traditions

so i just finished studying my lesson for this coming Sunday. it's entitled "A Heritage of Righteous Traditions" yes, that's right! its all about traditions. family traditions to be exact.

what are the things you enjoyed repeatedly as young children in your family? was it an outing? birthdays and holidays? cards read aloud? etc. whatever it is that you do w/ your family treasure it. because when you grow up you'll look back to those days and smile and you would want your own children to have such experiences as well while growing up..

personally me and my family love to go on joyrides and outings.. :)aww.. i miss those times.. everyone in my family is apart right now. and im probably leaving soon. all i have are memories.

another tradition that we have is that we give people gifts during Christmas season. :)either a basket of fruits, a bag full of goodies, pitchers, chopping boards, used clothing, etc. its nice because we get to do that as a family. complete :) but now rarely do we have time to spend a day or two w/ each other. :(

anyway, back to the topic. i'd like you to think of your family traditions and continue doing it. :) think of ways you can improve it.

now that our family traditions are sort of put on hold as of the moment i thought of starting my own tradition. a personal tradition. something that will influence my future family.

the first idea that came to my mind was to read the "blue book" in my book shelf. its been there for quite some time. and dust are starting to pile up. several times have i tried finishing it but whenever im halfway through it ill lose interest. i don't know why that happens.

a friend of mine once said that i should not trifle w/ it because it'll fortify me against the cunning hands of evil. well i think its about time that i put that gift (the book is a gift) to good use. i should start reading it again. and hopefully finish it.

so wish me luck w/ my endless attempts to finish that book cover to cover.. *fingers crossed* ^_^ have a good day everyone!!!

STOP

so im kinda over my ex bf now.. BUT the people who usually doesn't care about my love life are all talking about him! everybody's reminding me about him. like everywhere i go they're all asking me about him. what is up with everyone?? why the sudden talk of my past??

i hate this! i hate them! when i still wanted him sooo soo much they were like "there are gazillion other guys who would die to have you as their gf. so chill girlfriend." and now they're all eager to hear what i have to say.. uggghh!! i hate you for not being such a good support system when i needed you the most..

now you all wanted him back?? too late.. coz now im done w/ all my drama. those are the kind of lines i want to hear from you back then.. i know it won't cure the pain i was feeling but im sure it will somehow give me some relief.. tsktsk..

so just stop.. please..

the ex-gf who loved him honestly is now gone...

an email from kuya..

I am ecstatic to know that your mom is doing well. And that your family is having success! You are now all professionals! The Lord has bestowed you such blessings with a purpose. Which purpose is to help Him build His kingdom on earth. May you use it for your advantage and in serving the Lord. I am happy that you have a patriarchal blessing now. It is a sure blessing for you as long as you continue to do the will of the Lord.
May you continue to honor your father and mother that your days may be long. Be humble at all times and aim for exaltation. Anything less is not enough.
My next motivating challenge to you is to better prepare yourself to be temple worthy and be wise in choosing an eternal partner. May you find a worthy priesthood holder that will guide you and will be with you for better or for worse. Remember, it is the greatest decision that you will ever make in your life. Ask God for guidance and confirmation.
You are a good daughter of God and i am proud to have helped you in some ways. I hope that you will remember my counsels and some good examples even if you will be away. You may forget me but please never ever forget the Lord and the principles needed for you to be exalted.
I have great hopes that you will choose what is right. And i have faith that you will pass the test of life and endure to the end.

Hope to see you soon. But if it won't happen, i expect you to be there in the Celestial World and celebrate vigorously there!

May God bless you always and may you find great favor always in the eyes of the Lord. In Jesus Name. AMen..


Keep me posted with spiritual and uplifting things....

eternal brother,
E.Belarmino

yes kuya.. ^_^ i will try to remember your words and live up to your expectations..

Beautiful to Him

by Rachel Thibodeau


So much noise, so much peace destroyed,

I can hardly hear the voice, leading me through the void,

So much noise.

The world’s little lies,

Destruction in disguise, opportunities to compromise,

To make me beautiful in their eyes,

But I’m not gonna buy the world’s little lies.

Because I define myself and find my beauty in the light He gives.

I’m refined by His divine intentions every day I live.

It doesn’t matter what the world believes,

Or what they say that beauty means,

It comes from within,

I want to be beautiful to Him.

He’s given me His trust, so I’ll be strong enough,

To run from a dangerous touch, I don’t need that kind of love,

I don’t need that crutch, He’s given me his trust.

