iBALBALASANG

From Friendster to Multiply then to Facebook and finally to Twitter! These social networking sites have dominated our lives. Thanks to its burgeoning popularity, our connections really had helped us in many different ways. Staying online definitely makes communication easier.  

But, you must be aware of its negative social impact. You are maybe gaining popularity in these social neworking sites by posting your ever photoshopped image but you must be careful. Your future might get ruined. This is just a friendly advice to young professionals who are seeking jobs and to students as well. Its effect has been highly publicized but still I could notice some users not taking it seriously. There might be privacy online but there might also be some sort of “you can’t escape the past” thing.

Cheers!

Life must go on; an abused phrase, but so be it. We fall, then rise, fall, then rise again. It never stops, but the important thing is that we should learn from our mistakes; exercise power of choice and resilience. We choose to be happy; therefore, we are

happy. We choose to suffer the pain from the wound; therefore, we are in pain..savor the pain, cry, get angry.. “It’s okay, these emotions are all valid, but don’t spend too much time crying,” said Bo. Ask the Holy Spirit to bear the pain with you if it is too heavy for you. Life must go on.. 

“I hope you will be patient with me ….” (2 Corinthians 11:1a, NLT)

In order to manage change, you must remember four things –

Love each other

The first mistake most people make during change is to focus on what they’ve lost, instead of what has been gained – and that creates fear. The antidote to fear is love: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear ….” (1 John 4:18 NKJ)

It’s impossible for love and fear to exist in the same environment – If we’ll focus on loving each other, then we’ll break out of the self-centeredness that often emerges during change. The love that conquers fear involves thinking about others instead of focusing on your own needs – and the more you love, the less you fear.

Listen to each other

During transition, we must be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry ….” (James 1:19 NIV) If we get the first two right (quick listening, slow speaking), then the third (slow anger) will become automatic. It reflects the concept of “seeking to understand” before trying “to be understood.”

“Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear.” (James 1:19 MSG)

Level with each other

We must speak the truth in love to each other if we’re going to walk together through change. It is human nature to avoid confronting someone directly, but then we fall into problems – even gossip – by talking to other people about the person we need to confront.

We can’t get close to each other until we deal honestly with our fundamental differences. “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15 NIV)

Liberate each other

Finally, we need to show each other grace – “cut each other some slack” – during transition. Liberating each other means letting go and treating someone else the same way Jesus treats you.

In other words, we shouldn’t lean into legalism or lording mistakes over others. People will make mistakes, and our response should be to recognize that these things will happen. The goal is not to make those who make mistakes feel bad, but rather to let them get over it and move on.

It’s September the first and I can feel the cool breeze of air coming outside my window.  Uhhmm, Christmas is really fast approaching and I can’t help but wait! Should I get excited for it?

I have to think positive.  Something great will happen to me! Yeah..

You should do also..

Haha.. I just can’t express what’s in my mind..

He, not being home to pay respect for his mother’s funeral, made me deeply think how much do I really need to compensate for my financial needs when I’m nearing old age.  I have to be a millionaire that time, multimillionaire indeed, to keep my loved ones coming!  I’m dreading for it; therefore, I must save.  The Rule of 72 applies here.  I recently learned about its concept when a good friend onf mine invited me to a Financial Literacy seminar lately.  “We all need this,” I seriously whispered to her.  "A lot of rich people mismanaged their wealth because of financial illiteracy".  I must study “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” extensively.  Should I purchase “The Secret” to read it again?  It talks about the power of positive thinking simply.  As the adage goes, “What the mind can conceive, the body can achieve"  (Pharmaton!), it is our mindset that clearly defines it.   Or the easiest thing to do?  Well, it’s just simple, marry a millionaire!  Hmm..what could be the consequences?.  Ouch! I hope he’s not a sadist.  Don’t love his money.. 

