1 A.D.

Hallelujah!

It is going to be exactly a year and one day in a couple of hours since my first entry for this blog. Honestly, I did not expect this online journal to last a year - but I sure hoped hard it would. Now that Adsum Domine has crossed the one year mark, I am all smiles and my heart is on cloud nine.

I have started and [eventually] ended several blogs in the past seven years for many reasons like lack of time, not so user-friendly hosting sites, difficult internet access and so on. In spite of the many challenges that the online world poses, I have convinced myself to look at them as little distractions to the real opportunities instead: opportunities to spread the Word, to touch lives, and to open new horizons.

2009 was an uphill climb but it was worth the struggle if only to see what's waiting at the top... and it was definitely a breathtaking view I'll never forget.

This year, it's time to take chances and defy gravity.

Help Haiti: Act now!

As unending talk about the Maguindanao massacre in the Philippines has slowly quieted down, I would like to join the rest of the world in praying for and providing for the people of Port-au-Prince, Haiti who were extremely devastated by the strongest earthquake the country has had in more than a couple of hundred years.

The death toll continues to rise and it is believed that casualties may even reach about 200,000 or more. The numbers are staggering and disturbing but we shouldn't be content with knowing mere facts and feeling overwhelming emotions. People in Haiti are dying. We must be moved to ACT now.

I do not have firsthand experience of the the tragedy that befell Haiti. I cannot even begin to describe even the littlest glimpse of what it feels like to be in the shoes of the people in Haiti now as they fight their way to live - to survive - amidst all the rubble and despair. I was not there when it happened. I'm not there right now.

But being far away or not having enough money are not excuses for just standing to watch, listen, and wait. We can all do something - big or small, it doesn't matter. Each one of us has something to offer:

• Donate to World Vision or Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) and many other organizations that mobilize relief operations and rescue missions to Haiti.
• Volunteer to physically help and assist in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
• Raise money for the benefit of the victims of the earthquake.
• Make your community aware of the Haiti crisis happening right this very moment.
• Pray for lives to be saved and pray for those who are offering help to never falter in giving help to those who need it.

And the list goes on. We can all contribute and make a difference.

A few months back as the year 2009 was coming to a close, I have experienced first hand the wrath and aftermath of three successive typhoons namely Ondoy [Ketsana], Pepeng [Parma], and Quedan [Melor] that swept my country. It broke my heart and hurt my soul to see the people who were suffering tremendously from the calamities. Nevertheless, that did not leave me and many others helpless and hopeless. In fact, we were more fueled to deny ourselves and take up not only our crosses but our brothers' and sisters' crosses as well. Who else do we have but God and each other?

The world is getting smaller.

We are considered a global village.

What happens to one affects every one.

What will you do?

Travelogue

There's nothing like a long journey home to let my mind get lost in its own sea of thoughts.

While the things I think about seem to be permanently stuck at a certain point, the actual feeling of being in motion eases the furious battle in my head and assures me of a promise of moving on.

"If I could make these moments endless
If I could stop the winds of change
If we just keep our eyes wide open
Then everything would stay the same..."

The way is barred by many obstacles but I know that beyond all the red lights, the intersections, the toll plazas, and the heavy traffic - lies the goal, the destination, that makes the journey worthwhile.

"And I know that only time will tell me how
We'll carry on without each other..."

Twenty Ten

As one of my favorite songs, In Good Time by Jessica Sheely (Wedding Planner OST), goes: "Smile for the picture man, dear. It's another day, another dream, another new year."

Welcome to the year 2010!

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

- Philippians 1:19-21 (NIV)

I pray that the new year will be an opportunity to know God, love God and serve God in a deeper way possible. I have set new goals for my self this year but I know that 'as man proposes, God disposes,' so may the Lord set the path and make the way clear for me beginning today.

For those who have new things to learn and old things to unlearn, for those who have habits to start and habits to break, for those who have ideas to keep and ideas to throw away, for those who have battles to win and battles to lose, and for those who have plans to starts and plans to end...

May the year two thousand and ten be kinder to us all. Namaste.

