Nibelheim Winter

The MerLion Chronicles

2006-11-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

Dearest Bloggie,

I promised to give an account about China and Bangkok, but it just has to wait. Today, we will be embarking on a journey to Singapore. I'm pretty excited because this is the first time that I'll actually have a journal while having the trip. Before, I was either too busy or too depressed to blog my travels. Well lately, there's one reason to be depressed, but i think I'll be over it soon, and this blog may even be therapeutic.

Singapore is an island city-state and the smallest country in South-East Asia. It is located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, south of the Malaysian state of Johor, and north of the Indonesian Riau Islands. It lies just 137 kilometres (85 miles) north of the Equator. <<< Wikipedia

My dad already surfed the net so that we'll already have a plan on where to go when we get there. My friend, Kreisler told me though, that you can go to Malaysia from Singapore by train. I tried to research about it, but the information that I got discouraged me. It said that you have to reserve at least one month for a ticket (bummer). Anyway, I'll be asking Joshua, a friend who lives there and is in the Philippines right now for vacation, about some other way to get there.

We'll be leaving in a few minutes. I'll be keeping you updated!

-Psychi-

To Terrorize or Not to Terrorize? That is the Question

2006-09-25T02:23:00.000-07:00

"I have been trying to be as patient as possible with my students so that I could be a good testimony to them..." -Zoi

"But sometimes, it's just too hard.... Students these days are not as responsible as they were before... If they see an opening, they will devour you..." -Psychi

"That's why i've been wanting to ... Even for one sem... be like the others. Terrorize them so that they know how to BE responsible students" ... -Soma

However, I firmly believed that, no matter how fearsome you may be to them, you won't still get the respect that you want... So i tried to be kind and considerate hoping that it would be more conducive for them to learn... I always hoped and thought that I was right, but there were really moments when I felt that I have chosen the wrong path (in teaching, that is). It didn't stop me from pressing on though.

... However my conviction has been weakened by a recent incident that i wouldn't dare mention...

"Ok lang kung mababa ang sweldo kumpara sa industry... Magagaling naman ang estudyante eh... at marami ka pang matututunan"...

This statement has been true before... I just don't know now... Yeah there are still many students who live up to this statement and in the past years, there were only a few exceptions... However, each year, there's an increasing number of "exceptions" and a decreasing number of the majority entering UP. I have this fear that a time will come when the exceptions become the majority and this university will not be worth it anymore... I truly hope that this won't happen.

I can understand why many of us lose that initial flame that we had when we first stepped into the classroom as teachers. My flame is nearly gone, thanks to "them"... -SOMA

I can't write anymore... I have more pressing issues to face...

Pandoras Box

2006-08-29T03:18:00.000-07:00

There is no denying it. Pandora's box has been opened. I'm just curious who did it. I was sure that things were fine that day... It might have been something i'm not aware of. Something that had escaped my watch. Satyrs are everywhere. I should have known that they existed even in the inner circle. I'm just not sure who they were. I have ideas. But ideas they will remain to be unless I take time to know. On the other hand, i think i'll just have to wait till the ill-wishing stops. Blink out while the cosmos is in chaos and blink back in when it stops. Trust really is so hard to give, even to the seemingly quiet.... I never thought that ... it was actually her. Too bad. I trusted her so much. Concerning the war, I raise the white flag. I don't see any point in continuing to return the cold glances and the unruly stares. It just so happened that my pride has been stired by them. But why should i concede? Was i not fighting for what I believed to be right? The bad side effects outweighed the good. So it's probably a stupid mistake... but why was it amplified to this extent ? That's what i'm about to find out ... [SOMA]

TRUST

2006-07-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

has been a very curious word for me...

Soma: because right now, i don't trust people...
Psychi: Me too...
Zoi: This world won't be in order if trust didn't exist...
Soma: what order?
Psychi: I remember someone telling me that i was optimistic and trusting...
Soma: Which person ?
Psychi: Bia...
Soma: Oh the one who writes so well?
Psychi: Yeah, he told me that he was a cynic...
Soma: Makes me wonder... What does cynicism mean anyway?
Psychi: Um... I don't know too...
Zoi: It is defined as this ...

Cynicism (Greek κυνισμός) was originally the philosophy of a group of ancient Greeks called the Cynics, founded by Antisthenes.