I’m saddened about early pregnancy being rampant (Again?) now adays!  Well, well, history repeats by itself.  It maybe a blessing to a married couple, but for the young, I guess it’s like a contagious disease that could kill the involved.  Should sex education be greatly emphasize to the younger generation?  Maybe for the boys..  Hmm.. I’m not sure.  He should have had thought a million times before he did it.  It would certainly destroy the bright future of this young beautiful girl.  I seldom see gentleman now adays.  If there is any, may be he is Mr. Right! Wink, wink!

Why does SPMS faculty not serious about assisting their students to try taking the UPCAT, yet admission forms are being sent perennially by enthusiast at home?  I was hoping someone from the aspiring graduates would make it to UP next year.  I was informed, no one applied.  Tsk tsk.  

What’s next to Mac notebook air?  Maybe Macbook water?  Haha.. I never saw a laptop with built-in projector.  Is there any? 

I can’t imagine folks at home texting while harvesting palay.  Bringing mobile phones to fields, huh?  (Ang taray!)  Globe Telecom is reaching out farther!  The next big thing? Maybe, internet connections!  I wish!

The Prince and Me makes me still believe in fairy tales!  I love watching films that starred Julia Stiles..

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV)

As a pastor, I’m sure many of you are discouraged. Some of you are discouraged over your children that their lives are not going well. Some of you are discouraged about your marriage; it’s not at all what you thought it would be. You feel deflated and disappointed. Some of you are discouraged about your finances, or your health, or the economy, or an unanswered prayer. I want to say something to you, and it may sound mean, but it isn’t. It’s simply truth, so I say this in love: If you’re discouraged, that’s your choice. We make a choice to be discouraged. We make a choice to let discouraging thoughts move freely through our minds. But, we can also make a choice to change our thoughts at any time, taking them captive in the Lord. You get to choose what to focus on – your purpose or your problems, God’s power or your weakness, or your circumstances. We can fight discouragement. Here’s a tip to help: When you get discouraged, focus somewhere else. Say to yourself, “I don’t have time to be discouraged right now. I’m too busy fulfilling my life mission.” This doesn’t mean you should be a Pollyanna and pretend everything is okay. You can be realistic, but you also need to be optimistic because you are a Christian: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NIV). God says, “Lo, I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20 KJV). He will help you and he will strengthen you. Faith starts with optimism. Some of you have been praying for something specific and you haven’t yet gotten the answer. In Habbakuk 2:3 (NLT), God says, “These things I plan [for your life] won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.” Just be patient. The answer you’re waiting for will not be overdue a single day. God’s timing is always perfect. At Saddleback, we claimed this verse from Habbakuk for 13 years. We were growing bigger and bigger, but we still didn’t have the land we needed to build a worship center. We’d tell God, “Everybody else has a building. How come we don’t have a building?” After 13 years, God answered our prayer – and we realized he had a much bigger plan than we did. The property we built on was not even available when we first started Saddleback. There weren’t even roads leading to the property. God had a plan and slowly, steadily, surely he began to fulfill his vision.

Bo Sanchez is such an exceptionally good inspirational, motivational and spiritual speaker and a writer, who authored several books and helped a lot of people.  He is indeed a gifted person; a blessing for everyone.  I came across his name as I was looking for some self-help books at my favourite Power Books store in Greenbelt. Initially, I purchased Phil McGraw’s best sellers “Love Smart” then Bo’s “How to Find Your One True Love.”  Funny it seems, but gone are those days when I spent most of my time, immersing myself reading these books then passed it on to my fellow then-loveless friends until I couldn’t locate them anymore (pakisoli lang po..hehe).

Anyway, watching Bo daily on www.preacherinbluejeans.com has indeed become my habit.  I have found my purpose in life through him, through his preaching, as well as became closer to God.  “Expand your horizons, any problem is conquerable as long as you believe in him!” stated Bo, which has always been my favourite line too.  I hope there would be more people like Bo who keeps on spreading the word of God and continues to be an inspiration to every human being.  Try searching Bo Sanchez on www.youtube.com for his inspirational talks, his wonderful works.  Also, let us join him in his ministry; try to log on to www.kerygmafamily.com to reach out to the needy.