I define myself and find my beauty in the light He gives.

I’m refined by His divine intentions every day I live.

It doesn’t matter what the world believes,

Or what they say that beauty means,

It comes from within,

I want to be beautiful to Him.

I know how to shine, my life’s not really mine.

It’s not about a worldly climb, it’s all about His design.

So in His eyes, I want to shine.

Because I define myself and find my beauty in the light He gives.

I’m refined by His divine intentions every day I live.

It doesn’t matter what the world believes,

Or what they say that beauty means,

It comes from within,

I want to be beautiful to Him.

I want to live to have His peace,

And feel the holiness He seeks.

It comes from within.

I want to be beautiful… to Him.


this is an everyday thought of a woman... this song is very nice and it answered a question i had for so long...

baon / "bawn"

me and my relatives had a little get-together today in memory of my grandmother's death anniversary.. i think its been 24years already.. so everyone was here at home for luncheon.. lots of FOOD.. we were all in baboy mode kanina.. hehe.. ;)

around 4:30pm we went to the cemetery and visited our loved ones "puntod" i forgot the english term.. hehe.. on the way there my aunts bought some candles. i told them "lolo doesn't like candles to be placed in his 'puntod.' he told me that when we were still visiting my grandma. when he was still alive... :( but they didn't listen.. i hope my grandpa would understand.. i was his favorite grandchild.. idk why but i like it.. :) he doesn't get tired telling me that im his favorite.. we did a lot of things together..

1. he taught me mahjong and how to play cards.. esp. solitaire.. ;) but i never really learned the ropes of mahjong up until now.. hehe
2. when i first visited the temple in manila i was with him.. just the two of us.. and he told me that a few nights before that he dreamed of my grandma.. he said grandma is calling him already
3. we fell on a window together while he was attempting to scare me that he's going to drop me.. and yes we did fell..together.. hahahah.. that was a funny ouchy moment..
4.we traveled to cebu just the two of us and we bought a television.. ;) he lost his wallet while we were on the bus.. hehe..
5. he's always buying me icecream for no reason.. he thinks that children loves icecream so i think that's why he's always giving me icecream.. ^_^
6. back in the day during sundays we'll just walk from the meetinghouse down to their home to have lunch.. and everytime we walk he'd always carry me at the back of his neck.. i really love that! i don't have to walk bcoz he's carrying me already..
7. he was my first dance. ;) he'd place my feet on top of his so that he won't step onto my clumsy little feet
8. whenever i'd visit them i always sleep next to him and he'd cover me tightly with blanket. i always woke up early because he'd wake up early and listen to the radio for news..

this wasn't really the reason why i blogged today.. but it just came out of my crazy mind.. my apologies.. ;)

so we visited my grandparents at the cemetery.. a kid, wearing a red jersey shirt; blue shorts; red slippers; and a gibo wristband around his ankle, asked my aunt if we'd like him to clean my grandparents' "puntod" and so he did.. he helped us sweep the ground and burned the dry leaves.. got rid of the stones and the broken bottles around the area.. and my aunt gave him a 50peso bill.. and he was so happy about it.. my aunt told him right after he got the money that he should not use it in vain.. either he could give it to his mom to buy rice or keep it for future use and not just use it on senseless stuff.. and the kid replied right away "dili oi! ako ning bawn!" after he said that a feeling within me was awakened.. i can feel that it wasn't just me.. everybody felt it too! we all felt respect to that little child. it was nothing but a simple phrase and yet i was in awe while pondering on his words..

that lil child was working hard so that he would have 'baon' for school.. at such a young age he already learned something so useful in this earthly life.. something which most of us (even adults) takes for granted or maybe even not learned at all up until now.. he learned about responsibility and work.. the ones reading this probably haven't tried working for his/her own 'baon.' i for one is guilty of that.. when i was a kid i could not remember that i worked for my baon.. me and my sisters are so dependent of my mom.. i am so lucky and grateful that my mother and father were able to provide for my needs.. and yet i was envious of that lil child who already understood that (at such a young age) he needs to work in order for him to get something..

this is just a passing event so i want to record it here so that i won't forget about the lesson i learned today.. the lesson i learned from an impoverished lil kid who wore a gibo wristband and used it as an anklet.. hehe.. i know that im such a forgetful person so better put it into writing asap.. :) put it into typing i mean.. hehe.. this is just a short version of the story but im too tired today.. i was w/ my makulit pinsans and nephews all day long.. pizza all you can and powercards with them was fun fun fun!!! :)

note: this is not the 7y.o. kid i was telling you about..

