tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18632281288185000702024-02-19T09:45:19.168+08:00Just ThinkingThe intersection of faith, thought and everyday life.KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-74363598208229318972017-09-24T05:11:00.001+08:002017-09-24T05:24:47.562+08:00The Running<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's Spring. Atleast in my part of the globe. Outside was a beautiful vast green landscape. The flowering trees are becoming alive with colors. Everywhere I look there is life. Birds on the ground and up the trees singing their song or maybe talking to each other. Who knows?<br />
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I was randomly taking pictures and suddenly a bird was running on the ground and I asked myself, why was she running? There's no one chasing her. Nobody to make her afraid. I was too far to make her afraid. I can see at a distance a better view of all things in her surroundings and found nothing to make her run.<br />
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Many times we're on the run. We have a goal and we run into it. The boss has given you a deadline and you need to do it in a hurry or else it would cost you your job or your reputation at work will be at stake. Many times our minds are running continouosly with the cares of everyday life- personal, work related, family related, relationship related, and many other things that each of us already knows.. Never ending struggles of the mind wearies the body. And we asks ourselves, When will The Running end?</div>
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Suddenly the bird stops running and turn around to me as I was approaching to where she was. To my amazement she was not afraid but was hopping little by little to my direction. </div>
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She seems happy. No sign of weariness in her. Could it be that she is running joyfully all those times? And not running because of fear? Could it be that she believes it is indeed Spring?<br />
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Why not choose to believe more instead of feeding the imagination with fear? Why not choose to run light?</div>
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A trustworthy word needs to be heard and it is for those whose hearts feels the grip of fear and for those who are tired of running...it is for me...it is for you...</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial"; font-size: 18.85px;">“Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”</span></div>
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" You will run and not grow weary"</div>
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...because you have come to believe Spring has Come and The Running becomes easy and the burden becomes light.</div>
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KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-42215606008353336912017-09-20T15:11:00.000+08:002017-09-20T15:30:24.540+08:00Fly High With the Wind<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Have you ever imagine yourself flying in an open sky, like a bird, feeling the cold wind as it touches your arms, your neck, your face. Soaring high and low thru the hills and green valleys. Flying over the forest and trees. Feeling elated and enjoying the moment alone with yourself and with the Spirit who gives life to all living creatures. Oh how blessed are those who give time to imagine those things for they have been given a gift where their spirit can be free. A moment of freedom from all the worries of this life. Oh how I wish everyone could make time to use this gift.</div>
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Jesus said: Do not worry. Only believe. </div>
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And friends, belief has in it self the organ of imagination. For all the good things that has been invented by men has come first into their imagination. And when like minded people come together - this is really powerful. Anything is possible. </div>
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Why not rest for a little while? And use the gift. And Fly...</div>
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KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-52039366023175289502017-07-10T15:39:00.000+08:002017-07-10T15:39:10.590+08:00Feel the Wonder of the Moment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hi guys, it's been a long time since I updated this blog. Anyway, I just have this time right now and I just want to say- it's time to chill out and relax. Worry less and feel the wonder of the moment.<br />
Give it to yourself.<br />
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Well, I remember so many times in the past that I just went out to be alone just to quiet the mind. Others call it relaxing the inner self. I go walking, yup! just walking anywhere quiet. In the fields, at the beach but not to places with too many people around.<br />
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I go outside to places where I feel I'm free. Free to feel the air and everything around me. Just like when we're just little children. We go outside thrilled by the raindrops. Thrilled by the waves.<br />
I do it often. It helps me feel that I'm human. Haha!<br />
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When I begin to feel the wonder, I think it's safe to say that there's such a thing as "feeling happy inside" when you go alone to be quiet outside.<br />
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That's it for now guys. I'm going to do some new stuff in this blog. Just follow my post and comment if you want. 😊</div>
KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-52146697339595346682012-03-22T02:14:00.000+08:002012-03-22T06:12:39.769+08:00Sailing towards Aslan's Country<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><i>"While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan's country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise and </i></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>Peepiceek </i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><i>will be head of the talking mice in Narnia." </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">(VDT, Ch. 14)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">A laser -like focus and courage and hope will never let anybody down but almost all things begin with belief or faith and then the seed of faith gives us the power to imagine wonderful things. Dreaming, imagining, are words full of tremendous energy. Some people uses this gift to get for themselves luxuries in this life. That is good. Others uses this to create wealth to help others - this is what The Great Carpenter from Nazareth wants us to do. I also see others using this gift of imagination to achieve great things for the sole purpose of giving glory to the Unseen One who sees everything.