Below is my edited transcript on one of his talk on “How to Conquer Your Problems” as one of my favourite episode.

EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS:

BY BO SANCHEZ

Seven beliefs about how to conquer your problems:

1.      I CAN OVERCOME ANY PROBLEM.  The size of my God and not the size of my problem, will determine my failure or victory.  My focus is my reality.  If I focus on defeat, I will be defeated.  If I focus on victory, I will win.  The main problem of the poor is not money; it is their thinking.  Every day they think they are poor, they don’t have money.  All day they confess they are poor.

2.  WORDS CAN BLESS OR CURSE.  Words can make me win or can make me lose; discourage or encourage.  If I change the way I speak about myself, I will change my life.  Inner dialogue is terrible.  Change your inner dialogue.  Every day, say “I’m God’s anointed.”  Say, I’m a beautiful person, I’m a successful person, and God thinks I’m wonderful.  Say positive things when you wake up in the morning.

3.  If I want to win over my problems, I need to relate with positive inspiring nourishing people and spend less time with negative and toxic people. 

4.  God did not create me to be average.  God created me to be a champion.  God created me to keep on growing to keep on blessing, to keep on expanding my horizons.  Tiny business         papers assets    real estate         stock market.  Multiple income streams      many businesses to support each one.  Learn to invest.  Learn about your finances.  Don’t stop growing!

5.  I GET WHAT I SETTLE FOR.  Don’t settle, get the best.  God has given me the power to decide what kind of life I want to live; to be miserable or happy, selfish or loving, poor or abundant.  IT’S ALL UP TO ME.  Life will respect your choice even if it is wrong.  God lives that up to you what kind of life you want to live.  If I commit to this one decision, I am not settling for any thing less than God’s best; that’s the life I will experience.

6.  The one decision must be expressed by every other small decision I make in every area of my life every single day of my life.

7.  God will expand my borders so that I could serve more.  To be an ultimate champion means I become God’s loving presence in the world.

MAKE ONE DECISION.  YOU GOT TO MAKE ONE DECISION ONLY.  IT IS AS SIMPLE AS CROSSING A LINE.  IT’S LIKE YOU ARE ON THE BEACH AND THEN YOU PUT A LINE ON THE SAND AND CROSS IT.  I WANNA CROSS THE LINE AND GET THE BEST LIFE THAT’S POSSIBLE FOR ME.  CROSS THE LINE AND MAKE A DECISION.  WILL YOU CROSS THAT LINE? 

I WANT MORE!  I’M GONNA CROSS THAT LINE.

PURPOSE OF DRIVEN LIFE BY RICK WARREN.  It’s not about you, it’s about God.  It’s about God, but it start with you. It starts with loving your self.  You can’t love God if you don’t love yourself.  It start with “It’s about me, I want more! I want more satisfaction, I want more fulfilment and then you realized MORE spells GOD.  You got to start with a desire to have more.  Live life that you could possibly have!

Jesus I want more.  I want you to help me cross that line.  I want to be the best that you want me to be.

I am anointed by God to bless the world.  I make one choice, that is, to live the best that Jesus wants me to live.

Wondering why "Copied and Pasted" is the title? Well, I supposed to post this long ago yet but then I got no time going over it until I stumbled into it just moments ago and copied and pasted some photos with it.  (can’t think of any, this is actualy the second part of my previous blog..:)

An entertainment night spearheaded by Saint Paul’s Memorial School (SPMS) students and faculty, welcoming visitors from Kalinga Academy and other neighbouring villages, commenced the then concluded Barangay Fiesta.  Gongs were played; program was monotonous; lights were dim; disco materials not provided; students seemed to be not so sociable to visitors.  Thanks to the “babakla,” they managed to present an entertaining, breathtaking dance number that finally made the crowd yelling!  In fact, this highlighted the event.  Somehow, it was entertaining after we patiently waited for the program to start after several hours of sitting, fighting with the coldness of the night.  (Whew!)

