Stop worrying, instead count your blessings

I have been observing every person that I encountered everyday and what I always noticed about them is that many of them are whining. Complaining about everything. Well, I understand that life is really hard these days- what with the world-wide recession, the stressful traffic, unemployment, H1N1, high prices of commodity goods and so forth. But whining will not help us. Let us stop to think awhile. Perhaps we need to change our ways, let us become more appreciative despite of life difficulties. This is the prevailing theme of one of the short note that I post Yes life is hard, but then come to think of it- there is more to life than worrying. Worrying would not help us face the challenge of our times. But looking at things differently will do. There are still many things in this life to be thankful for- - that we are still alive and can still worry; the dead could not- that we still have air to breath no matter how stale - the dead could - that we can still eat- there are others who could no longer taste food- that we can still walk in our worn out shoes, there are people who have no feet at all- we can still hear the baby's cry, even the howling of dogs, the irritating noise of screeching wheels-still for those who could not-these could be music. There are many things to be thankful than being sorry. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by our problems, yet we have a God that is bigger than our problems. Let us count our blessings and we will see that we have a hundredfold of them that our difficulties. I believe that looking at our difficulties in a bigger frame of mind will embolden us, give us the confidence to take the challenges of life. This morning I realize that worrying will get me nowhere. But a change of attitude will...

She says

I think I could say without fear of contradiction that Filipino women have come a long way. I come across a blog that caters to women, although I'm not sure if it is exclusively for women and I feel so happy with the way they handle issues. Although I observed that it is purely women talk on lighter issues- I know soon I would be privy to more serious exchange of ideas. The topics like " does size matter" no longer make the women blushed. I read about some of the posted comments and I smiled. Frankly, I have never think much about it. By the way, does size really matter? But I have to comment on that later.

I had written about the new law on women- The Magna Carta on Women. I said it could be an emancipation of Filipino women- In my opinion, the emancipation of women is more than gender equality it is more on women empowerment. It is the right of women to speak their minds, to do what they want and not be dictated upon by false sense of morality. Our society has adjusted to the women liberation where women could do as they want. However, modern Filipina are more discerning individuals- and are more assertive of their rights. They know what they want, and they certainly have a way to getting what they want. I could cite so many women who are modern icons and the list would be so long. How I admire their articulateness, and the things that they accomplished- While there are still who raised their eyebrows on single mothers; mistresses, lesbians- there are getting fewer. I see many women in compromised situations who rise above their mistakes and emerged not only strongers but winners. The double standard of morality is not as intense as thirty years ago. But I don't imply that modern women have no sense of morality- they have but they a discerning kind of morality. Before I forget - does size really matters ? Of course not, what matters is your man and how he put his whole consciousness-body and soul to put you both in blissful union.

Care about rainbows? Have you ever wonder about the meaning of rainbows in our life as Christians? Have you ever wonder why there is a rainbow? Yes, perhaps scientifically-but have you wonder about it’s significance in our lives.
Just recently I wrote an article in other blog site (http://www.christianblog.com). It is about the rainbow connection in our Christian life.
A rainbow is beautiful, being transient and aesthetically pleasing as aptly described in a line from a song “…the colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky…” But rainbow is more than this… it is also very meaningful and very significant to us as Christians.
Sir Isaac Newton, explained how a ray of light is diffracted into the colors through a glass prism that led to our understanding of light. But do we care enough to know its origin and not miss its meaning? I do, so I made an effort to study and write this humble article about rainbows. Although I must admit this article is partly inspired by the blog I read recently- Covenant of Salt –Part I and II. Upon reading the article, the Covenant of Rainbow comes to mind.
My fascination with rainbows started in early childhood. Every time, a rainbow appeared , I am overwhelmed . I always feel happy and lighthearted when I looked at the rainbow. My mother could not tear me away from the window. I would stay there long after the rainbow is gone. As a kid, I learned about the origin of the rainbow based on the story of Noah’s ark. But as gain maturity in my spiritual belief, I begin to attached greater significance to rainbows. Rainbows never cease to fascinate me, but this time there is a renewed feeling of comfort and assurance, that God is up there and is watching us.
Contrary from what I gathered from one of my sources, I found out that the rainbow appears thrice in the bible: in the first book of Genesis (Genesis 9:13-14), ; then in the book of Ezekiel (1:27-28) and on the last book (Revelation 4:3; 10:1). The term rainbow or bow appeared three times in the book of Genesis; once in Ezekiel; and twice in Revelation in two separate chapters. On the Genesis account, the rainbow came in the wake of the cataclysmic deluge the earth and men were subjected to. The rainbow symbolized the covenant God made with man not to destroy the world in such a way again (A.Boreano). In this covenant God establishes the principles for all government: (1) Sanctity of all human life established. Man responsible to protect life, even to capital punishment. (2) A Promise that another universal flood will not occur and the ground will not be cursed further. (3) Man's relationship to the animals and to nature is confirmed (Gen. 8:22, 9:2). (4) Man, presumably a vegetarian before the flood, is now allowed to eat meat (Lambert Dolphin)). And the covenant of Rainbow was made when the Lord pleased with Noah’s sacrifice promised to himself: 'I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.' And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; of every beast I will require it and of man; of every man's brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image. And you, be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly on the earth and multiply in it.'
"Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 'Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.' And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.' God said to Noah, 'This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." (Gen. 8:21-9:17). This is the origin of the rainbow.
In other reference to the rainbow in the bible, it portrayed the radiance presence of God and his might in Ezekiel : “ The figure seemed to be shining like bronze in the middle of a fire. It shone all over with a bright light that had in it all the colors of the rainbow. This was the dazzling light which shows the presence of the Lord” (Eze.1:27-28); and at the climatic time of Christ's return, the cloud pictured by the great upheaval in the heaven and earth will be followed by the new covenant that the rainbow in the book of Revelation pictures him, with “ his face gleamed like such precious stones as jasper and carnelian, and all around the throne there was a rainbow the color of an emerald ( Rev. 4:3)."
"Then I saw another mighty angel coming down out of heaven. He was wrapped in a cloud and had a rainbow around his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like columns of fire” (Rev.10:1).