Presently the word generally describes the opinions of individuals who maintain that only self-interest motivates human behavior, and who are disinclined to rely on sincerity, human virtue, or altruism

Zoi: it's from wikipedia by the way...
Psychi: Yeah.. He has a hard time trusting the sincerity of people...
Soma: Hahahah... HE's just the same as us!
Zoi: Only same as you Soma... I know that Bia has also a part of himself that believes in altruism.
Psychi: I don't trust people too..
Soma: You said that already...
Psychi: Oh.. did i?
Zoi: Another person told me that you should not really trust people... Only the Master can be trusted ... It may sound spiritual, but does it really hold ? I can't imagine my sister Athoos or Evimeriagios having those evil intentions...
Psychi: Evimeriagios had already done that before right?
Zoi: But Gios didn't mean it... It wasn't his fault...
Soma: Yes it was... stop being so gullible!
Zoi: So what... everything has been forgiven anyway, and we also made a mistake and caused many damages...
Soma: Only Psychi did... he was too nice and believing... I won't be easily bullied... All of them
should be distrusted.... I'll never trust Gios...
Zoi: It can't be helped... Soma was badly damaged.... But it's not right... it's never right to
not forgive and not trust....
Soma: Timo can be trusted tho...
Psychi: Timo ? are you serious? he has done lots of mischiefs already by giving confidential
information to the wrong people...
Soma: Yeah but he somehow gained my trust... i don't know how...
Zoi: That means you're not a cynic... Soma, Psychi... It's time to forgive and learn how to
trust again.
Psychi: I think you're right... Gios had his bad days too... we weren't there to support him.
Zoi: And what about Athoos? She's the most faithful person I have ever known...
Soma: I agree... She only failed me once...
Zoi: Think about it though... Many times we have failed the master already... Yet He never was bitter... He always forgave us when we asked for forgiveness... He never distrusted us... Isn't it also right that we should forget about the past now?
Psychi: Yeah someone told me that holding on to bitterness is enslaving yourself to the target of your bitterness...
Soma: ReallY?! I don't like to be a slave again!
Zoi: Then forgive and forget... That's the only solution...
Psychi: Ok.. so should I trust people again?
Zoi: That's the only way...
Soma: Hmpppp..... I have no choice... better lose once than to be a slave forever...

***********
Colossians 3:13
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

LATE!!!

2006-06-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

It's a word that I'm starting to hate these days... I've realized that,,,

Soma: "Why are you blogging again?! Isn't it supposed to be my turn now?""
Psychi: "Well... I wanted to to talk about my past trips too... but we agreed that Zoi should dominate us until his fast has ended..."
Soma: "Grrr...."
Zoi: "Can I continue my story?"
Soma: "What story?"
Zoi: "I've realized that I have been very inefficient last semester..."
Soma: "No we weren't! We had a lot of fun! Those Dota matches... oh how i miss them"
Psychi: "Last sem was the worst Soma... You should have remembered the pain we've been through..."
Soma: "Pain? What pain ? I only experienced enjoyment..."
Zoi: "But what dominated back then was discouragement.... Psychi was the one who suffered a lot... And that was because we held our guard down"
Psychi: "Let's forget about it... Can you continue your story..?"
Zoi: "Ok... So I realized that last sem, a lot of my meetings and classes started late..."
Soma: "But that wasn't always because I was late! Come on! My contacts usually came in late during our meetings..."
Zoi: "So why can't we make them come early? Isn't it because you're not sure if you can be consistently early too? So it's our fault..."
Psychi: "Zoi has a point.."
Zoi: "And just now, I was late again in class..."
Soma: "I told you that we could just make up some valid excuse like I had an important meeting or..."
Zoi: "It doesn't work that way... It will just amplify the wrong that we did..."
Psychi: "I don't feel it was wrong... It was an honest mistake anyway.. .Wereally felt that it was 4-7 instead of 10-1"
Zoi: "Thank God for Johanna... If she didn't call me I wouldn't have been able to conduct class this morning... Maybe I should treat her later for lunch or maybe dinner"
Psychi: "I perfectly agree!!!"
Soma: "Grrr.... I hate mushy stuff... Can you just go on with your realization?!"
Zoi: "My mistake there was that I wasn't aware of my schedule..."
Psychi: "yeah... you always depended on me... i think my feelings are very inaccurate..."
Zoi: "What then should I do to always be punctual in meetings?"
Psychi: "Well... I remembered that you were planning to buy a planner..."
Zoi: "I almost forgot!... I can also make use of the calendar program of my phone..."
Soma: "no fun! no fun!.... you're not organized... you won't last a week!"
Psychi: "you're right.... I never was consistent.... this is so depressing....."
Zoi: "But what about the promise of the Master? He has already given us power to conquer these things right? "
Psychi: "I don't care... I just want to cry..."
Soma: "Stop being a crybaby... What promise is that Zoi?"
Zoi: "He had already given us a Spirit of self-discipline... We can conquer this weakness through that... weapon"
Soma: "How do we use it then ?"
Zoi: "I don't know... let's see what He'll teach us this week.. .maybe we can get some good ideas on how to make use of this weapon.."
Soma: "What a cool name! Spirit of self-discipline... maybe i can suggest it as a new character in Dota... hehehe..."
Psychi: "ZzzzZZZzzzz"
Zoi: "Oh... Psychi is asleep now.... Maybe we should too..."
Soma: "Ok..."

