Runny Nose and Helen Keller

The title seem a bit odd, doesn't it? You may ask, "huh?, where's the connection?" Wala naman talagang koneksyon ang dalawang yan.

This is the story of the "runny nose." I was off from work for a couple of days this week because we do not have a babysitter. It's very stressful when the babysitter (an old lady in her 60's) has to visit her doctor, because it means to both of us to either call-in sick the next day or file for a vacation leave. Anyhow, I asked Yahoo and Yellowpages' help for a list of daycare facilities in our area. I found one close by. We took our two kids with us while the director of the facility gave us a short tour. She showed us all the rooms that our kids would possibly be occupying, until we got to the playground. Our son is in the stroller, while our daughter who is now almost 2 was enjoying prancing on the ground. While our son was happily seated in the stroller, a group of "adventurers" is how they call them, boys and girls of about 4-6 years of age came circling around touching our son. "She's so cute!" blurted one. Hehehe, we have to remind them, our son is a boy! Kasi naman he really looks like a girl, ayan tuloy, everybody calls him a "her", or a "she." Besides his hair is past shoulder lenght, he was wearing a pony tail that day, too. One girl I noticed kept touching his pony tail, then suddenly sneezed for no reason. Then I thought, oh my goodness, please don't let it happen. By the time we went home and time for my babies to sleep my son has caught a cold. Poor thing, he was so cranky and his nose runny. Anyway, I think I caught the cold, too.

I downloaded an e-book on the life of Helen Keller. 243 pages, downloaded it at work (bad girl) shhh... and couldn't stop reading it. The gist of the story here.

It's Time To Take A Stand

When I heard in the news that the state of Massachussets had legalized same-sex marriages, I was very sad and disappointed. I cannot stress more the fact that not only me, but my children will be affected one way or the other by this issue in the future. I have nothing against homesexuals but...

It's Time to Take a Stand

Four ways Christians can respond to the gay marriage debate.

By Dennis Rainey
May 2004

Rosie O’Donnell, the former television talk show host turned gay activist, shared an interesting personal story with Diane Sawyer on ABC’s “Primetime Live.” Rosie told how her 6-year-old son, Parker, asked, “Mommy, why can’t I have a daddy?”

Stop for a moment and consider the implication of little Parker’s question. Here’s a boy who will never know the joy of being raised by a father. He’ll never experience a dad tucking him in bed at night, reading him a book, wrestling him to the ground, or tossing him a football. Why?

Rosie—and those who advocate the reckless move toward same-sex marriage—appears to be more concerned about a personal agenda rather than what is best for the child. Rosie’s son longs for a father but has two mothers instead.

Rosie’s response to her son’s question? She said, “Because I’m the kind of mommy who wants another mommy.”

Rosie’s gain is her son’s loss.

Tragically, America is standing on the threshold of raising a generation of children in same-sex homes where there will be either no father or no mother to love, care or provide a model for masculinity or femininity. This is indeed about “human rights”—a child’s “rights.” A boy and a girl ought to have “the right” to feel the whiskers of a father and the soft, smooth skin of a mother when he or she gets a good night kiss on the cheek.

However, on May 17 in Provincetown, Mass., hundreds of same-sex couples will legally be married. It is my understanding that flowers in that city cannot be purchased in florist shops because there are so many “same-sex” weddings. Some are going so far as to nickname Provincetown the “Gay Niagara Falls.” Just a mere decade ago, this would have been unthinkable in America.

The battle over same-sex marriage will redefine marriage and family and therefore redefine our nation. As the moral standard bearer of the culture, the Christian community dares not to be silent. We cannot abdicate our responsibility to be “salt and light” by allowing a vocal few to steam roll the masses. I believe now, more than ever, is the time for the church to let its light shine before men in such a way that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

There are those who think this issue does not affect them or their families. This notion is unfortunately inaccurate. Let me give you just three examples how I believe life in America will change in the months and years:

First, expect educators who will insist that the pictures in your child’s textbooks be changed to show same-sex couples as “normal.” Your child will likely be required to attend “sensitivity training” classes to relate to children who are raised in same-sex homes. I believe private schools will not be exempted from this process.

Second, churches and pastors will legally be restrained from taking biblical stands against the practice of homosexuality. Such prophetic pronouncements will be declared intolerant and discriminatory. There could be a day in the not-too-distant future when churches are forced to provide same-sex weddings.

Third, same-sex marriage will not be the last stop on this runaway agenda of those who would socially reconstruct America. As Americans adjust to the new reality of gay marriage, these social engineers will lobby for polygamy, group marriage, and open marriage.

At this rate, we are going to experience the deconstruction of the most basic unit of our nation—marriage. Dr. Carl Zimmerman studied the civilizations of history and in 1947 wrote a powerful book, History and Civilization. As a Harvard sociologist, his research documented that what took place in the family also impacted the civilization at large. When the family began to fall apart, that civilization unraveled. He noted that the last phase of a family was marked by sexual perversions of all kinds and a redefinition of marriage. This generally represented the final stage of societal disintegration.