Biblical Significance of the Rainbow
Rainbow is a symbol of God’s covenant, love, glory and mercy. I am surprised that there is not enough literature relating to the biblical significance of rainbow. The rainbow is more than a phenomenon at the time of Noah – it is a symbol of God’s covenant. In the seven colors of the rainbow, beginning with red and ending with purple, God was displaying a natural miracle that demonstrated the complete redemption and salvation of man. In Ezekiel, the rainbow manifests as I mentioned earlier, the radiance presence of God:” It shone all over with a bright light that had in it all the colors of the rainbow. This was the dazzling light which shows the presence of the Lord” (Eze.1:27-28); and in Revelation, symbolizes the glory, majesty and honor of Jesus Christ : “ his face gleamed like such precious stones as jasper and carnelian, and all around the throne there was a rainbow the color of an emerald ( Rev. 4:3)."
The rainbow most significantly demonstrates most gloriously the grace of God. The pure white light from the unapproachable holiness of His throne (1 Tim 6:16) is refracted, as it were, through the glory clouds surrounding His presence (1 Kings 8:10-11), breaking into all the glorious colors of God's creation. In wrath, he remembers mercy. the glory follows the sufferings; and where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (H. Morris)".
How many times do we look at the beautiful rainbow and thank God for keeping his promise. How many times do we look at the beautiful rainbow and remember our responsibility and part in the covenant. Have we upheld the sanctity of life? Have we been good stewards of what God has given us to rule and govern?
When we look on a rainbow. God looks with us, as he promised to remember his covenant. When we, as individuals, look at a rainbow and we remember also this same covenant there is a meeting of minds.
The rainbow should remind us of Noah an obedient man who made a voluntary sacrifice in which God was well pleased. This resulted in a pledge to preserve the earth. This is the gospel. The gospel has two parts, the salvation as a result of an obedient man and the promise of the kingdom on an earth where there is no more curse (Isaiah 51:3, Rev22:3).
Rainbow is a symbol of the process of salvation. We see God is the light (I John 1:5). We see humans 'drawn out' (or separated) from the 'sea' of nations (Acts 15:14) to form 'clouds' and God's glory shines as spiritual enlightenment through them, as the rain from the cloud comes down on the earth in 'showers' of blessing (Psalm 72:6, Rev.5:9-10). When we see this, then we see the meaning of the rainbow, the immense beauty of the promise of the first covenant

If you care enough-spread happiness

From twitter, I read about a quote shared by literaryquote that says, " Remember that happiness is as contagious as gloom. It should be the first duty of those who are happy to let others know of their gladness". This is the essence of caring and living life. Let us spread joy, instead of woe. Let us make a difference in the life of others by caring enough to share the happiness that we have. There is no sense living if live the way we please uncaring and unmindful of others. Perhaps this is the problem why real peace eluded this earth. All we care about is ourselves. The wasteful lifestyle and the destructive way we live easily endangered the lives of everyone on this planet. But still we do not bother. What this world needs is caring people. People who care enough to share happiness. There is so much that we can do to spread joy and happiness to our fellowmen, as there is so much that we can do to bring grief and loneliness to them. God has created us with a gift of free will, we have a choice whether we spread happiness or spread loneliness. If we spread goodwill, the return would be tenfold of bliss, but if we choose to bring pain and grief to others, the return would be tenfold woes. Let us be bothered and start caring. Spread happiness and be ten times happier.