******************* 2Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. *************

The Three Selves

2006-06-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

From now on the blogger has decided to write his thoughts in three different perspectives coming from three different personalities that were spawned after 23 years... He has decided to name them as : "Soma", "Psychi", and "Zoi", two of which comes from the subconscious.

Zoi: "I was the first self"
Soma: "I was the second self"
Psychi: "I was the third self"

You might think that I'm crazy, but i'm actually just trying to draw out the thoughts buried in the subconscious. The one writing now is the combination of the three and is constantly trying to find the perfect balance for the glory of His master. :)

Soma: "Wow heavy... nababaliw ka na talaga Bobby..."
Psychi: "Please don't treat yourself harshly... He's just being realistic... A constant battle of wills is not abnormal in the human mind"
Soma: "He's not myself... I'm Soma..."
Zoi: "Soma has always hated Bobby... You must understand"
Soma: "Isn't it crazy to even post such idiotic ideas in a blog to be read by your friends? This is ridiculous"
Zoi: "This is actually the goal of the succeeding blogs... To at least give a glimpse of the battle of wills that happen in the human mind... or at least in this human mind in particular..."
Psychi: "Yes, and we need to keep track of what has been happening to us since we started to exist in his mind... When we feel that..."
Soma: "Feel !!! Feel!!! who needs feelings ? it will just cripple him! ... I mean us... It's the main reason why he's been taken advantage of so many times!! We have to stop him from feeling.."
Zoi: "It may be true that his feelings gave way to many hurts he received and caused... But it's a part of us... Can it really be removed?"
Psychi: "I may not have existed without it..."
Soma: "Then it's better for you not to exist at all... You caused all the trouble..."
Zoi: "Well maybe we just have to surrender it to our Master"
Soma: "Which master?"
Psychi: "Zoi, please remember that Soma has another master... "
Zoi: "Oh.. but I thought he has already surrendered to ours..."
Soma: "I was just joking... yet i must be honest... i'm still very shaky..."
Psychi: "Me too... Only Zoi has been consistent in obeying our Master and resisting the old one... Too bad he's the most seldom to dominate among the three of us... Usually it's either me or you..."
Soma: "Yeah, but it's all good... I'm a little distressed about his classes... They seem to become more boring every semester..."
Psychi: "I can understand his feelings... He has always craved for Java..."
Soma: "He musn't feel, otherwise he'll be more ineffective... By the way, I'm itching to play Dota... Why is he continuing to restrain it? He could have just played and not told his partner about it.."
Psychi: " The covenant was made to the Master and not to his partner alone... He'll have to do it if he doesn't want to be cursed..."
Soma: "What a selfish reason... He just doesn't want to get cursed"
Zoi: "Well, he also wants to please the Master..."
Soma : "He can please the master in other ways.. Come on! I want to play... Wanna use Rhasta and beat those kids..."
Psychi:"Yeah.. and I'm getting more depressed each day.. It seems that insecurities continue to overwhelm me...Dota makes me forget"
Zoi: "He is already secure in Christ... He needs nothing or noone else... Forgetting is never the solution..."
Psychi:"But I feel down... Even if you tell that thing to me a hundred times i'll feel like this..."
Zoi: "You're searching for something that cannot be found... The heart is deceitful among many things... Let's help bobby keep up with his promise... Maybe I should dominate the two of you for now... Can I?"
Psychi: "Well... I need to rest too... I feel too depressed to think about it... but ... um ... well ok..."
Soma: "Grrr... Maybe i'll get those kids next time..."
Zoi: "Ok I'll tell him to keep on meditating on Philippians 4:8"
Soma: "Settled then... grrrr.. I really miss Rhasta..."
PSychi: "ZzzzzZZZzzZZZZZ"

**************************************************************************
Philippians 4:8

Enrolled at last!

2006-06-26T23:22:00.000-07:00

After gruelling days of extremely long lines and thousands of forms [thousands=i'm exaggerating] to be filled up, I finally received two stamped classcards and a piece of paper which most people here call "form 5". I have only two subjects for my study load for this sem since i'll be handling 4 sections of IT 1. CMSC 271 which is about Management Information Systems is handled by our current director, while IT 210, which is about developing web applications is taught by sir Jade.

second-self: "I thought you'll be talking about your past trips?! Why are you blogging about the present?!"...
first-self: "That was you who was blogging back then... It's my turn now so just wait for your turn."
third-self: "hey! what's with you two?"
second-self: "Oh my... How many selves do we have?!!! This is getting freakier by the minute!"
third-self: "Yeah... a number of personas have sprouted from extreme circumstances in this blogger's life"
second-self: "Huh? I don't think so.. Extreme circumstances wouldn't affect me..."
first-self: "He was talking about me.... moron".
third-self: "I don't trust people anymore..."
second-self: "Huh? So what if we don't? Who cares?"
first-self: " I think we should stop this now... You're not supposed to speak up.. Stay in the
subconscious where you belong..."
third-self: "Yes... Let's"
second-self: " I agree... "

**********
Philippians 4:8 ^_^

The Freedom of Angels

2006-06-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

Twenty years have passed...
The large castle that once towered among the trees have finally come into complete ruin...
The rooms have now shattered into piles of rocks and pebbles...
A dry breeze passed and turned into a mighty gale...
The three angels, who once inhabited the castle, struggled against the wind and finally took their flight to the heavens...
Yet the heavens have closed the doors of entry for them...
A voice then instructed them to take the long route back...
The angels are now free...

