SPIRITUAL REVERIES: sand and stones
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
 two friends were walking through the desert. during some point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. the one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand: “today my best friend slapped me in the face.”they kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. the one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. after he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: " today my best friend saved my life".the friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "after i hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone. why?” the friend replied, "when someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand, where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. but, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your benefits in stone. they say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for always shedding light in your dark everydays. thank you for always givng us second chances to correct our imperfectness.
Lord,
in our times of shortcoming and times we may have hurt the people around us, i ask for your mercy and forgiveness. we are sorry. give me the chance to forgive the people who have caused us pain or torments. and that in return, we also ask for your forgiveness.
as we go on our day, Lord,
open our hearts and minds to become a better Christian. guide us in ways we can serve you and your people at the best of our capability.
bless the people around us,
who continue to be patient with us despite our cruelty. bless the people who loves us dearly. bless even more, the ones who we have lost touch and had rivals with. may they find forgiveness in their hearts. keep them in your watchful eyes and guide them.
we ask you these in your name....
Amen.
Labels: forgiveness, friendship, God, life, life lessons, LORD
HOT CHOCOLATE
 HOT CHOCOLATE A group of university graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to visit their old professor, who is now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, some exquisite. Then, he told them to help themselves to the hot chocolate. When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each others cups. Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate we have. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Be thankful for all your blessings and enjoy your hot chocolate forever. And always remember... The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have!
SPIRITUAL REVERIES: The Power of YOUR Love
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Verse 1:
Lord I come to You
Let my heart be changed
Renewed
Flowing from the grace
that I found in You.
Lord I've come to see
the weaknesses in me
will be stripped away
by the pow'r Your love.
Chorus:
Hold me close
let Your love surround me
bring me near
draw me to your side
and as I wait
I'll rise up like the eagle
and I will sore with You
Your spirit leads me on
by the power of Your love.
Verse 2:
Lord unveal my eyes
let me see You face to face
the knowledge of Your love
as you live in me.
Lord renew my mind
as Your will unfolds in my life
in living everyday
by the power of Your love.
Repeat Chorus
THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE
Friday, February 20, 2009
Life is so cruel sometimes. We are under attack constantly and innocently. We suffer from other people's ridicules and false judgements. If you say anything, angry words are thrown back to you multiplied by ten. If you do not say anything, you are belittled and betrayed. Truth is, I know I can fire back. I know I can do the same thing they do to us. I can open up old scandals and adevertise it. I can be angrier. I can attack them also. I can do many things to retaliate. I can loose my fuse and I can fume in fury. I can pinpoint blames. I can start a fight. I can ignite a fire. I can destroy. I can damage. I can make it bigger and greater. But really, I asked my self, "What good will it do to me?" I want to sleep feeling and thinking I did not hurt anyone. I do not like the feeling of stepping on other people's toes to put my self on a pedestal. And if I did my own share of mishap to anyone, I will be the first to admit my faults. My mind suggests me to fight. Yet, my heart tells me something else. In my heart, I know, I only have two choices: to FORGIVE or NOT to forgive. So I choose to shut my mouth. I choose to drop the angst. I choose to be the water to kill the fire. Revenge is better when you just let it go...ALL OF IT: the anger, the urge to fight back, the desire to create a fire. Revenge is better when you just simply raise the white flag up. They won the fight. I surrender. I can be the devil's advocate. But I don't want to go in hell. I'm not claiming I am super perfect. I am not an angel. In fact, will NEVER be an angel. But I can be a better person than I was yesterday. In my daily life, that is my ultimate goal: to become a BETTER ME. So I will start by saying...I forgive you...ALL OF YOU. And May my God forgive me also. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." Matthew 18:21-22 The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. --Mahatma Gandhi Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:10-12 But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust . Matthew 5:44,45 PRAYER: My Lord, Amidst our darkness, our everyday battles, our desire to anger, stay with us. Keep us calm and collected. Give us the strength to succumb it all and let it all go. I pray that our enemies, the people who hurt us and betrayed us, will find enlightenment and an open heart. In the bible, YOU taught us to love our enemies despite their persecutions towards us, to throw bread at them when they throw rocks at us, to forgive their trespasses, to love them more at these moments. You said it is the only way YOU will also forgive us from our sins. So In Your Name, I am forgiving them. Guide them and help them. May you keep them and bless them. Sorry for our sins. Have mercy on us. We asked you these through God the Father...AMEN. Labels: forgiveness, life, life lessons, spiritual reveries
"HANGGANG"
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
  as some of you may know, for the first time in a lifelong time, i've broadcasted to the world about my relationship with simon. our love is fairly new but i knew simon for a long time. but like normal couples, we have our own shares of ups and downs.