Live life or survive life

How are we existing? Do we live or do we merely survive? How's life, we may be asked: our common response is : "oh fine". But is it so? Let us reflect upon ourselves how we deal with our lives. First do we find joy in living? Do we appreciate what life has to offer? Do we crave for more of life? Do we want to live life to the fullest? If so, do we appreciate waking up every morning- seeing the rising sun in summer, or seeing the fine drops of snow during winter. Do we appreciate the gentle rustling of the wind on our face?Do we feel awe at God's creation - no matter how small and insignificant though they seemed to be? If we answer affirmatively, then we enjoy life. We are living because we never fail to notice everything that we encounter everyday. But if we do not appreciate and notice these things, then we are not living, our existence is merely surviving. We are too busy with coping, with trying to find fulfillment in life, finding satisfaction and happiness to what the world has to offer instead of what life has to offer. As a result, we lead a stressful life and a never ending quest for happiness and contentment. Most of us live in despair- and angry with the world. Many social problems including family disintegration and disharmony in society are the results of merely surviving instead of living. Let us learn to live again. Let us live again and see how we can transform our life. A change of attitude towards life is an important step in renewing our commitment to life and living.

Enjoying more free time for yourself

How many times do we complain about not having enough time for ourselves? It is a problem common to all busy people. As a result we suffer from exhaustion and stress even burnt out. And being stressed is not good to our health. Henrik Edberg posted an article that could perhaps help all workholics out there. Actually, it is his tips for enjoying free time for summer. But I believe these steps could be applied all year round and like to share these tips for those who want to enjoy more time for themselves. Please read on the following article from Henrik Edberg:
Here are three simple tips that have enabled me to find more time for myself to do so. And since I have a lot to do this summer I will apply them even more diligently than usual. I hope you will find these three tips helpful too to get more time out in the sun, to work on your book or blog, to play some Frisbee or just relax and take it easy.
1. Find out where your time is really going.
This is like when you are trying to lose fat. It’s very easy to fool yourself and think you are doing “pretty good” when you in actually are not doing really that good. Thinking that you are doing “pretty good” won’t get you’re the results you want though. Actually doing what is needed gives you the results you want.
An easy way to stop fooling yourself in both cases is to use a log. If you are trying to lose fat, use Fitday.com to keep and eye on how much you are really eating.
If you want to find out where your time in a normal day or week are going create a simple time log in a Word-document or something similar and simply type down notes about everything you are doing.
I have for example found that I have spent too much time on social networks like Facebook over the last few months. I will cut that stuff down to a minimum to be able to have more time to relax and rejuvenate. And to keep up with the writing on this blog and other important stuff.
2. Realise that you don’t have to do everything you do.
And that the sky might not fall if you do/don’t do something. One thing that’s stopping people from improving themselves or just finding time for themselves is all the things they ”have” to do. You don’t really have to do anything.
Try to look at it as you choosing what to do instead.
Of course, if you choose to do or not to do something there will be consequences. Sometimes big, sometimes small. Sometimes bad, sometimes good. Sometimes one thing disguised as the opposite.
But the point is to take control of your life and feel like you choose. Instead of having your world choosing and controlling your life. This makes it easier to find out what isn’t really that important and eliminate or reduce to free up time for more interesting things.
3. Show up and just do it.
When you have found out what you are actually doing with your time and let go of some of the things you “had to do” then show up and just do the rest.
Instead of procrastinating, instead of thinking, instead of hoping someone else will do it or take an initiative, instead of rationalizing and inventing excuses for not doing something establish the habit of just doing it.
Most of the time you need to do it anyway sometime in the future and until you are more or less forced you’ll just waste a lot of time procrastinating and thinking – and feeling bad - about having to do whatever you need to do. And if you wait for someone else to do something about it can take a lot of time before someone does so. Establishing this habit can be a bit difficult if you are used to thinking - or over thinking - a lot.
One useful way that I’ve found to develop this habit is simply to not identify so much with my thoughts and emotions and realize that I can control them instead of the other way around. I still think you should think a bit. But after that it’s most often just better to go and do whatever you want to do.

H1N1 - the Philippines' Case

Unfortunately the Philippines is no longer H1N1 free country. As a I write this blog the inflicted Filipinos are more than 400 and still counting. Everyday our Department of Health Secretary appears on television announcing new cases of H1N1 in the country. Since this appearance seemed to be going regularly- I began to dread his appearance on television. What is being done to prevent the continues and unabated spread of the this virus?. I'm inclined to think that the government has not done enough to prevent the spread. The Philippines' situation is alarming- at the rate the virus is spreading compromises the health of the Filipinos making everyone almost vulnerable. I believe that a more proactive response from the government is in order. However, we need to be just as proactive ourselves. Sanitation is very important. Let us all be responsible people, making sure that we help in abating the spread of the virus by taking all healthy precautions. Equip our body with the essential vitamins to increase its resistance capability against this virus and all disease-causing organisms. Cover our mouths when sneezing and coughing. Avoid congested and humid places. There are so many things that we can do. It will not be so difficult for us if we have made it habit and lifestyle-clean-living.