BTW: im not crazy.. im just a lil unwell.. i know right now you can't tell.. but stay a while and maybe then you'll see.. a different side of me..

twitter-less update

i haven't tweeted for about a week now. idk what happened. i just don't feel like it..
anyway, here's the update.. uhhh.. wait.. i have to get my planner.. i forgot what i did.. hehe.. memory gap on-going.. :)

friday: YW mutual.. we started working on the task bishop assigned to us.. we have to make a map with the different missions in the philippines and place the pictures of the ormoc 2nd ward RMs. i wanted the philippine map to be printed on tarpaulin so that it'll look clean but the 1st councilor wanted it to be colorful and that every mission should be color coded.. i can't do it. im not good at editing.. since i can't persuade her to just use one color on the map i just have to adjust.. i don't want any arguments.. so i think we'll have to wait for the missionaries to give us a copy of the different missions of the philippines with the color coded stuff.. and then we'll just look for an artist who would draw the map..

after the YW mutual the choir had a run through of the hymns we'll be singing the following 2 days..

saturday: stake conference day1. went to church at 1pm for the leadership training with elder gaviola of the seventy. it was nice. learned a couple of new things bout leadership.. then afterwards i attended the saturday evening session.. elder gaviola loved the choir! :)

sunday: stake conference day2. e. gaviola made a special session for the youth and SAs who haven't gone out on a mission. i still have a question in my head whether i should go on a mission or not.. then the normal conference followed.. my sister said we sang beautifully.. hehe.. yey!!! :) i missed a few notes but just a FEW.. hehe.. still a yey for me.. ^_^ in the afternoon we had another choir practice for the chapel dedication on july14. by 10pm we left for cebu.. received a wedding invitation.. too late! i was already bound for cebu when i got kuya roy's txt msg.. aarrgghh!! i didn't bring any formal dress or something..

monday: missed a dinner date with the SAs at Sabin Hotel. it was Bro. Malit's treat.. he's loaded.. hehe.. i accompanied my mother to PSH for her 2D Echo and her appointment with Dra. Villegas at CDUH. GOOD NEWS!!! she's not going through IV chemotherapy.. just oral.. :) she cried because of happiness.. i cried a bit too.. i was relieved.. and then i said a short prayer of gratitude.. ^_^ now, she doesn't have to worry about going bald and having mouth sores and having to feel sick all the time.. IV chemotherapy has really bad side effects.. oral is milder.. ;) my prayers were answered..
we watched eclipse.. ^_^ finally! hehe.. i want to have my own edward cullen (human version) hahaha.. this is impossible.. i know.. hehe.. it doesn't hurt to dream.. :) and then we decided to fill our empty stomachs and celebrate my mom's good prognosis.. we chose casa verde for their baby back ribs but the line was long.. bummer! so we ended up having japanese food at red kimono.. sushi!!! ^_^

tuesday: went to sm to look for my wedding gift to kuya roy and ate chelo.. i decided not to attend their wedding this coming thursday july8.. i really want to attend but i have a lot of responsibilities back home.. haaayy.. too bad.. anyway, so i went out looking for a wedding gift.. it was fun! I LOVE TO GIVE GIFTS.. hehe.. i had a hard time deciding on what to give them.. too many gift ideas.. hehe.. i ended up giving them my own version of candlelight dinner set.. :) i hope they'll love it..
went to the institute to deliver my gift. the place didn't change a bit.. the only thing that changed is the design on the bulletin board and the STUDENTS. i recognized just 2 or 3 students.. hehe.. i got a chance to talk with bishop roy, and then pres perez, and the bride and groom and daniel.. i miss bishop roy and pres perez.. :| i was glad i get to talk to them when i visited.. its been more than a year since i last went there.. i was asked to become part of the CPIR faculty.. i felt honored but i feel inadequate.. im still not confident bout my teaching skills.. being w/ the YW helped a lot but i still have a lot to learn.. ;)
i accompanied chelo to their caterer Ma. Lina at labangon.. wedding is not cheap! i was glad i came along.. i learned a lot about weddings and all that.. the preparation, the budgeting, the guest list, down to the minutest details.. hehe.. it was fun..

FYI: i might be working in cebu soon!!! fingers crossed!! ^__^

BTW: give up on trying.. tonight i wanna cry.. heavily broken.. nothing left to say..