Visita Iglesia 2015
Divine Mercy, El Salvador – Villanueva Parish Church
Category Archives: LifeBlog
1 Step Back, 2 Steps Forward
It’s worth taking a few minutes to see if any of these points are holding you back from your full potential.
1. You’ve spent lots of time recently thinking you aren’t good enough.
Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place.
A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind. Know this. There will NEVER be a perfect time to pursue your dreams and goals. You will never feel 100% ready, because you will never be 100% complete. You’re growing every day. You just have to find faith in yourself right now. Faith means living with uncertainty, feeling your way through life, letting your intuition guide you like a flashlight in the dark.
What if, for today, you choose to believe that you have enough, you are enough, and that you’ve come far enough to be worthy? What if, for today, you choose to believe that you are strong enough, wise enough, kind enough, and loved enough to move forward? What if, as the sun sets on today, you choose to believe that you did a pretty good job? And what if tomorrow morning, you choose to believe it all over again?
2. You’ve been busy trying to satisfy everyone else’s expectations.
Way too many people are living a life that’s not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them… they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them… to what their friends, their enemies, their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice and intuition. They are so busy pleasing everyone else, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need… and eventually they forget about themselves altogether.
You have one life – this one right now. You must live it, own it, and above all, NOT let other people’s opinions distract you from your truth. (Read Choose Yourself!
3. You catch yourself complaining about things constantly.
Your constant need to complain about those many, many, many things – people, situations, events, etc. – is doing nothing but making you unhappy and depressed.
Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. This may be hard to accept, but it’s the truth. Your life is as YOU see it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking (and positive action).
4. You have a habit of blaming everyone else.
Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your power away and start taking responsibility for your life.
Either you own your problems, or they will own you. Period.
5. You’ve been more focused on not failing than actually succeeding.
You are comfortable with mediocrity – you choose not to try. Because it’s safer. Because it’s easier to talk about learning that new skill as opposed to actually learning it. Because you think everything is too hard or too complicated so you will just “sit this one out,” or maybe you’ll “do it someday.” Because you hate your job but won’t apply for a new one – because it’s easier to reject the possibility of rejection.
Snap out of it!
While you’re sitting around failing to try, you really need to be out there trying to fail, challenging yourself, learning new things and failing forward as fast as possible. Your desire to succeed must overpower your fear of failure. Because if you are too afraid of failure, you can’t possibly do what needs to be done to be successful. (Read The Up Side of Down
6. You are stuck on wanting to be right.
There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong, wanting to always be right, even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain in our personal and professional lives. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the burning desire to jump into a fight over who’s right and who’s wrong, ask yourself these questions:
- “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?”
- “What difference will it make?”
- “Is my ego really that big?”
Bottom line: You are an ever-changing work in progress, and so is everyone else. You don’t have to always be right, you just have to not be too worried about being wrong. Screwing up, for all of us, is part of the growth process. Being wrong and looking like a fool sometimes is the only path forward.
7. You keep letting your fear decide your future.
Fear is a feeling, not a fact. It’s just an illusion that doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.
As Franklin D. Roosevelt so profoundly said, “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Know this. Never let your fear decide your future. Let your dreams be bigger than your fears and your actions louder than your words.
No risk, no reward. No pain, no gain. You’ve heard this before.
Human beings don’t become wise by reading books and thinking about things – they become educated. Living out experiences firsthand in the real world, one day at a time, is what gives birth to wisdom. Ultimately wisdom is what you get when you test out the waters for yourself. This kind of life experience is the most valuable asset you own.
Sometimes on the road to acquiring wisdom life will beat you down, but you have to stand back up. Because nothing is more beautiful and powerful than a soul who has weathered and grown through life’s difficulties. Don’t regret your time, even the moments that were filled with hurt. Smile because you learned from it all and because you gained enough strength to rise above it all. In the end, it’s not what you have been through that matters; it’s how you got through it that defines your life and your legacy. (Marc and I discuss this in detail in the “Adversity” chapter of 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)
8. You believe the best is behind you.
You have to let the past GO! I know, I know… it’s not easy. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present, and the future looks so uncertain. But you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. And the past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was mostly ignored by you when it was present. Don’t do this to yourself again.