but i think, what draws me to him is his very expressive unconditional love that he never fails to show me... whether it's the very often dimsum mornings that he never fails to bring me or even just caring for me when i am super sick (especially when i had my operations). most of the people who are close to me can attest to that. above all, he loves my family as much as i love them and they loved him back. my mom adores him, i think =).
in our alone moments, simon often asked me how much i love him or how far i would go for my love for him. each and everytime, i just respond with a quiet smile. i show him naman but i'm not as expressive as he is. he is, by far, the best man i have ever met in every sense of the word. you know, the one who reminds me so much of how my dad loved me and took care of me. better yet, he resembles the genuine love of how much my dad loves my mom. as a child, it is what i wished for and now, simon is that person to me.
what simon does not know...is i love him more than he will ever know. no words can ever describe what i feel. no emotions can ever express how much joy he brings to my heart. no actions can give concrete evidence of how much overflowing bliss he adds to my day.
so with all that said, i was listening to this song on my ipod when i was driving stuck in traffic on the freeway on this rainy afternoon in los angeles
though words are really not sufficient, and really, what i truly feel and my heart's ultimate reaction for him is far beyond what i can even fathom or decipher. yet, this song is the closest interpretation there is if can define how much i love him. perhaps, this song can capture it.
this is not just in lieu of valentines day. i think, simon makes each da with him a valentines day. that's what matters most.
what can i say? to tell you the truth, i once prayed for someone like simon to come into my life. to my surprise, i did not know God will give to me at the time i least expected it.
fate? or i'm just super lucky?
maybe not. God knew it all along. =) it has always been in His vision.
HANGGANG
BY Wency Cornejo
Ilang ulit mo nang, itinatanong sakin
kung hanggang saan,
hanggang saan, hanggang kailan,
hanggang kailan mag tatagal,
ang aking pag mamahal,
hanggang may himig pa akong naririnig,
dito sa'ting daigdig
hanggang may musika akong tinataglay,
kita'y iniibig
giliw wag mo sanang isiping
ikaw ay aking lilisanin,
di ko magagawang
lumayo sayong piling
at nais kong malaman mo
kung gaano kita kamahal
hanggang ang diwa ko'y
tanging sayo laan
mamahalin kailanman
hanggang pag ibig ko'y
hanggang walang hanggan
tanging ikaw lamang
hanggang may himig pa akong naririnig
dito sa'ting daigdig
hanggang may musika akong tinataglay
kita'y iniibig
giliw wag mo sanang isiping
ikaw ay aking lilisanin
di ko magagawang
lumayo sayong piling
at nais kong malaman mo
kung gaano kita kamahal
hanggang may puso akong
marunong mag mahal
na ang sinisigaw ay lagi ng ikaw
hanggang saan hanggang kailan
hanggang kailan kitang mahal
hanggang ang buhay ko'y
kunin ng may kapal
giliw wag mo sanang isipin
ikaw ay aking lilisanin
di ko magagawang
lumayo sayong piling
hanggang may pag ibig
laging isisigaw, tanging ikaw
hanggang may pag ibig
laging isisigaw, tanging ikaw
Labels: love, simon
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