The Awakening

2006-06-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

After being silent for a long time... I've finally decided to write once again and tell of my experiences during "summer"... A literal "summer" it may be but not yet in these parts... My heart has been so used to this winter that it has already closed its doors to the other seasons. It has learned, through the months, to enjoy every frostbite the bitter snow has brought it. Though it seemed that spring has already dawned upon my life, I still can't be so sure. I will still remain in winter until I think I'm really ready for them.

My blogs will mostly talk about the past, starting from my vacation in China up to the present. This will be the outline containing my future posts... :

* Guang Zhou
* Hongkong
* PRE-LDI
* LDI
* Restoration
* Davao

See you then... :)

Praise the Lord ... Winter's getting a bit colder

2006-04-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord for His grace... The winter's bites cannot prevail against His love and comfort...

It is well...

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

The Unwritten Past 1: Anniversary

2006-03-20T22:30:00.000-08:00

We celebrated our (mom and dad)'s anniversary last february. It was simple but i know that all of us had a great time. It had been a while since my family and I had a night-out because of my busy schedule in LB and because of my sister's tiring schedule in Diliman.

My mom, Rachel, and I arrived first at Gerry's Grill @ Bluewave, Marikina that night. We didn't wait for dad to arrive because we were already starving. We, instead ordered right away and went shopping while waiting for the food to be served. We gave our mom a bag and our dad a foot massager for a gift. We enjoyed a lot talking about anything under the sun/or roof hehehe, but what really made our night satisfying were the food and I think they deserve ample space in this blog entry so here I go:
Sizzling Sisig:
This is one of Gerry's Specialties and Best-sellers. It's probably because of its crispy texture and a mild-salty taste. This, by the way, was the last fork full (hahaha).

Baked Scallops:

I always enjoyed ordering Baked Tahong @ isabelle's grill and loved buttered scallops @ Dampa, so when I read "Baked Scallops" in the Menu, I ordered it immediately. Fortunately, I was satisfied with its taste. The saltiness of cheese complemented the mild sweetness brought about by butter and the unique flavor of scallops. This, by the way, was the last piece.

Grilled Skwib:
as my father fondly calls it, was my favorite among everything we ordered. It was marinated in a sweet mixture of vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce (i'm just guessing now). Well what's important is that it tasted good hahahah. And... Yes... It's also the last slice.

We also had soup, green mango salad and some coolers, but they were insignificant compared to these three. To those who are reading this blog, i encourage you to try them out and tell me what you think :)
Anyway, my story ends with my dad arriving with a half-full stomach (he already had dinner during his meeting) but still enjoyed eating what remained on the table hahahaha.

The Journey Home

2006-03-17T01:21:00.000-08:00

After a tiresome deliberation, I finally convinced myself to go home (to Rizal). It was motivated by my long conversation with King Edmund during our journey to Archenland. He told me that I might regret not spending time with my family when they're not around anymore. So after my B.S. with Bagilu and Trufflehunter, I fixed my contribution to Shasta's portfolio, submitted my pictures to the office, and had a nice chat about life with a friend before finally going home.

However, inside the bus, a strange man sat beside me and offered me a drink. He looked like he didn't sleep for 2 days, and he's really nervous. I declined nicely not only because I wasn't thirsty but also because I felt an eerie air around him. I immediately texted Trufflehunter and Rilian to pray for me, but they didn't reply (mabe they're out of load), so I settled myself "comfortably" in my seat and relied on the Lord to protect me. I noticed that he was so uneasy during the trip. He would always look at the backseats, then look at the person at the right, then look at me.

My fear was confirmed when we were near the last stop. Most of the people in the bus have left already. The backseats and the seats on the right were already vacated. He told me that he wanted to put a knife on my neck (in his terms, it's "le-egin") and get my things from me forcefully, but when he saw my face after i turned down the drink, his heart was crushed (in his terms - "nabasag ang puso ko"), because he felt a feeling of kindness toward me (i almost laughed because I thought that he was bluffing--- I would believe him if he told me that I looked like a goon and he became afraid of me)... But then, I realized that the Lord has protected me so many times before since I was a child, and now, He has once again shown His mercy upon me by blinding this man's eyes and turning my unpleasant face into something that seems "kind" to him-- I remember how Max Lucado compared us to the moon reflecting the sun's light, that when we receive grace and love from our God, we reflect His glory.