Don’t waste your present with a past that has no future.
9. You’ve been actively resisting change.
As Oscar Wilde so profoundly said, “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
Living a positive life hinges on your ability to accept the fact that everything is constantly moving forward, away from everything that previously existed. Not only do you have to emotionally detach from the past, but you also have to willingly thrust yourself forward into the unknown. You have to open yourself to trying new things, especially those that you may previously never have thought of doing, or had been too hesitant to attempt. This is how you open doors of opportunity for positive growth.
So many people live within the confines of unhappy situations and yet refuse to take the initiative to change their circumstances. They are conditioned to believe that the only choice is the current choice, because it’s the life they know. Their comfort zone blinds them from the truth – that nothing is more damaging to the human spirit than a mind that resists progress and change.
All of your personal growth and much of your joy in life will come from your encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater commitment than to embrace an endlessly changing horizon.
The floor is yours…
If you can relate to any of these points, remember, you are not alone. We all struggle with faulty mindsets that sneak up on us sometimes and keep us running in place. The key is awareness – recognizing these thinking traps and stopping them before they stop us.
So, which of the points in this post do you sometimes struggle with? What thoughts, choices and behaviors get in your way of stepping forward? How have you coped? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts and insights.
SOURCE: http://www.marcandangel.com/2014/09/10/9-signs-its-time-to-take-a-step-forward/
Aarya Calliope – 5 months
Ultra Winds Mountain Resort – In Top Favorites List
Ultra Winds Mountain Resort is in the list of my Top CDO Destinations.Reasons, (1) it gives you the feeling of being really faraway from the city, (2) free from pollution of all kinds, (3) the food is good and (4) the view is very exquisite. It is located in Baungon Bukidnon, using Taguanao Road, 20 minutes drive from Divisoria, CDO.
So tell me, how can you resist that? <3.<3
Now Imagine yourself sitting in this couch with that view in front of you. No, don’t imagine, plan your visit now and do it.
Well I must admit, that this wouldn’t be just “my favorite” but ours. We can actually do anything freely and we are definitely fresh air seekers. It’s perfect for nature-hugger type of couple, friends or family.
By the way, they have already implemented a payment of 100 pesos consumable entrance fee in food, accommodations and zip-line. Other activities are also available such as Horseback riding, Mountain trekking, Camping etc.
If you don’t feel like eating outside, they also have an indoor dining where the windows are made of screen so you won’t be envy with the fresh air.
FOOD,FOOD,FOOD.
Yes,yes,yes! They do offer sumptuous menu.
Taste is good and so is the volume. A rice meal starts at around 250 – and we’re very satisfied with that. I can’t even finish the whole spaghetti bolognese which costs around 160, if I’m not mistaken.
But you must also try their fried ice cream (below) we ordered during our visit 10 months ago.
AND, just like every other wanders…..
We take pictures. Lots of it.
What are you waiting for?? Plan your visit: Ultra Winds
XOXO
Fallen Heroes
The recent events have left me grief-stricken. Not because of the absence of the Commander, but because of how heartless people have become that they could easily and ruthlessly end lives of country’s brave warriors in a matter of hours, or minutes. Who are they to use their own hands in judging anybody’s life on earth?
With other latest news and after reading some few articles, I’ve been thinking. Does it seem right, that our soldiers are fighting for the very people who are busy destroying our communities in a less or no-brutality-involved way? Getting what’s for people and fooling people is still brutal to me. There are various points to consider. But we shall let that pass today.
My deep condolences to the families of our fallen heroes.
May we offer our prayers for their souls in today’s National Mourning.
We will never know the whole story and have no idea if we can still trust the media, but let us not divert the real lesson in this present affliction.
How cruel can people be in the future?
What kind of world will our children and our children’s grand children would be?