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Repicheep begin with a belief in all that is good and noble, a belief in Aslan and in the reality of Aslan's country. That kind of belief gives him hope and hope has its own force that when stirred gives him courage to go on and strive and persevere. " And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan's country....I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise..." Oh what a valiant character! No turning back for this valiant mouse!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I remember the Sunday School song " I have decided to Follow Jesus" the lyrics goes like this:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I have decided to follow Jesus...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Though none go with me still I will follow...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">No turning back...no turning back.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">It all starts with the belief in all that is good and the consummation of all that is good is God. And the tremendous energy that comes from the One who is Good gives us courage to do things...courage to admit how tough and sad life can sometimes be...courage to look for the good when the world seems so dark...courage to change...courage to innovate....courage to do things that we have never done before until the intended purpose was achieved. And if our strength fails us and we have not reached the mark nevertheless we will not turn back. No we will not.We will raise the flag of victory for we know that we have not persevered in vain. We know Him- the One who calls us from the beginning. We know that He is True and Just and Good.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">There were three young Hebrew men whose names were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. A time came when the king decided to make a huge image of gold 90 feet high and he announced that everyone in his kingdom should bow on this image the moment they hear the sound of music. If anyone was found not bowing to the statue will be thrown in to a huge burning furnace.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Then the most awaited celebration started and the music was heard and everyone except Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not bow to the statue. Somebody told the king that these three young men didn't obey the kings orders. The king was so enraged and asked them:</span></span><br />
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<i>"Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you will not bow down and worship the image of gold that I have made? Just in case there was a mistake I will give you another chance. When the music plays again you will be ready and bow down to the image, and if you don't this time you will be thrown into a fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to save you?" </i><br />
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<i>Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego looked at each other and replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we did not make a mistake nor will we apologize for not bowing down. If we are thrown into the furnace<span style="font-size: large;">,</span><b><span style="font-size: large;"> the God </span>we worship will save us, and he will rescue us.</b> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>But even if he does not,</b></span> <b>we want you to know, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.</b>"</i> (Book of Daniel Chapter 3 - The Bible)<br />
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When you read the whole chapter then you'll know that they were thrown in to the fiery furnace but God intervened. God Himself walked with them in the fiery furnace and the three men just walked out of the fire not a single hair was burned.<br />
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In The Chronicles of Narnia "The Silver Chair" the Green witch says to the Narnian: <span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">“Put away these childish tricks.</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I have work for you in the real world. There is no Narnia, no overworld, no sky, no sun, no Aslan.”</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The Marshwiggle remarkably responds by affirming: “I ‘m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it.</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can, even if there isn’t any Narnia.”</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Reepicheep, the three young Hebrew men and the Marshwiggle gives us a glimpse on how to believe and have a laser-like faith, how to live and persevere and they give us some principles as well on how to sale towards Aslan's country. Believing, dreaming, sailing on calm waters and stormy seas, in the light of day and in the darkest night, it doesn't really matter -knowing that He who controls the waves and the storms is sailing with us. We know that the One who walks in the midst of fire will never leave us. We know these things because He is True to His words. He is Just and He is Good.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Happy Sailing! :)</span><br />
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</div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-79924908268942552502011-09-13T21:13:00.001+08:002011-09-13T23:14:35.512+08:00Miss Universe 2011 and The Stand for Principles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSs03wE-Rg8HeY91pPaeG9KFynjjwpOHy8-UHPsj6y6gj0a9IHZGat5TcdTMKUP9L39f45PFmb-KEF-_iZNQSMHJpfyF-JqIYNBWsmaOx1j__klE_56vVkMS3oGfrhLePKjDdL5gwInI/s1600/shamcey+supsup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSs03wE-Rg8HeY91pPaeG9KFynjjwpOHy8-UHPsj6y6gj0a9IHZGat5TcdTMKUP9L39f45PFmb-KEF-_iZNQSMHJpfyF-JqIYNBWsmaOx1j__klE_56vVkMS3oGfrhLePKjDdL5gwInI/s320/shamcey+supsup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4vodpevAGXHyEehiwJyRqnFS1N09yiHnFvfPn0ZZwbov8FptqRcjzQdz2T9L-7wkmf-NXTmdcE67nHlUSBhckHDzdk5E8ABHL2r6nu10LXHq8Dd10V_XBBbOqq9p8EcLeb4mTj421Vpg/s1600/missphilippines.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4vodpevAGXHyEehiwJyRqnFS1N09yiHnFvfPn0ZZwbov8FptqRcjzQdz2T9L-7wkmf-NXTmdcE67nHlUSBhckHDzdk5E8ABHL2r6nu10LXHq8Dd10V_XBBbOqq9p8EcLeb4mTj421Vpg/s1600/missphilippines.png" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><em>” If I had to change my religious beliefs, I will not marry the person that I love. Because the first person that I love is GOD who created me. And I have my faith and my principles. And these what makes me who I am. And if that person loves me, he should love my God too, Thank you.</em>”- Miss Universe 2011- 3rd runner up- Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"></span></div><div style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em;">"I have a reservation with the result.If the only basis is the Q & A portion, after having been trimmed down to 5, Miss Philippines deserve to win. What made her different from the rest is that she had no seconds to re-think of her answer as she had no interpreter to break the ice.The rest had their interpreters and having breaks on seconds to think about their answers. Hands down, Miss Philippines answered straight to the point."-Oprah Winfrey on NBC News</div><div style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em;"><br />
</div><div style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Oprah has a point but I think what made her outstandingly different from the rest is that thru her answer she reflected the true meaning of what beauty really is and what a true Filipina is made of and what a woman should be...it resides in the realm of character and principles...not in physical appearance alone but in the beauty and strength of spirit.</div></div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-13805625143963358772011-08-15T17:30:00.002+08:002011-08-16T00:02:28.756+08:00Summer Wind<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer</td></tr>
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<br />
Feel the heat</div><div style="text-align: center;">I really can't escape it..</div><div style="text-align: center;">Heart pumping. It's overwhelming.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Maybe it's the summer wind.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Body shaking, flesh trembling.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Angry?</div><div style="text-align: center;">Thoughts overflowing. It won't stop.</div><div style="text-align: center;">It's hot. Maybe it's just the summer wind.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I spoke and it hurts the more</div><div style="text-align: center;">pricking my soul.</div><div style="text-align: center;">A different fire within and without<br />
Could it be the summer wind?<br />
<br />
I'll wait till it's over<br />
I'll look at the sky hoping<br />
A new season isn't that far away<br />
It'll be over Oh wind of summer.<br />
<br />