I immediately thanked the Lord, because I knew that it was his working. The man told me about his past, and about what he's currently going through. I immediately felt a surge of pity... I wanted to share the gospel to him, but I only said "I will pray for you..." such a cowardly act after discerning God's will... God already gave me a chance to share to a person who's suffering, but i hesitated because of fear. He then told me that he wanted my cellphone, but he won't get it because he's feeling weird. Then he asked me if i could help him. So I told him i can pray for him, but he wanted something more "tangible" --- this is definitely hold-up in a very polite fashion hahahah... So i offered him 100 pesos, he told me that he'd appreciate it if i give him more, so i gave him 500, which fortunately was a bit abundant in my wallet (i just got my weekly salary ... so no big deal).. And i thought that I would be promoting God to this man when i show him kindness despite of what he wanted to do to me, and already did to me... I also thought that he might just be bluffing, and he might be really harmless and was just trying his luck... But i thought that if I would struggle and try to fight him, what would he think of the God I told him about? Hence, my decision.

He thanked me (he looked like he was very hungry with is eyes fixed on the nearest food station...) and unboarded the bus... It was my then my turn to unboard the bus when we reached Kamias. I walked with my hands shaking with fear, awe, and excitement ---- fear because he told me that we will meet again and i don't know what evil plot he has in mind... Awe because of the protection I received from the Lord... and Excitement because when we meet again (if that will ever happen) I don't know how God will use it for me to finally do what I was appointed to do in the first place -to introduce this man to Christ...

The Grace of God is surely immense....
All glory to His name!

My Sister's Speech Plan

2006-03-17T01:12:00.000-08:00

My sister was just hailed as "speaker of the day" in her Speech-Com class just a while ago and I can't be more proud of her. But what really pierced my heart was the topic of her speech --- her big big brother... Here's her outline in draft(i'll edit it later when i have more time):

Rachel Grace B. Figueroa

Communication III

SPEECH PLAN

(speech to entertain)

Title: My Big, Big Brother

Specific Speech Purpose: To entertain my Comm III audience with my personal thoughts toward my very own big brother.

Statement: There are 3 points which help explain my brother's role as a “big brother.”

INTRODUCTION

Attention Step: I'm sure that everyone in this room has already heard of Pinoy Big Brother. We can't deny the fact that every night, there are people who get excited about what's going to happen, who's going to be evicted, who's going to perform the worst for the next challenge, or especially now- find out how their favorite celebrities act behind scripts. And, whether we admit it or not, sometimes, we also get curious what's inside “Bahay ni Kuya.” I used to be one of those people who got interested with the said show. Nothing interests me more than to find out who's the person voicing “Kuya” in Pinoy Big Brother. I remember, after Nene was declared winner, i was waiting for a special edition that would feature the person who voices over Kuya. I even planned to make him the topic for my speech. I thought it would be interesting to know and tell about what he really looks like and all about him, being big brother in Pinoy big brother and an ordinary person. I've got everything planned when I realized there's not much to care about knowing him, because even if I get this person revealed, it wouldn't create any difference. Partly knowing him won't get me anything and anywhere. So I decided to shift to another topic. This morning, i want to talk about someone i know. Let me introduce you to a person whom i know by heart- my very own big brother.

Clarification Step: Today, i have 3 points to tell and these points would explain my brother's role as a “big brother”, whether inside or outside the house.

BODY

My big brother is PHISICALLY BIG.

A. He's tall, having a height of 5' 7''.

B. His weight is 200 pounds. He used to weigh 220.

C. His body is so wide that he can have me walk upon its back for a good massage.

D. He has big and mighty-meaty arms and hands.

My mom wouldn't let me sleep beside him because once she did, my brother unconsciously had wrapped his “big and mighty-meaty” arms around me, and i couldn't breathe.
His big hands would always give him an advantage to win when we play.

My big brother has brought BIG HONOR to our family.

A. He graduated with flying colors.

B. People would testify of my big brother's BIG HEART.

He has the heart for God's mission. He loves sharing God's word and love to people around him.
He offers his talents to God and use it in God's ministry.

C. People admire his BIG EARS in music.

1. He plays the piano and guitar.

2. He's a good singer.

a. He recognizes when someone or the music itself is out of tune.

b. He can sing duet or in group in second voice. He learned to do second voice by

himself when he's in third grade.

Personally knowing my big brother creates a BIG IMPACT in my life.

A. I know my big brother as a BIG MAN who's a child in many, many ways. He effortlessly

connects the gap that supposed to exist since he's is 4 years older than me.

B. I consider him as a BIG FAN of mine.

He'll be there with me to celebrate my victorious moments and he has a unique way of cheering me up when I'm down.
He would always laugh at my corniest jokes.

C. I know him as someone who doesn't hesitate to make BIG SACRIFICES just for me.

1. Whenever I'm sad, he would come and visit me, even if he's busy.

2. When I need to go out and he's home with us, he would volunteer to drive for me.

CONCLUSION

Summary Step: My big brother is someone whom I will always look up to not just because of his bigger stature, but because of his big heart and the good example that he has established. Knowing him as a playmate, a friend and a fan gives me inspiration and creates big difference in my life. And perhaps after this, I would consider him as my favorite big brother. After all, I couldn't have a choice, because he's the only one I have.

