday cake with every passing year,  know this:   It's not the years adding up that define you. But rather it's what you put into those years. That's where things matter most where it truly matters most. 

Create moments. Make life count....day after day after day!!

Have a great weekend, folks!🥰

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