We’re already seeing this downward spiral in Scandinavian countries. Marriage has fallen out of favor as a trusted institution. Statistics report that 60 percent of all the children being born in Scandinavia are born out of wedlock. These children will not know what it means to grow up in a home that has a mommy and a daddy in a committed relationship called marriage and family.

I confess, I used to be one of those who thought I wouldn’t see the deconstruction of the family in my lifetime. But after talking to a few friends across the country and taking the time to learn more about the issue, I can see the snowball is rolling downhill and picking up speed. This progression of a decomposing family structure will have a profound impact on my family and yours.

There will be no escape for our children and grandchildren. Or you.
· What are you going to do when your new same-sex neighbors and their kids begin to call your kids to come over and play at their house?

· What will you do when the evening news shows two men or two women kissing, again as though it is normal?

· What will you do when your child is forced to take classes that teach tolerance and acceptance of a wide range of alternate lifestyles?

· What will you do when your daughter brings home a young man she’s in love with who grew up in a home with a lesbian couple? As a young man, how could he possibly know how to treat his wife?

Now is the time for the Christian community to take clear, courageous action.

First, if you’re not fully informed about what’s happening, get informed today. In many regards, the battle for marriage has just begun. Learn how this watershed moment in our history is going to impact your children, your communities, and your nation.

Second, help educate others. We at FamilyLife have created the Preserving the Family brochures that you can hand out to friends and insert into your church bulletin. The brochure explains God’s design for marriage and why the definition of marriage should not be changed. It also provides direction on how to respond to the same-sex marriage movement. Click on the Preserving the Family brochures 20 pack pictured under recommended resources in the right hand margin or call 1-800-FL-TODAY to order.

We have also provided a downloadable PDF file of the brochure on our website (click on the link to the right) with printer-ready art that you can share with your pastor to put in the bulletin. Let me challenge you to download the information now, and take it with you to your church on Sunday and ask your pastor to use this information as a bulletin insert.

Third, pray. The message of the Bible from beginning to end has always been that our God is the God Who’s in charge. He is the Sovereign Lord of the universe. Isaiah 59:1-2 says,
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

As we pray, some of us may need to begin with a prayer of repentance over our attitude toward the sin of homosexuality and people who practice it. There has been hatred, anger, a failure to be compassionate, and a lack of proactive love in reaching out to victims of AIDS who are in the homosexual community. Ask the Lord for forgiveness and then ask Him to show us how to be compassionate and to love those who do not yet know Him.

Finally, we need to step up and stand for the truth. Isaiah 59:14-15 warns,
Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness cannot enter. Yes, truth is lacking; and he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey.

If we do not press back against that which is evil, and if we do not lovingly and compassionately confront the darkness with the truth, we (our marriages, families and children) will be preyed upon by the very evil that we were meant to conquer. Indeed, it is time to take a stand.

Will you join me?

A Filipino Wins It Big In London

Here's something all Filipinos can be proud of . . .

By Alfred Yuson
The Philippine Star 05/16/2004


Patricia Evangelista, a 19-year-old, Mass Communications sophomore of University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman, did the country proud Friday night by besting 59 other student contestants from 37 countries in the 2004 International Public Speaking competition conducted by the English Speaking Union (ESU) in London.

She triumphed over a field of exactly 60 speakers from all over the English-speaking world, including the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, reported Maranan.

The board of judges' decision was unanimous, according to contest chairman Brian Hanharan of the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC).

PATRICIA'S SHORT SPEECH WORTH READING....
------------------------------------------
BLONDE AND BLUE EYES

When I was little, I wanted what many Filipino children all over the country wanted. I wanted to be blond, blue-eyed, and white.

I thought -- if I just wished hard enough and was good enough, I'd wake up on Christmas morning with snow outside my window and freckles across my nose!

More than four centuries under western domination does that to you. I have sixteen cousins. In a couple of years, there will just be five of us left in the Philippines, the rest will have gone abroad in search of "greener pastures." It's not just an anomaly; it's a trend; the Filipino diaspora. Today, about eight million Filipinos are scattered around the world.

There are those who disapprove of Filipinos who choose to leave. I used to. Maybe this is a natural reaction of someone who was left behind, smiling for family pictures that get emptier with each succeeding year. Desertion, I called it. My country is a land that has perpetually fought for the freedom to be itself. Our heroes offered their lives in the struggle against the Spanish, the Japanese, the Americans. To pack up and deny that identity is tantamount to spitting on that sacrifice.

Or is it? I don't think so, not anymore. True, there is no denying this phenomenon, aided by the fact that what was once the other side of the world is now a twelve-hour plane ride away. But this is a borderless world, where no individual can claim to be purely from where he is now. My mother is of Chinese descent, my father is a quarter Spanish, and I call myself a pure Filipino-a hybrid of sorts resulting from a combination of cultures.

Each square mile anywhere in the world is made up of people of different ethnicities, with national identities and individual personalities. Because of this, each square mile is already a microcosm of the world. In as much as this blessed spot that is England is the world, so is my neighbourhood back home.