Visual Aid: pictures of my big brother

Time: 6-7 minutes

worst case: 10 minutes

Praise the Lord for my Incompetency!

2006-03-14T20:15:00.000-08:00

I just read another article from intouch.org about 2 Corinthians 3:1-6... I was so blessed by it :Click the link to view the article...

I know that the passage is for me because last night, I was having a dilemma on how to solve our apartment's problems. I was just appointed (informally) as the leader of the guys' room, but i feel very inadequate and incompetent to lead them. Not only am I the most undisciplined, I'm also not very authoritative (except with my contacts). Together with Drinian, who was in the past called shadowdude, I prayed and asked for wisdom from God. I know God gave me peace because I was able to sleep. The morning I woke up, I immediately thought of nice ideas for the apartment, and I know that they were not mine for my selfish flesh would not be inclined to conceive such ideas. I woke Corin and Mr. Beaver up and asked them if we can all have our qt at the same time (6AM during that time). Praise God because they were favorable in their response. After the qt, i told them about my plans for our room and I thank God because they were very supportive. I immediately had a bubbly kind of joy, an immense kind of love for the two, and a feeling as soft as heather. I shared my plans with Drinian and he was also excited about it. The only people whom I haven't talked to about it are Trumpkin and the Tisroc. I'm having problems relating with the Tisroc. I don't know how to talk to him about the room's issues because I feel that he doesn't want to talk to us openly. He usually keeps his comments to himself for a while and opens them to other people, which i think is not very healthy... I'm fearful that it might lead to chaos and hatred... I pray that the Lord will make a way for us to connect with Him. I'm really troubled about it... and oh.. I released forgiveness to someone today... God help me.

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2 Corinthians 3

1Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

4Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Winter is getting even more perfect!

2006-03-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

After Prayers, Lie Cold

Arise my body, my small body, we have striven
Enough, and He is merciful; we are forgiven.
Arise small body, puppet-like and pale, and go,
White as the bed-clothes into bed, and cold as snow,
Undress with small, cold fingers and put out the light,
And be alone, hush'd mortal, in the sacred night,
-A meadow whipt flat with the rain, a cup
Emptied and clean, a garment washed and folded up,
Faded in colour, thinned almost to raggedness
By dirt and by the washing of that dirtiness.
Be not too quickly warm again. Lie cold; consent
To weariness' and pardon's watery element.
Drink up the bitter water, breathe the chilly death;
Soon enough comes the riot of our blood and breath.

C S Lewis

Things Learned

2006-03-13T16:17:00.000-08:00

I have learned a lot of things last week especially during our journey to Archenland. King Edmund was used by God to teach me about many things in life. I have learned a lot from his testimony and from the testimony of the people in that land. I'm just so blessed that I want to share it in my blog.

I have learned that:

1. Having lost the fire and passion for God makes all efforts worthless and fruitless. It can be compared to ironing your clothes without heat. Whatever effort you put into ironing, you won't get the outcome that you so desired for your clothes. It's the same thing with our ministry. We can put all effort in following-up our contacts and even meet more than twice a week, but the outcome that we long for their growth, won't be achieved because we ourselves do not have the fire that comes from God. "Fire" gets things moving...

2. Fire and Passion comes only from the throne of God. We cannot generate it by ourselves. It is only because of God's grace that we are able to be on fire. This will never be possible if God is not our first love. The fire gradually dies without fuel, and the fuel of spiritual fire is LOVE. If we have lost the fire, maybe we can ask ourselves who our first love is...

3. During our times of burning for the Lord we do things solely for Him, and He blesses these things so that they bear good fruit. God also blesses us with things or people because He is well pleased with us. Unfortunately, later on, we become so indulged with the things that we do, or the rewards that He gave us, that little by little our eyes move and look away from our Saviour and Lord. We become numb from His love and we try to get contentment from those activites or those rewards, may they be things or people. Unknowingly and slowly, they become our idols.

4. God will do His best to get our attention back to Him. Usually, He starts with a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit, but when those idols become too valuable for us, we often disregard that nudge. Little by little, our loving Lord increases the intensity of that nudge (even to the extent of being painful) until we find out that we have indeed left Him as our first love.

5. Upon realizing that, we become guilty and we realize our frailty. But God so loves us and His grace is more than enough to restore us. He will keep on reminding us that His grace is sufficient for us and that His power is made perfect in our weakness. And upon that realization, we can remember the times when we were really on fire for the Lord. We can repent from our unfaithfulness, and restore the things that we used to do for Him.

6. However, things won't be easy. Our unfaithfulness may have been too long that the ill-effects of it have already taken place and it will be difficult to restore things back to where they were. But again I say this : God's grace is sufficient. His power is made perfect in our weakness.