'Tis the season

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday.

Once the first day of December hits the calendars, an unexplainable sense of euphoria and greatness seems to envelope everything. The mere idea of wrapped presents, Christmas stockings, rich chocolates, blinking lights, holiday decorations and work breaks (formerly school breaks) is enough to send me flying to the moon. Moreover, Christmas songs fill homes and streets with the much needed atmosphere of love and good tidings.

This year, however, I welcomed Christmas quite differently. A good kind of different.

Since April 2009, God - the awesome provider - has blessed me with work that has consistently been an opportunity for me to grow in all aspects of my life, especially in financial matters. So for the first time in twenty two years, I was able to buy gifts this Christmas for people I care for using money I earned. I am also very glad that I am continuously able to support my sponsored child since I started working this year (despite the aftermath of calamities and shadows of recession). What a blessing it is to be a blessing to others in this regard!

I may not have a huge bulging sack of presents being pulled by flying reindeer or a factory of toys run by elves over at the North Pole but I believe there's a little bit of Santa in each of us. Even though I've outgrown Santa Claus per se, I'm still a big fan of the big, jolly guy in red. For me, he is more real as Saint Nicholas: a man with an extraordinarily generous heart who lived centuries ago whose story has been an inspiration for both young and old until now. His charitable act is not tough to follow; we all have something to share: time, talent, or treasure. Most importantly, we have the love of Jesus Christ to give to everybody...

Christmas will always be my favorite holiday.

I realize I am no longer a little girl at 22 years old but I am eternally thankful in the truth that I will always be a child of God.

As the holiday season reaches its highlight, I am filled with joy in embracing more closely the belief that 'it is in giving that we receive' (mentioned by St. Francis of Assisi in his prayer). Truly, 'tis the season to be bathed in gratitude for the birth of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. On Christmas day, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us - to envelope us in the eternal love of God.

In giving our lives to God, we receive God Himself into our new lives. God be with us.

12 B.C.

It 's that time of the year again!

DECEMBER - the month that brings life into a good kind of busy state and a good kind of crazy state.

What do you think prevented me from blogging in a while?

Obviously, the Christmas bug has bitten me very, very hard.

P.S. It's only 12 days Before Christmas!

Find Me

Today closes a full circle of a year that has passed since I came back from a half a year stay with my relatives in the United States. What a year it has been.

Before I left the country in June 2008, I told myself and certain close friends that the trip is going to be the opportunity for 'soul searching' I've always wanted to have. Since the path after college overwhelmingly branched out to so many different directions, I promised myself that I'd take a back road for a while and figure out where I'm headed for in life. I suddenly realized a few days post-graduation that twenty long years didn't seem that long after all. In fact, it passed by a little too quickly than I thought it would.

Six months in a looking glass away from home also flew by much like a breeze passing through a field. I knew I came back the same person but with broader perspectives, stronger convictions, better values, and deeper faith in God. However, the questions I have when I left still remained unanswered even after arriving back in the Philippines. My period of 'soul searching' was finished but I still haven't found what I've been looking for. At the time, I possibly felt more at a loss than ever.

As I began to re-adjust to life at home, I slowly found my place under the sun without being aware of it. It was like being given a second chance in life - a clean slate to start all over again. Now I've come to understand that 'soul searching' doesn't mean you have to isolate yourself to a far away place in order to have an epiphany. It means looking within... for wherever you go, there YOU are. You are the one thing you cannot escape from.

I have come to the conclusion that, indeed, "Home is where the heart is".

I couldn't be more thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to rediscover who I am and who I can be. Life is truly about the journey - going through every experience we face each day with much gusto. The destination is a bonus, an affirmation of what it took the sojourner to get there.

For almost eight months now, I am blessed every single day to be working with kids with special needs at a therapy center in the metropolis [after a whirlwind of serious decision-making]. I am wonderfully blessed to be living my dream of being a catalyst for good change and a positive influence in society. Moreover, I couldn't have asked for a more supportive family and circle of friends.

I am eternally thankful because when God found me, He not only helped me find Him - He also helped me find me.