The church mass on the first day was followed by the Pass In Review by SPMS and ground demonstration by BES, SPS, and Saltan ECW.  Hmm, not so exciting; presentations were effortless.  I was just eyeing on the kids who were getting themselves ready for their number as they innocently queued themselves.  I was reminded of my elementary days (sighs!); it is something worth to cherish.

The second day was uneventful; weather was not so good.  I did not have plans to watch since it was a little bit raining.  I just stayed home enjoying my time with some old pals who came to visit me.  It was such a nice feeling to be with them again.  Laughter was all over the house as we reminisced the good old days!  Later, nearing evening, my friend all the way from Baguio came to fetch me, telling I must go to the plaza to watch.  Since the rain had stopped, we headed ourselves to the plaza.  Little did I know that the games went "rain or shine" and an unexpected “bakasyonista” came too; fate had crossed our way! (wink, wink..)

The cultural night was highlighted by the presentations from the Lubuagan team, showcasing their infamous “Banga Dance.”

It was followed by the Literary & Musical contest, which was joined by few other contestants.  I wondered where the local talents have gone.  Is it may be they are drunk again or just being shy?  Well, I guess this is the problem I noticed among us at home, being shy.  Guest performers were the Team Oregon from Baguio and some other solo performers from Talalang.  Also, some impromptu speeches were made from politicians that made the night a little bit.. boring? (Peace!).  The thing I enjoyed here was the “pattong” being played in between the contest; I liked the rhythm.

The third day was actually the much enjoyed part of the fiesta.  Championship games had made the crowd yelling; lively music were played; routine old games such as, tug of war, sack race, palo sebo, jar breaking, table tennis, etc., were all played.  It was all fun.  People were all enjoying on their own, as if it was the end of the day!

The victory night was highlighted by the fire works display, courtesy of the municipal Mayor, followed by the awarding of prizes and the much talked about, nerve-wracking (to the candidates) Search for Miss Paulinian 2008.  Like any other beauty pageant, most of the contestants did not do much during the question-and-answer portion.  As one of the host for the sooshow,(lol!) I did encourage them not to feel nervous, especially during the Q&A portion.  But alas! It was such a disastrous thing! At any rate, it was just an entertainment.  I just wish English studies should and must be seriously taken by the students as one of the major subjects.  No one is perfect as they say; nevertheless, these candidates were able to showcase their talents and of course had exposed themselves, which made them somehow more confident.

And the most enjoyable of all was the part II of the Victory night!  Although it was getting really colder, I found it more entertaining since it was an affair of Babaros and Babalasang.  Yehey!  I did not finish it actually as I was really fighting with sleep, though I was informed the following day that the program did end at approximately at 5:30 a.m. (haha, I thought agsan Craig pinalufusan jit fulan!!)

Fiesta is over!  As always been happening in the previous celebrations, there were flaws and some deficiencies.  Hopefully, in 2009, sana lahat po makicooperate para mas masaya lalo!,,and para naman maimpress and ating mga bisita and hindi lang basta umuwi nang hindi tinatapos ang pista! (dispersal…the saddest part..)

On behalf of the SPMSAA Manila Chapter, I would like to thank the following donors:  Ms. Grace Ancheta for the trophies; cash donors:  Engineer Harvey Bading, Napoleon Aguac, Milagros Endo, REECS and Care Philippines, and all others who helped in the solicitations. (Guys, your help definitely made the event a huge success!)