7. It was during times that we were weak and hopeless, that the power of God was revealed to us and had conquered our enemies and fears.

8. It's very difficult to surrender our greatest idol in life. But the longer we delay ourselves in surrendering it, the harder it gets... And when God can already see that it's impossible for us to do it ourselves, He helps us but taking it away from us [most of the time, painfully].

9. It's always a better choice to surrender. God blesses us with joy and the contentment that only comes from Him afterwards.

10. But during the process of restoring the fire and during the times that we think we are already stable, Satan will again try to offer us things that may seem nice at first but will later take our eyes off our God. Let us FIX our eyes on Jesus.

11. Like a guy deeply in love with a girl, let us think of things that we can sacrifice each day to prove that we love the Lord more than anything else.

12. Take each day as an opportunity to decide for the Lord.

13. There will be times (many times) that we will long to gain our idols back because of the memories we had with them, but let us not let those thoughts linger for they might cause us to lose our focus once again.

14. We will feel weak often because of the absence of things that we have given up, but the Lord will give us strength.

15. With man, surrendering some idols may seem impossible, but with God, all things are possible!
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Magician's Nephew and Last Battle

2006-03-08T22:46:00.000-08:00

I can't believe i was able to devour 2 books in a day. After I finished reading the magician's nephew, I didn't take time to rest and started reading the last battle immediately, which from my sources was the most action-packed book among the 7 chronicles of narnia.

The Magician's Nephew was better than what I expected. It addressed to my thirst for music. It was "THE" most musical chronicle, i think. I can't explain it much... You guys have to read it to see errr hear it for yourself... It's about the creation of Narnia and how evil (the White Witch) was able to take its place. It taught me about the power of "choice" and how, even a simple one can affect a whole "world".

Unfortunately, the Las Battle fell short of my expectations in terms of the "glorious battles" that my sources promised [ref: Sherwin, Johanna, and Rilian] .... I was expecting something more like eagles and phoenixes rising in the air and bombarding the evil Calormenes with large rocks and fireballs, Centaurs eliminating Calormene flanks with their shiny swords, Dwarves piercing Calormene helmets and breast plates with arrows sharper than the sharpest metal on earth, etc... But What I "saw" was something different. Though it didn't show any flashiness in the battles, it satisfied my heart and spirit. It was more like what to expect during the end of our times. It strengthened my hope for the future. It gave me another glimpse of heaven... of the new earth to come... and of my Saviour and King....

10 stars for the Chronicles of Narnia...

I also discovered that the full name of C.S. Lewis is Clive Staples Lewis

It's weird, I never liked a song for so long as "Homesick"...

The Beauty of Winter

2006-03-07T20:53:00.000-08:00

I was afraid of winter
.. of snow to fall
.. of hopes to crumble
.. and of joy to subside

I was afraid of winter
.. of the bitterness of cold
.. of the pain of frost bites
...and of the indifference of the air

I was afraid of winter
... of clouds covering the sun
... of frozen streams caging the fish-folk
... of winds stripping the trees of their leaves

But that was before...

Winter caused the death of many...
But allowed the birth of more...

Winter indeed quieted the merry...
But it also gave peace to the soul...

Winter has covered the orange and red...
But with the glistening white of the snow....

Winter took away most of Nature's beauty...
But it flourished with it's own beauty... the beauty of a tranquil soul...

Bagilu

2006-03-07T02:15:00.000-08:00

I'm glad at what's happening to Bagilu... He has been growing really fast...
Faster than what I estimated...

I hope I can keep up with his growth...
But i need to be patient. God allowed winter to come into my life for a reason...
And I think I'm now ready to face winter with a smile...

Thanks for all the encouragements, people of Narnia...

The Horse and His Boy

2006-03-07T02:01:00.000-08:00

... Just finished another Chronicle of Narnia

... Had fun reading it especially now that I can read the books through my cell phone (which means that I don't have to wait for my class to end to read the books. I just have to sit at one side of the room and read it in my cellphone as if i'm reading a text message.

... I also found out that it's not that battery draining... Excellent for black outs! :P

... Just downloaded another txt e-book of the Chronicles of Narnia: The last battle... Rilian had been teasing me about it.... I just hate spoilers...

....It's Shasta's birthday today... I'm glad I named him Shasta. His character fits the Shasta in the book that i just finished. :)
....I'll have a new nick for Xuxu ---> it's Corin (Shasta's twin in the book).

... I'm now finishing the Magician's Nephew.

... I had a walk with Jill last night. I never thought that I would be able to open up to another girl apart from my sister... Well she's more like my sister too, i guess. That's why it felt very comfortable sharing personal things with her... Besides, I think she's one of the people that would really understand me. To Jill : thanks.

... We had another mushy Icebreaker in our G12 last night. Good thing I was able to keep my emotions in check... I hate being emotional.