</div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-13043496011225788572011-08-08T14:19:00.003+08:002017-07-30T20:13:59.841+08:00Shades of Blue<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
The air was cold</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Windows open, gush of wind flowing.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The sun was setting and dark clouds populate the sky.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Worried. Will it end?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
On the bed, body rested.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Where will my mind wander and find what it seek?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Will dreaming help to give peace?</div>
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Mind running, body gasping.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Can't sleep.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Voices everywhere. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Everybody is working, panting.</div>
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Wherever I look, in their eyes where shades of blue.</div>
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KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-73373236622335076962011-07-01T16:55:00.004+08:002011-07-01T17:16:08.573+08:00The Gift of Reason<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">"We have a right to believe whatever we want, but not everything we believe is right."<br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">"What I believe in my heart must make sense in my mind." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">— <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3577.Ravi_Zacharias" style="color: #666600; text-decoration: none;">Ravi Zacharias</a></span><br />
<br />
The first part talks about the freedom to believe and also it indirectly speaks about the freedom to disbelieve. The good thing about this is that we are giving everyone the freedom to choose thereby freeing their mind to study and think about certain issues and not merely believing something out of tradition.<br />
<br />
Well, tradition is good if it is founded on truth. And tradition should only be accepted after a careful consideration of its history and foundation. Blind acceptance of anything is not a good way to come up to the truth but truth will lead to freedom.<br />
<br />
Hear what Dr. Jose Rizal, the National hero of the Philippines said to the women of Malolos, Bulacan during the Spanish Colonial era:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Filipino woman no longer bows her head and bends her knees; her hope in the future is revived; gone is the mother who helps to keep her daughter in the dark, who educates her in self-contempt and moral annihilation. It is no longer the highest wisdom to bow the head to every unjust order, the highest goodness to smile at an insult, to seek solace in humble tear. You have found out that God’s command is different from that of the priest, that piety does not consist in prolonged kneeling, long prayers, large rosaries, soiled scapulars, but in good conduct, clean conscience and right thinking. You have discovered that it is not goodness to be too obedient to every desire and request of those who pose as little gods, but to obey what is reasonable and just, because blind obedience is the origin of crooked orders and in this case both parties sin. The head of the priest cannot say that he alone will be responsible for the wrong order because God gave each one his own mind and his own conscience so that he can distinguish between right and wrong. All are born without chains, free and no one can subject the will and spirit of another. Why would you submit to another your noble and free thought? It is cowardice and an error to believe that blind obedience is piety and arrogance to think and reflect. Ignorance is ignorance and not goodness and honor. God, fountain of wisdom, does not expect man, created in his image, to allow himself to be fooled and blinded. The gift of reason with which we are endowed must be brightened and utilized. An example is the father who gave each of his son a lamp to light his way in the darkness. Let them intensify its flame, take care of it, not extinguish it to depend on the light of others, but to help one another, seek each other’s counsel in the search of the way. He is exceedingly stupid and he can be blamed if he stumbles in following somebody else’s light, and the father could say to him: “What for did I give you a lamp of your own?” But one who stumbles by following his own light cannot be greatly blamed because perhaps his light is dim or else the road is very bad.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Well, I could not say more. That's Dr. Jose P. Rizal. A doctor of medicine. A poet, novelist, essayist, correspondent A Filipino polymath. A polyglot who is proficient in twenty two languages. And a logical thinker. What he said about logic and reason is a universal truth.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Listen to this historical record from the lips of a man who influences the whole world with his teachings: </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Pharisees and some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. They saw that some of his disciples were unclean because they ate without washing their hands..</span><br />
<br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples follow the traditions taught by our ancestors? They are unclean because they don’t wash their hands before they eat!”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Jesus told them, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites in Scripture:</span></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> ‘These people honor me with their lips,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> but their hearts are far from me.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> <b> </b>Their worship of me is pointless,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> because their teachings are rules made by humans.’</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">“You abandon the commandments of God to follow human traditions...Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God’s word. And you do many other things like that.” (Matt. 7: 1-13)</span></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-37948210264580101432011-06-18T14:19:00.002+08:002011-06-26T23:53:22.972+08:00Philosophy behind Aslan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" dir="rtl" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://moodyfiction.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ff_IgyW8H-NDS_lG-MwjnTN5afupKMSEok1BAHFRnuQLJgScVe0gOPcsuMXHK5KNTcFTkyND8VreLyaYjIT-CWq_h4GxnsTCyNe8Q4rMomiqp_f7Rp8KcAYOsOVwc-uSMsZv32h4BO8/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I like C.S. Lewis a lot. When I was six I remember buying my first C.S. Lewis books at a local bookstore. I was given a sum of money as a gift and I decided to save it until I had enough money to buy the Chronicles of Narnia and other C.S. Lewis books. Then I was introduced to Aslan the Great Lion. I'd been reading the books throughout my highschool days. It was not hard to like the Great Lion. At once I noticed Aslan's resemblance to the Lion of Judah. If one was acquianted with biblical history he will definitely see that Lewis with his keen mind had made a children story out of real history. It answer questions like what if the biblical Lion of Judah reign as King in a different world, like for instance, Narnia, what would be his name there and how would he atone for the treacherous deeds of that world?<br />
One of the philosophy behind Aslan's character can be seen in such statements like these:<br />
But I said, Alas, Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash. He (Aslan) answered, "Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me." Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, "It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted." (from The Last Battle)<br />
<br />
Shades of what Jesus said long ago, "<b>Not everyone</b> who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall <b>enter</b> the kingdom of heaven, but <b>he who does the will of My Father in heaven</b>. Many will say to Me in <b>that day</b>, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, '<b>I never knew you</b>; depart from Me, <b>you who practice lawlessness!</b>'" <br />
<br />
Look at the contemporary language and have a feel of what it really means to serve Aslan in Narnia or how it really means to serve God in real life. Here's what the Lion of Judah says "Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master, Master,' for instance— isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.' Matt.7:21-23 The Message (MSG)<br />
<br />