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Slumber Birthday Party at Marco Polo
My dazzling, gorgeous, sweet and smart (but sometimes gets lost in her own world! haha) friend turned 22 yesterday. — Kristianne Myles Atinero Purino
And the same as last year, we stayed overnight in one of the cottages at Marco Polo Hotel ❤
We ran out of tapes! haha
Dinner Time ❤ ❤
Welcome to our room!! It has six beds, a small TV room and a veranda.
Surprise Surprise!
Pool time is only up until 9:45 pm. At least we had 30 minutes to get wet! And the Jacuzzi is just ❤
Had a good time, eating and talking with these girls all night and all dawn. Had some catching ups, realizations and fun, fun fun etc. Nothing beats being with friends who have known you for years, seen you at your best and worst yet never fails to be there by your side. Not all thick and thin are for couples though 😉
Had to wake up earlier because the free breakfast buffet is until 9:00am only. We hiked going down the cafe and had a mini strolling.
lovely girls wearing lovely shades ❤
Check out time! Hope our birthday girl enjoyed her day. Thankyou ying! Thank you girls!
XOXO
Home Rules
Favorite Sayings by Pope Francis During PH Visit
Millions of Filipinos came to witness Pope Francis’ 5 days visit in Manila and Tacloban. But there are million more Filipinos listening to his messages through the media at home, just like me. Inspired by the wisdom he has shared through God’s graces, I have listed some of my favorite messages below.
- “For this the Gospel offers us a serene way forward: using the three languages of the mind, heart and hands – and to use them in harmony. What you think, you must feel and put into effect. Your information comes down to your heart and you put it into practice. Harmoniously. What you think, you feel and you do. Feel what you think and feel what you do. Dowhat you think and what you feel.”
- “Rest is so necessary for the health of our minds and bodies, and often so difficult to achieve due to the many demands placed on us. But rest is also essential for our health, so that we can hear God’s voice and understand what he asks of us.”
- “How many solutions are found to family problems if we take time to reflect, if we think of a husband or wife, and we dream about the good qualities they have. Don’t ever lose the memory of when you were boyfriend or girlfriend. That is very important.”
- “It is important to dream in the family. All mothers and fathers dream of their sons and daughters in the womb for nine months. They dream of how they will be. It isn’t possible to have a family without such dreams. When you lose this capacity to dream you lose the capacity to love, the capacity to love is lost.”
- “Together with many people throughout the world, I have admired the heroic strength, faith, and resilience demonstrated by so many Filipinos in the face of this natural disaster, and so many others. Those virtues, rooted not least in the hope and solidarity instilled by Christian faith, gave rise to an outpouring of goodness and generosity, especially on the part of so many of the young.”
- “Families will always have their trials, but may you never add to them. Instead, be living examples of love, forgiveness, and care.”
- “So many of you have lost everything. I don’t know what to say to you. But the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you have lost part of your families. All I can do is keep silence and walk with you all with my silent heart. Many of you have asked the Lord, ‘Why, Lord?’ And to each of you, to your heart, Christ responds with his heart from the cross.”
- “Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we are too machistas and we don’t allow enough space to women. But women can see things from a different angle to us, with a different eye. Women are able to pose questions we men are unable to understand.”
- “As I said, the heart of your question has no reply. Only when we too can cry about the things you said can we come close to answering that question. Why do children suffer so much? Why do children suffer? When the heart is able to ask itself and weep, then we can understand something”
- “What is the most important subject you have to lean at university? What is most important subject you have to learn in life? To learn how to love. This is the challenge that life offers you: to learn how to love. Not just to accumulate information without knowing what to do with it.. But through that love let that information bear fruit.”
- “Real love is about loving and letting yourself be loved. It’s harder to let yourself be loved than to love. That is why it is so difficult to come to the perfect love of God. We can love Him but we must let ourselves be loved by Him. Real love is being open to the love that comes to you. The love that surprises us.”