... I checked the Lady in the Green Kirtle's blog and read the post about her leader's letter to her. I think i'm experiencing the same situation. I guess God put me in the wilderness for a reason...

... Looks like winter's getting more and more comfortable for me... Cheers...

Interesting Picture

2006-03-07T00:11:00.000-08:00

Just got this from e-mail. Ticklish for those who can understand it. :D
The Teacher asked the student to write
"I Will Not Throw Paper Airplanes in the Class"
500 times.

THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME

2006-03-05T22:39:00.000-08:00

This World is not My Home
A CHRISTIAN HYMN


This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through;
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.


Chorus:

Oh, Lord you know I have no friend like You,
If heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.


They're all expecting me, and that’s one thing I know.
My Saviour’s pardoned me, and now I onward go.
I know He’ll take me through, thought I am weak and poor,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.


Just up in glory land we’ll live eternally;
The saints on every hand are shouting victory.
Their songs of sweetest praise drift back from heaven’s shore,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Hiatus

2006-03-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

I'll be hibernating for a while... Cheers...

Splendid Saturday

2006-02-25T07:20:00.000-08:00

7 AM... "Trufflehunter must be grumbling already"... I'm late!
I woke Shasta up and asked him if he could walk me home coz i'm a bit afraid of the unfamiliar dogs in their street [COWARD!]. Shasta, being the nice bloke that he is, agreed...
715AM... "Sorry I'm late"... "You promised to meet me at 6 :( ..." "I'm really sorry I overslept... What's with the time anyway?"... "Glenstorm and I have an important date at 730AM..." "I see.. Ok, maybe we can post-pone our BS for now..." "No, Let's do it now..." "ok... Where?" "You decide" "Ok come on..".... Trufflehunter and I finally decided to conduct our BS at Chowking where I , the "promise-breaker", treated him for breakfast. We had a bit of a talk since I'm still a bit problematic... I dunno If I was of any encouragement to him... I just know that i'm slowly becoming ineffective...
830AM... I went to Trufflehunter's abode to get the TableTennis Rackets... The TableTennisTable has already been repaired [I'm already itching to play!]... too bad the rackets were broken... :(
9AM ... I invited Rilian to come along with me and my family to manila ... He agreed...
10AM... My parents arrived... Yippeee (a free ride home!)
12 AM... We rode home with Rilian... I'm so excited to go home... It's our alumni homecoming today you know...
1230AM... My sister txtd : the Alumni Homecoming is postponed because of the present condition of our country (Oh well...)

What a Splendid Saturday! NOT!

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Hot Bibimbap

2006-02-25T06:41:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I ate a bowl full of bibimbap... Rilian's still trying to empty his bowl with extra effort... My sister's lying in bed tired of eating...

Bibimbap is a very popular dish in Korea that's mainly composed of mixed veggies, beef and Gochujang-a reddish paste used also for kimchi.

My mom first had a taste of this dish at the Shopping Center in UP Diliman and she loved it.
She also let us taste it during the sem break and my sister and I also loved it...

My mom usually tries to immitate the scrumptious dishes that we eat whenever we go out, and good old Bibimbap didn't escape her grasp. There were a few differences however. Those from the restaurant used Korean Rice which undoubtedly is scarce in the Philippines. That's why she used Thai Rice instead. She bought kimchi, which also had Gochujang and a variety of veggies. Aside from beef however, she also included Crab strips (fake ones actually). She put pickled papaya and green mango strips to amplify the sour taste.

How was it? It was definitely good! However it was so heavy that we barely managed to empty our bowls (Who ever said we had to empty our bowls?!...)... **Guhhh-Burppp**...Excuse me...

If you're interested in trying to cook the dish yourself, here's a nice recipe i got from
http://www.koreaneats.com/bibimbap.htm

Bibimbap (Mixed vegetables and meat over rice with hot sauce)

Ingredients

Spinach, Mushrooms, Bean Sprouts, Cucumber, Zucchini, Lettuce, Carrot, Ground Beef, Egg, Black Pepper, Salt, Sesame Oil, Gochujang *

*Gochujang is a hot paste made of soy. It is used in many Korean dishes and can be
purchased in any Korean market.

Method

1. Chop the cucumber into thin slices and soak them in salt water for 30 min. Completely
drain the water.

2. Boil spinach and bean sprouts seperately for 10 minutes. Completely drain the water
from them and season with salt.

3. Cut mushrooms and zucchini into thin slices and pan fry them in oil.

4. Pan fry the ground beef in oil with salt and black pepper to flavor.

5. Chop the lettuce into thin slices (similar to how they would be chopped for cole slaw).

6. Fry the egg, over easy.

7. Place all ingredients over a bowl of rice and serve

8. Just before eating, add a drop of sesame oil and a spoon of gochujang. Mix and enjoy!

Hint: Start out by adding just a little bit of Gochujang and add more to fit taste.

Welcome

2006-02-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

...to my Winter