</div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-51698918221636862302011-05-23T21:52:00.012+08:002011-09-09T13:50:02.609+08:00Enjoying the Journey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Where sky and water meet,</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Where the waves grow sweet,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Doubt not, Reepicheep,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">To find all you seek,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">There is the utter East.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">- Reepicheep, <span id="goog_127481084"></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013GQ0X6/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=khael-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B0013GQ0X6&adid=0XYKZMADCRFMMDTHA4W4">The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis</a><span id="goog_127481085"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The <span style="font-size: large;">journey</span> would be <b>enjoyable</b> not because of the journey itself but because of the hope of seeing the much awaited and longed for <span style="font-size: small;">destination</span>. In fact the reason why we are having the voyage is because we are targeting a specific place that we already anticipated before we even started the expedition. And the sad thing is that we settle down in between the starting point and the destination. We unboarded on a different station.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">We started the journey on a train station. We were told to stay on the train until the final stop. We agreed because the plan was overwhelmingly excellent and eternally rewarding. We really longed for something much more fulfilling and has <b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">eternal significance</span></b> than the life many are living. All were explained to us and we found it logically sound. So we boarded the train. It's first class. All the things that we ever needed was provided. All you have to do is to <span style="font-size: small;">get it yourself</span>. It was a luxurious transit. We met some friends. We made some <span style="font-size: large;">good friends</span>. We even traded some things and made some fortune. The train made a stop to a very beautiful and promising place and we talked a lot about that place that it was good to settle down in that area. Many of our friends thought it was a nice idea. They said they will try it for just a few days. We also decided to give it a try because the place was full of opportunities. We settled down until we're sixty. Now we're old and we suddenly remember the thing that really matter. <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Eternal</b></span> things. We remember the old plan that was supposed to have eternal significance. It all came back to us. But all that we did was for ourselves and our own ambition. Nothing about what matters in eternity. That was the thing that <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">time cannot understand</span>. A place where time stops and the past and the future is one whole present before the Eternal One. A place where whatever we do if truly done out of our love for the Eternal One will have an eternal reward. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Hurry. There is still time.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I remember what a Man from Nazareth once said, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy the journey</span>. Remember, the "journey" is not the destination. But we can make some eternal investments while on it. Why not try to have the <b><span style="font-size: small;">best of both worlds</span></b> at the same time? But if there would be any conflicts, choose the place where you'll <span style="font-size: small;"><i>"find all you seek...Where sky and water meet, Where the waves grow sweet..."</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_127481070"></span><span id="goog_127481071"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_127481076"></span><span id="goog_127481077"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #84b320; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 20px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #84b320; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_127481066"></span><span id="goog_127481067"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_127481080"></span><span id="goog_127481081"></span></span></span></div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-32024383283643115672011-05-10T07:01:00.003+08:002017-07-30T20:08:29.396+08:00A Mother's Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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posted on youtube by :<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MontgomeryGentry101">MontgomeryGentry101</a><br />
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We will never forget those times when we needed someone and there she was waiting for us all along. We remember the love that was selfless. The sacrifice that she went through to provide what we need. How can we forget the caring embrace that made us strong. Her life made us want to discover what she has learned. Her faith has been an inspiration. I know her. She had problems too. Big ones. But that was the beauty of it all. She can smile and play with you. She can sing you a song and you'll know that there is something in her that is somewhat extraordinary. In the midst of a troublesome time you'll find in her a different kind of strength. Peaceful.Joyful. A strength of character that can only be molded in the anvil of difficulty and tested in the fire of adversity.</div>
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I am the eldest. I know what she had been through. I have two brothers and a sister and they love her as much as I do. And a mother who loves us with her life.</div>
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Some say that we don't have a mother anymore who can see the things that we do. She's already gone, you know. But I say she's more alive now than ever because she is now with God who is Life. </div>
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One of the legacy of our mother was that she gave us a love for books and a desire to help others with what we have.But her most important legacy was that she pointed us to an unwavering faith in the character of God.</div>
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She loves us. And we love her. And we will love her forever.</div>
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Love your mom. Don't break her heart. Show your love by giving her something out of your heart. Or you can give your heart to God and your mom will be fully satisfied.</div>
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Happy mother's day mom! We love you!</div>
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Happy mother's day to all the mom's out there! </div>
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Thank you for all your sacrifices and love! God will not forget that. He's been watching all along.</div>
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KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-66409641475481122562011-05-03T22:00:00.007+08:002011-05-04T06:27:35.563+08:00The Gift of Pain: An Excerpt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">Some cultural responses to pain nearly defy belief. Societies in Micronesia and the <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/khael-20">Amazon </a>Valley practice a child birth custom called <i>couvade</i> (from the French word for "hatching"). The mother gives no indication of suffering during delivery. She may break from work a mere two or three hours to give birth, then return to the fields. By all appearances it is the husband who bears the pain during the delivery and for days afterward he lies in bed, thrashing about and groaning. Indeed if his travail seems unconvincing, other villagers will question his paternity. Traditionally, the new mother waits on her husband and sits by his side to entertain the relatives who drop by to offer him congratulations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ronald Melzack tells of another cultural anomaly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In east Africa, men and women undergo an operation-entirely without anaesthetics or pain reliving drugs-called "<i>trepanation,</i>"in which the scalp and underlying muscles are cut in order to expose a large area of the skull. The skull is then scrapped by the <i>doktari </i>as the man or woman sits calm. without flinching or grimacing, holding a pan under the chin to catch the dripping blood. Films of this procedure are extraordinary to watch because of the discomfort they induce in the observers, which is in striking contrast to the apparent lack of discomfort in the people undergoing the operation. There is no reason to believe that these people are physiologically different in any way. Rather the operation is accepted by their culture as a procedure that brings relief of chronic pain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">From the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Pain-Paul-Brand/dp/0310221447/ref=as_li_wdgt_fl_ex?