- “Allow yourselves to be surprised by God. Don’t be afraid of surprises. They shake the ground beneath our feet and make us insecure, but they move us forward in the right direction.”
- “To be wise use three languages: think well, feel well and do well. And to be wise allow yourselves to be surprised by the love of God. That will guarantee a good life.”
- “You know how to give and yet you have ever learned how to receive. You still lack one thing. Become a beggar. This is what you still lack. Learn how to beg. This isn’t easy to understand. To learn how to beg. To learn how to receive with humility. To learn to be evangelized by the poor, by those we help, the sick, orphans, they have so much to give us.”
- “There is the challenge, the concern for the environment. And finally, there is the challenge for the poor, to love the poor, with your bishops.”
- “Sorry if I haven’t read what I prepared for you but there is a phrase that consoles me: that reality is superior to ideas. The reality that you have is superior to the paper I have in front of me.”
- “Sometimes, when we see the troubles, difficulties and wrongs all around us, we are tempted to give up. It seems that the promises of the Gospel do not apply; they are unreal. But the Bible tells us that the great threat to God’s plan for us is, and always has been, the lie. The devil is the father of lies. Often he hides his snares behind the appearance of sophistication, the allure of being ‘modern,’ ‘like everyone else.’ He distracts us with the promise of ephemeral pleasures, superficial pastimes. And so we squander our God-given gifts by tinkering with gadgets; we squander our money on gambling and drink; we turn in on ourselves. We forget to remain focused on the things that really matter. We forget to remain, at heart, children of God. That is sin: [to] forget at heart that we are children of God. For children, as the Lord tells us, have their own wisdom, which is not the wisdom of the world.”
- “We too need to protect, guide, and encourage our young people, helping them to build a society worthy of their great spiritual and cultural heritage. Specifically, we need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished, and protected. And we need to care for our young people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets.”
Thank you Pope Francis for helping us renew and progress our Faith to the Lord, Papa Jesus, Mama Mary and everything that comprises Catholic Faith. Thank you for the inspiration by showing us compassion. Your special vocation for the youth inspires me most. I am dreaming about them too. And hopefully, God’s blessings will lead me to this special calling someday. I will never forget the harmony that should be in the three languages.
You can never deny that you also have that special personal reflections during Pope’s apostolic visit, so what message inspired you the most? ^_^
photo credits to the owners
Another Sinulog Missed
When I was a kid, we’ve been visiting Cebu year after year. It was the homeland of our ancestors just before world war II. A lot of our kin remained in Mactan, Lapu-Lapu in my paternal grandfather’s side and I have relatives in my paternal grandmom’s side in Cebu City. I think those are quite enough reasons to keep me going back there. ^_^
In every visit I had, I never missed to drop by the Basilica de Sto. Nino. I have this feeling of becoming a little kid again whenever I pray to Child Jesus.
The only sad thing is that, I’ve never been there in any 3rd Sunday of January, just like today. I’ve been there like almost every Friday during my 5 months review in San Jose but never attended a feast mass, street dancing, street parties and all other great stuffs and events just for the feast of Sto. Nino.
Nevertheless, I had one perfect Kagay-anon Feast Sunday. Attended the Carmelight procession and mass in Camaman-an. And helped in feeding hungry children organized by Mommy Demi, as we all believed that the feast of Sto. Nino is primarily for the Children.
Viva! Pit Senyor!
2016 might be my year.
Life Outside the Gates of Xavier
When I was 17-20 years old, I was not just merely a college student striving to meet those high academic demands, I was a responsibility-clutcher. They call it politician, but I prefer to call myself a servant. I was called to serve the youth for 3 years, it was a life of ups and downs, so many challenges at an early age. But the ride was all worth it. Usually these times, January, we or sometimes I, am so busy preparing, adjusting, reporting budgetary requirements for the whole year. That was never easy. A lot of things to consider. By a lot, it means everything. So much for that.
Today is just really different from the same days in the past few years.
I must admit, I miss the life close to the people, close to the children.
Anything Under The Sun 