You can see more photos at:

http://mt197.multiply.com/photos/album/12/Balbalasang_Fiesta_2008

It’s holiday today; People Power EDSA Day to be exact. I am supposed to meet a new friend from Australia, Jenny Lowe, at the Contemporary Hotel in Quezon City, who visited my hometown, Balbalasang, for good reasons, but it seems the streets are so busy. For sure, I will just end up pissed off! I tuned in to the TV for news earlier and people are busy heading up their way to the People Power Monument in Ortigas; just a train away from my place. Prominent personalities are starting to invade the place, and as usual, trying to answer judiciously ambush interviews from media; national election is fast approaching, ‘yknow. I am trying to feel the spirit of EDSA People Power Revolt; would there be a part III in a few hours from now? Well, I hope not; it’s just a waste of time. “Wala namang nangyayari!” From the voice of a concerned youth citizen, I just hope people in authority in this present government will just continue working on their assigned tasks, reunite and do something significant for our economy and not just sensationalizing unlawful issues to the government. Bring this to court, men, you’re just making yourselves embarrassing to the public. After all, you’re all wasting your time.

For someone like me who is working in the Business Process Outsourcing Industry, mainly in the Medical Transcription field, I am greatly affected with the instability of the peso-dollar rate; things are just directly proportional.

Anyway, I’m not regular blogger here, obviously. I have my own live journal where I regularly write my thoughts, the things that I want to share, but I choose not to identify myself. I have few readers though, but the important thing for me is that I am able to express the feeling, simply release whatever tension I may have had. I hope you do the same thing too. It keeps the brain working.

Yesterday was actually a great day for me (although I was supposed to be attending the Panagbenga ’08 in Baguio) since I was with some close loved ones (syempre, kailyans, d2 ako masaya!). Of course, we talked about home (hindi naman tsismiss, hehe), the latest what’s and whereabouts of this and that (..) with matching Jaykot and Balbalasang coffee, kaman!

Anyway, most of the topic was about the recently held Barangay Fiesta that rocked Balbalasang! As others (especially kailyans abroad) are asking me to update them, here is the recap, my observation and views…

Will be posted later! (suspense muna!)

Hi friends! Obviously, I’m a newbie here. Got some significant things to blog at the moment, but just watch out for it (quite tired..) I have decided to make it out on friendster since I find a lot of "kailyan" users in this network as this has been made the much talked about, much visited internet site in our country (agree?) I heard someone commented, "yuck, friendster? ang cheap! But this is the not issue anyway. Call it "kacheapan," baduy, OA, or whatever, the important thing is we are making communication within reach that would certainly lessen the homesickness each and everyone of us has through photo sharing, interest, updates on where and whatabouts; criticism-prone, yet penny-saving, less complicated and so-simple way of getting in touch. Anyway, I wish someone from our group would create a website (techies, please take note) for our school. We have free webhosting sites though, such as multiply.com, wordpress.com (you can earn money here, i guess), flicker.com. webshots.com, tripod.com., etc., but it takes a lot of patience (ang tagal mag-upload..thanks microsoft!) Also, youtube.com is a good site (just don’t do the abuse.) As I could see, users from home are increasing in number, and I’m so glad for it. I remember, I got acquainted to friendster (my other profile) way back 2003, from a former college friend. I find it so amazing since we have met for the first time after several years since graduation here at friendster and we’ve know each other better, huh! Like, I did not know that this was the favorite book of my bestfriend, I did not know that..etc, etc. We were able access communication easily, get in touch faster (parang iisa meaning nun ah) and most of all, the excitement that you got to meet your old friends online! We were only three from Pasual then, who were constantly communicating; I, Gara and Gimpong (kaw-an nu na igaw jito, awad kanu Korea, moy na inila Jumong, hehe). After a couple of weeks, kailyans from Hongkong started to invite me, and from there, wow! ang saya, dumadami na tayo! Thanks really to technology! In this age of IT (un kan Uncle Bebot Guiawan), I find it so easy to get in touch with my long lost friends. I bet you do the same too! Though, at the moment, I have limited friends here (don’t have that much friends here though, as I’m using two profiles.) Well, I hope to have more! I’ll make this exclusive for my Kalinga friends, haha! I find it more easy to express the vovoroy side of me through bloging using this network (search my other blog!)