&camp=212361&creative=383961&linkCode=waf&tag=justth0da-20">The Gift of Pain</a> by <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/khael-20">Philip Yancey and Dr. Paul Brand</a> p.208</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both examples demonstrate the power of the mind which no scientist has fully discovered yet. If the mind can have such an influence to the body so that it will interpret pain differently, what benefit will it do to a man who believes positively? If we train our minds to see the good in every "bad" situations it will surely make a difference. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But I see people who do better with pain. It helps them realized what the problem is. And it push them to such an extent that they leave their comfort zone and find new and higher grounds. For more than ten years of my life teaching in different localities and villages in the <a href="http://www.zaparena.com/link-4625">Philippines</a> I had the opportunity to examine the everyday life of those people who actually became my friends. Some of them are farmers by trade but many farmers here in the <a href="http://www.zaparena.com/link-4625">Philippines</a> are poor. Salted dried fish and eggplant are the favorite everyday menu. That is everyday, with the variation of how you cook the eggplant. Fried eggplant. Eggplant salad. Boiled eggplant. Fried eggplant with egg. And the list goes on.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The children of these farmers are reared in this kind of life. They go to school in the morning and when school is over they go directly to the farm to help their parents. They carry on their shoulders a wooden pole with two buckets of water at both ends. This and many others are the everyday duty starting from seven years old until they graduate in college. Because of these pressures and hard labor they are given strength of heart and mind. They started to hope and dream for a better life. Because of pain they now understand how to live.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-91218951322533969152011-05-01T09:07:00.002+08:002011-05-04T00:18:36.088+08:00Dolly: A Day with her Father<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">One of the most valuable thing a father can give his child is to give him his time.</span></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">I know a person who literally grew up into manhood without him remembering a single day in his life where his father would talk to him in a friendly manner. On the contrary all that he can call up to mind was his father waiting for every little mistake that he would do and judging him the whole day and the next day and the day after it and so on. We must remember here dear reader that <i>a man who keeps on judging has no time to love</i>.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">And this man in my story had never in his whole life ever even heard a single positive word from him. That's ridiculous ,you might say, but it is the truth.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">When he was in elementary and high school he feels that there were some things in himself that was not right and he was battling with it. These were emotional issues that can affect how a person will behave. He recall that when he was in high school, he was restless. He couldn't think straight. His mind couldn't rest. He was always at war with himself because he found out that he came out to be a very hot tempered person. He can be easily angered. And he didn't want this. He didn't intend to be that kind of person. But there was another one more subtle than any of the negative emotions that he discovered in himself. That was his feeling of fear. He feared that he might fail and he procrastinated many things. Fear found him because he lives everyday of his life in this perfect world, where perfectionism was the rule and where his father was the ruling god.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">Nothing good will come out of fear.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">As Aldous Huxley puts it in his book Ape and Essence, "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Fear ... casts out intelligence, casts out goodness, casts out all thought of beauty and truth."</span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Conversely something good will come out of love. Love yourself. Love others. It can work miracles. But only perfect love can drive out fear. There is only One who is perfect and only His love can eradicate fear.</span></span></span></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">In contrast with the story of that man, <a href="http://theramblingexpat.blogspot.com/2011/04/dolly-got-fish.html#links">Dolly</a>, a charming little girl, about 4 years old was very privilege having a father who not only showed her where they are getting their food, thus teaching her lessons in life, but most importantly she was given a wonderful happy day of fishing with her father. And the memory of that single day alone can create happy feelings which could grow into a hope and that hope can turn into positive thoughts which can be the foundation of a positive joyful outlook in life. What kindness a father can give to his child!</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">See Dolly's photos and her catch in her father's diary <a href="http://theramblingexpat.blogspot.com/2011/04/dolly-got-fish.html#links">The Rambling Expat.: Dolly got a fish!!!</a></span></div></div></div><div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">I"ll repeat what I have said above and add something into it. One of the most valuable thing a father can give his child is his time. And a little kindness.</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">I'll borrow a quote from Aldous Huxley again to drive out a timeless truth about kindness and how even just a little of it can affect a whole life of a person. This is the quote, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">"<i>It's a little embarrassing that after 45 years of research & study, the best advice I can give people is to be a little kinder to each other</i>." </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">That is how profound the subject of kindness is.</span></span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">Kindness will make a huge difference in a child's life and a radiant effect to anybody else. Giving time and showing kindness can radically change a negative perspective into a positive one and a sad melancholic disposition into a radiant joyful countenance. It can put a smile into anybody's face. It can put a smile into your face and mine. It can leave a stamp of joy and gratitude on everybody's heart. Have you seen Dolly's smile and how she pose on her fishing trip with her father? That's quite charming.</span></div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><br />
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</span></div></div></div><div></div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-38422059871628902962011-04-30T02:28:00.010+08:002011-04-30T21:27:08.242+08:00The Sores that Dried Up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">Ten years ago in a remote area somewhere in the Philippines, there was a man whose name was Eddie. But we just call him Ed. His complexion was darker than the color of the average Filipino. His height I think was 5'4. He was such a jolly person and he has many stories under his sleeves. There was an event in his life which turned everybody in the village to look up to him for encouragement, comfort and advice. </div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first time I met him I was only 24 and he was in his 40's.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was a guest speaker on a special occasion at a certain place. Being the guest speaker and because I didn't know anyone in that place, I need to make some connections. I need to arrived earlier than everybody. And so I did. Twenty meters from the house there was an awful smell as if there was a rotting flesh of a dead animal. And then the most horrible sight I had personally ever seen in my life was before me.<br />
A man agonizing in pain with open sores all over his body from head to foot was lying on a bed made of bamboo. For eight years Ed was tormented by this unknown disease. He was brought to the best hospitals in Manila. Different specialists tried to diagnosed his condition. He tried different alternative medicines and with the pressure brought by the neighbors, the family gave in to their suggestions and he was brought to faith healers and all the healers that they knew. But nothing happened and with the physician's every cure and application of medicine the sore got worst than ever. The experts were baffled. The neighbors disappointed. The relatives were confused. And his wife left him. And so the pain deepened. Restlessness inevitable. Depression was at hand. Hope was nearly gone.<br />
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</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But as in all stories where everything seems lost, hope find its way.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Twenty meters away from the house his parents and relatives told me the story and from there I can see him through the window. He was lying on his bed. I felt sorry for him and I nearly wept. Before I knew what was going on, a man was heading directly to him and embraced him. With no thought of the open sores and the rotten smell. He was so moved with compassion and being the Christian that he is he uttered a simple prayer that was heard by everyone inside the house. "Lord I know you are God, heal this man or you are not God". And He ended that with "Amen". Every eyes was on him. They could not believe he said that prayer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A day after that incident the news spread in that village. The open sores were drying up. Actually at midday we went to see what was happening and true to what had been circulating- almost all of the sores dried up overnight. But there was something more worth mentioning. Something much more profound than just the open sores being healed. Ed told me he was able to forgive his wife and he had also forgiven himself. He finally made peace with God. He said- that is all that really matters in the end. Even though he still feel some pain of the past what really matters is that the wound was healed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-59329273240518993992011-04-28T15:03:00.006+08:002011-05-04T06:30:10.327+08:00The Grand Weaver<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">Yesterday was just a day of tweaking my blogspot. I wasn't able to post anything. It just wouldn't post. Good for me I had an xml back up of the whole blog. I backed it up before I added some applications. I think some of the application's html messes up with the other widgets. But it took me five hours of tweaking before I used my back up. Well that was because I just wanted to know the applications that was causing the problem. And luckily I found some culprit. But there were still others but I was very tired so I decided that it's enough for the day and I just used the back up. And it works fine again. Good feeling. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since it's working again let me just tell you what I had been wanting to tell you all along. It's about some of the books that helped a multitude of others around the world. These multitude are real people with real questions, problems and needs. They were drawn to these books because they see themselves in the stories. Those stories are real life drama with a worldwide perspective but woven with it are the universal principles which everyone of us cannot escape one way or another.<br />
As Stuart McAllister puts it "The deepest convictions of our heart are often formed by the stories and reside there in the images and emotions of a story".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the books that I have is The Grand Weaver by Ravi Zacharias. This is what the book's description tells us "...it is full of penetrating stories and insights. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 16px;">Dr. Zacharias examines our backgrounds, our disappointments, our triumphs, and our beliefs, and explains how they are all part of the intentional and perfect work of the Grand Weaver."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For someone like me who had experienced how to be treated unfairly since I was a little kid by someone who is very close to me and then suffered so much rejection at the time when I was in college coupled with the death of my dear mother and so many other things,I had the same questions as others have. "What is the purpose for a well meaning person that suffered so much where there is nothing in his heart but only to serve others?" Is there an overarching purpose that we cannot see but is already set before us? Is it all our doing or is there a Grand Weaver that will give meaning to all of these tragedies? </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well I know what the answer is at least for myself and my questions. And it's quite an exceptional feeling to have a definite answer to these questions and have peace as a by product. Yes books can help.</div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-33962653076033350022011-04-26T16:13:00.001+08:002011-04-29T10:36:03.051+08:00That Ecstatic Feeling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a great day! The sun is up and there is no news of bad weather at all. My long time friend came to our house and we planned to go to the beach together with his two beautiful kids. I wanted to go. But I just need to jot down some thoughts that's been bugging me since this morning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's about Aldous Huxley's words. You can find some of Aldous Huxley's profile in this link <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley</a>. He was an English writer. A thinker. Some of his well circulated books were Brave New World, Island, Point Counter Point, and The Doors of Perception. I find the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brave-New-World-Aldous-Huxley/dp/0060850523?ie=UTF8&tag=justth0da-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Brave New World</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=justth0da-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0060850523" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> very interesting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's one of his many quotes that I can't help but ponder this past few hours.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Who lives longer? The man who takes heroin for two years and dies, or a man who lives on roast beef, water and potatoes 'till 95? One passes his 24 months in eternity. All the years of the beefeater are lived only in time." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What do you think he wants to convey? And what legitimate activities do you think can we experience a sense or feeling of eternity? Do you think there is a benefit for this kind of feeling?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Please feel free to post your answers. You can answer all or just one question.It's up to you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll be back. I just need to go downstairs because my friend is waiting for me. I'm not sure if we're going to the beach as planned. But I need this. Maybe at the beach I can have a feeling of ecstasy (lol)...just a glimpse of eternity would do.</div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-78729929800528964672011-04-25T13:39:00.003+08:002011-05-04T06:34:48.261+08:00The Villager's Tragedy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">There was a great commotion going on in that little barangay(barangay is the local term for village in the Philippines). People were running from all directions to a little prayer house made of bamboo and nipa leaves. The ground is dry and with each feet in haste dust filled the air. Some of the women are shouting. "Hurry!We need to get there as soon as possible". Worry fills the air. There was a kind of dread on the faces of the mothers who knew what was going on. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This village is like one big family deeply concerned with each other. You can trace their ancestry and you'll find out that most of the people are related by blood. And there were a few who were just neighbors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A woman was crying vehemently. All others that saw her, cried with her. The men were shocked. On the altar was a 2 year old boy not breathing at all. No pulse. The fingers were violet in color. The face was pale. He was there for almost an hour. Her mother and others found him hanging on a 220 volts of live electrical wire, already dead. He was very dear to her and to that little village.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Emotions rise up. Questions were asked. "Why did she bring the baby on the prayer house instead of bringing him to the hospital?", the women relatives asked. "The boy was already dead. We found him with his hands on the electrical wire already dead and the hospital is an hour from here. Fourty minutes had already gone and we do not even have a car. Don't judge the mother. She loves him and this is her way of grieving", said the men. "If the same happens to you, you will definitely feel helpless like her and the only hope that you can have is God", said an old man who is respected in that place. And the women were hushed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile the mother was in deep anguished and she was praying in a loud voice asking God for the boy's life. Oh how she loves her child! She was asking for a miracle. What she didn't know was that her asking for a miracle was a miracle in itself. What kind of courageous faith can true love gives to a man, like this mother, she was able to ask for the seemingly impossible. She stayed there for another hour of intense praying and sobbing and loud cries. The women left one by one. Only a handful of them remained. All the men stayed together with the husband. The boy still on the altar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tragedy due to our carelessness or tragic things that we do not have control could happen to any of us and we can answer one way or the other. We can feel sorry for ourselves and remain unproductive or we can ask for the help of another to ease our pain. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That incident in a little village called Laiya Ibabao happened 6 years ago if my memory does not fail me. It's the time when the most unexpected and amazing thing happened- a 2 year old boy who was dead for more than an hour was now living with his parents in that same little old village with all their relatives and other's who were just neighbors.</div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-76944768832117363912009-05-07T19:34:00.002+08:002011-04-29T10:11:36.014+08:00Peace, anyone?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div><div style="text-align: justify;">I know you have heard of the story of the little birds resting peacefully under their mother's wings while the storm passes by their nest up on a branch of the swaying tree. They have peace because they trust the mother bird. The little birds know their mom. They know their mom can protect them but that's not all. They also know that she will. They fully understand her character.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Know the person first and then you will be able to trust him to the extent of what you discovered about him. </div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having the knowledge of God's character will give a person a deep appreciation of God and a sense of awe which can translate into an unmovable trusting kind of faith.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Faith is not blind. It rests on hard evidence. Discover the evidence and you will have faith. Know whom you are putting your trust into. Know whom you are placing your life into. Find out what He is saying about Himself and see if it corresponds exactly to what He is doing. If you find Him trustworthy, that is the only time you will experience peace in the midst of the storm because at the very moment that you find the truth about Him, you will be compelled to trust Him. </div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">The moment you realized that one plus one equals two, no one in the world will be able to make you think otherwise.When you find Him true to His words, you are compelled to believe.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">You will know that His wings will cover you. He will protect you. And He will never let go of you.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Know Him. Trust. Peace.</div></div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-20919873268731294972009-04-15T18:10:00.004+08:002011-04-29T11:20:50.786+08:00I Will Not Cry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">I think I will not cry.</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">If the one that I cherished the most left me, I will not cry. Why should I cry when I know in my heart that I have loved her more than I have loved my own life?</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">If she tries to hurt me through words and the words became like piercing arrows that cuts deep and even reaches the soul that it hurts too much, I will not cry. Why would I cry when I know in my heart that I haven't let go of the promise I once made to love her unto the very end, even if at the moment everything was dark?</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">If the girl that I love the most treated me as though I could not be trusted, I will not cry. Why should I cry when I know in my heart that even though I am not perfect, I know I have done my best?</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">If I have lost the love of my life, I think I will not cry. I will search for her instead. Sleep will not hold me back. The night can't stop me. The dazzling thought and excitement of finding her again fuels my entire being. But she was nowhere to be found. Then I was wrong. I'm a man. I will cry after all.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">And may the open fields cry with me. Let the leaves fall to the ground and may the red flowers let their petals fall as if a brushing wind softly damped their cold hands into their tiny stem, shaking the leaves as it passes by.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">I call on the sky to cry with me. Let it be full of clouds. Let it be dark as it may. And may my tears be as countless as the raindrops on a thunderstorm. And as the tears flow down my cheeks let it be like the waters flowing on the river up to the surging mighty waves of that great dark ocean.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, I will cry after all. For what is life without you? What is life without the one you love?</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don't have a heart of stone. A heart of flesh was molded inside of me.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I will not alter the flow. I will go with the pain, stay in the rain and learn. </div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">I will let the raindrops fall so it can water the old aged earth and cause fresh grass to grow and new flowers to bloom.A new beginning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Will I cry or will I not?</div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When a heart gets broken there are no easy answers anymore. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Yes, I will cry after all. </div></div><div><br />
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</div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-72944031994853066612009-04-14T20:31:00.005+08:002011-04-29T10:59:28.725+08:00Heart Matters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"> I can't quit now. Or should I?</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are lot of questions at the back of my mind. My mother just died. There's another huge but quite different story behind it. It was back then.. a few months ago..when I suffered from stress and depression. That was the first time I came in contact with this terrible monster. The pain of being left alone by the one who brought me into this world and have given me so much love just added up to my misery. The pain never left me.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I had a job but the stress that I'm feeling keeps me out of focus. It's only a miracle that I didn't only survived but I actually arrived to where I wanted. At that time I always have before me the idea of making happy those people that matters to me. I know I'm doing my best but the one thing that I now realized by experience is that you cannot make everybody happy and will always fall short of some of their expectations. People will always find fault in almost everything that you do. Even those things that you thought you have given your whole heart and strength and mind.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Are there people who can really understand the heart so they will help you not to hurt? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don't think there is. Or I can be wrong.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I remember the saying "the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure..who can understand it".In my experience, I think it's true. The moment that you think you can understand your own heart that is the moment that you don't. And at the minute that you say you don't that is the time that you really do. Oh, those paradoxes of life are stunning indeed!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had tried to have the best intentions in almost all aspects of my daily life even in my present relationships...even on the way I speak and the words I let out of my mouth. I was a leader of a group that train potential leaders to become leaders of different departments designated to various sectors in the community. I was accustomed with deadlines, pressures, criticisms and the like. For almost eleven years of my life I had never experience a sudden burst of outraged. But then it happened, in just a flash, I was never really aware that it was happening. <br />
<a name='more'></a>A time came when I was confronted with my horrible self. What I knew was right were never accepted rather it was considered as though it was nothing and what I had given my best was trampled upon and was not recognize but rather was neglected and criticized. At that precise moment there were thoughts in my heart racing to come out of my mouth. Thoughts of anger.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What a heart! In just a while it has the best of intentions and in the next moment it was raging with anger.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anger is not the root cause but rather it is self pity. Not being recognized and appreciated by what you think you did right. And it's all inside my heart. Self pity crawls into our being because of a sudden unexpected kind of pressure which leads into stress and stress into depression and depression to self pity. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">An impulsive outburst of emotions will follow such a sad plight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">" I have put all my energies into it! and that is all that you would have to say! I did my best! But it wasn't good </div><div style="text-align: justify;">enough for you! I haven't heard any thank you's at all!"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">" I spent time just to talk to you! I did my all to schedule this time for you! I went thru many hassles in the office just to make time for you! But instead of appreciating what I did you keep on demanding more time!"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And it just goes on and on and on...and the cycle of SSD (self-pity, stress, depression) will leave you more depressed and you do not need to wait for too long and you will see that relationships will begin to break and deteriorate. And then it's gone...forever. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Love and rage has something in common. They both know how to burn. And the heart is capable of both. Would it help if I fuel love more and try to quench the fire of rage? Is it possible to detect and feel the heat of rage before the fire becomes out of range? If it is possible, can I pour icy water on it so it would not cause any damage at all? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If relationship is more important than winning an argument I think we should try to quench the fire of anger before its fire comes out of the mouth. It's hard to fight a fire breathing dragon. And I don't want to be a fire breathing dragon myself. Nevertheless, we know that sometime in our lives, and we regret those times, we became a member of the fire breathing dragon clan. And oh! how we regret those moments when we opened our mouths to our dearest friends and our words became fire that hurts them deeply. Not knowing that we are hurting ourselves the most.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sadly, I went through all of these. The pain never left. And I do not intend to let go because by it I was reminded that I am a man and I needed the help of Someone greater. With this realization the pain that didn't left eases a little bit. And it helps me to move on.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What a heart we have!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Is there any cure at all?! Do we have a doctor who specializes with this kind of heart issues?</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh God help us! Can you please search our hearts and know our thoughts? Can you please do the cleansing and please create a new heart in us!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-68172227606638401472008-03-19T23:03:00.003+08:002011-04-29T11:19:29.714+08:00Reason for Everything<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://openphoto.net/volumes/lello/20061030/openphotonet_01_-_Mio_Giardino.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://openphoto.net/volumes/lello/20061030/openphotonet_01_-_Mio_Giardino.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's a question I've got on the net which goes like this:</div></div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">What if the reason for everything that happens is a BAD reason? Some people believe everything happens for a reason, but what if that reason is really really bad? Like... the creator is an alcoholic and just likes to mess with people's minds?</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">This kind of question automatically assumes that there is also a good reason behind every bad reasons. Because for a thing to be labelled "bad" there must be a "good" that will act as a reference of what is to be called "bad". And since the question starts with a "what if?", it is a hypothetical question therefore it cannot be answered with an exact factual principle because "what if not?".</span></div></div></div></div></div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-51941758075523024952008-03-19T22:17:00.003+08:002011-05-04T06:04:23.863+08:00Abstract Lights<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://openphoto.net/volumes/ppdigital/20050308/opl_DSC00641.JPG" style="cursor: hand; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 320px;" />Lights can be called abstract in its form but whatever form it takes, it is still, in its essence, a wave-particle. And in the simplest term possible, it is still called a "light", for that is what a wave-particle is. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Essence is important in giving an exact description and definition to anything.</span></div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-32977431039978236162008-03-19T21:09:00.002+08:002011-04-29T11:08:08.281+08:00God Pop's Up into Existence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">There are some people who asks the question whether God just pops out into existence. Some asks this question to disprove God. Others inquire about it just out of curiosity. But that kind of question is rather quite confusing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">These are the reasons.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When we use the word "God" in essence we are saying "eternal existence" or the "eternally existent One" meaning no beginning and no ending. Therefore it logically follows that a "no beginning" entity, simply put a "God", cannot just "pop" itself up into existence because that would be in contradiction with the essence "no beginning" or in other words a "no beginning" entity cannot pop himself up into existence because he simply is. So according to this logic, it logically follows that God simply is. He eternally is. What now does the question implicate? The question self destructs.</div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1863228128818500070.post-79930789035845946442008-03-19T20:35:00.002+08:002011-04-29T11:18:47.590+08:00Evidence of the Existence of God<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div align="left">When the existence of God came into question it is imperative to know if we are referring to the same meaning of the word. Because some refer to "God" as the Source of our existence or The Creator or simply The Maker.Others have different notions. If that is your meaning of God then I believe that such a person exists. Simply because we are here on this planet, it is very impossible to think that we simply existed as human beings from the very beginning without a source.It would be very absurd to logic and systematic thinking into believing that we simply came to be without a "Maker" or a "Creator". Everything that we ever did as humans has a beginning from the minute details up to engineering and the highest technology ever invented. </div><div align="left">Our history as humans forces us to believe that there is at least a beginning to many things here on earth especially those that we invented ourselves and nothing manmade could ever be called "manmade" without a man to create, invent or make it. Therefore, human history and present day-to-day experiences forces us to a conclusion that there is a Great Maker of at least the human species because we must have a beginning in order to exist. To conclude otherwise is to object to our own human-technology-and-invention experiences and history where we are the maker and creator of things so to speak.</div><div align="left">So this is what i think. </div><div align="left">I do not believe in a "God" because tradition or anybody else taught me. I believe in a Creator-God. I'm force to believe because of our own experiences as a human race and our capacity to invent things and because of our ingenuity.It would be illogical if we just came to be, as genius as we are, without someone who invented us and made us.</div><div align="left">It is hard for us to believe that an aircraft, as sophisticated as it is, has to be without an inventor or someone who made it. How then could we easily believed that we as sophisticated, gene-imbedded human beings, came to be without someone, more intelligent than we are, who made us from the very beginning? It simply is not logical and it defies reason. Logic and reason forces me to believe in a Creator-God.</div></div>KhaELhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237303228172314356noreply@blogger.com0