Seen this way, the Filipino Diaspora, or any sort of dispersal of populations, is not as ominous as so many claim. It must be understood. I come from a Third World country, one that is still trying mightily to get back on its feet after many years of dictatorship. But we shall make it, given more time. Especially now, when we have thousands of eager young minds who graduate from college every year. They have skills. They need jobs. We cannot absorb them all.

A borderless world presents a bigger opportunity, yet one that is not so much abandonment but an extension of identity. Even as we take, we give back. We are the 40,000 skilled nurses who support the UK's National Health Service. We are the quarter-of-a-million seafarers manning most of the world's commercial ships. We are your software engineers in Ireland, your construction workers in the Middle East, your doctors and caregivers in North America, and, your musical artists in London's West End.

Nationalism isn't bound by time or place. People from other nations migrate to create new nations, yet still remain essentially who they are. British society is itself an example of a multi-cultural nation, a melting pot of races, religions, arts and cultures. We are, indeed, in a borderless world!

Leaving sometimes isn't a matter of choice. It's coming back that is. The Hobbits of the shire travelled all over Middle-Earth, but they chose to come home, richer in every sense of the word. We call people like these balikbayans or the 'returnees' -- those who followed their dream, yet choose to return and share their mature talents and good fortune.

In a few years, I may take advantage of whatever opportunities come my way. But I will come home. A borderless world doesn't preclude the idea of a home. I'm a Filipino, and I'll always be one. It isn't about just geography; it isn't about boundaries. It's about giving back to the country that shaped me.

And that's going to be more important to me than seeing snow outside my windows on a bright Christmas morning.

Mabuhay and Thank you.

The Incorruptibles

While at work, I don't recall how we've arrived at the topic on the incorruptibility of some saints. Somehow, it was a topic that I find really interesting even back when I was in college maybe because of my Catholic upbringing. I have a book entitled "The Incorruptibles" showing how the bodies of a lot of saints have been preserved over the years. One that struck me most was the preserved body of St. Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, France.



Source: visionsofjesuschrist.com

The site of the Catholic Pilgrims is a very good source of information if you want to learn more about St. Bernadette and the other saints.

My Last Will

Somebody said, "live your life everyday as if it's your last." This is a good axiom to live by. That's my reason for making up my last will. Whoever finds it strange, may not find it so in the end.

For all the material things I possess, which I don't think is a lot, I leave it to my husband and children. Anyway, when I die and go to heaven, I won't be able to bring it with me. Besides, it's no use holding on to it. It will just make my trip slower and heavier. I wouldn't like that.

For all the happy moments I was given with my family, I leave it to the people of broken families who are in the verge of giving up. May they find the light at the end of the tunnel.

For all the trying moments my husband and I have to undergo and later on conquered it, I leave it to all the couples who are in the verge of divorce. May they see that there is not a perfect person on earth and that it's okay to forgive.... then "forgetting" will follow.

For all the sad moments I experienced on the loss of loved ones, I leave it to the person who has never experienced how to love and later lose the one they love. It's a sweet sorrow.

For all my dreams that never materialized, I leave it to all to the children of the world. It's okay to dream and not get what you want. Dreaming alone is a sacred place where you become what you want and everything falls in the right place. Just be certain to wake up and make it into reality.

These are all my possessions. Not much to hold, but it's made up of me.

You Are So Blessed

This poem comes from an old email which a lot of you probably have received one way or the other but this made me realize so many things that I have always taken for granted. I don't think there's anything wrong in sharing it again. This might just remind you to be thankful for everything, every day like it did to me.


If you woke up this morning
with more health than illness,
you are more blessed than the
million who won't survive the week.

If you have never experienced
the danger of battle,
the loneliness of imprisonment,
the agony of torture or
the pangs of starvation,
you are ahead of 20 million people
around the world.

If you attend a church meeting
without fear of harassment,
arrest, torture, or death,
you are more blessed than almost
three billion people in the world.

If you have food in your refrigerator,
clothes on your back, a roof over
your head and a place to sleep,
you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank,
in your wallet, and spare change
in a dish someplace, you are among
the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still married and alive,
you are very rare,
especially in the United States.

If you hold up your head with a smile
on your face and are truly thankful,
you are blessed because the majority can,
but most do not.

If you can hold someone's hand, hug them
or even touch them on the shoulder,
you are blessed because you can
offer God's healing touch.

If you can read this message,
you are more blessed than over
two billion people in the world
that cannot read anything at all.

You are so blessed in ways
you may never even know.

The Crucifixion

I got an e-mail from my sister telling me that she was into tears when she watched "The Passion of the Christ." I told her I felt the same, and I think everybody did. As I was telling her, long before the movie came out, I have already stumbled on an article about a physician that had analyzed the Crucifixion of what supposed to be the medical explanation of what Jesus endured on that day. I read it all over again and I must admit I have to stop and recover from shortness of breath. Frankly, going back to the movie, I have to shut my eyes on some parts because it was just too much to bear. This is what Jesus did to redeem us from sin and truthfully, we have nothing in our possession to pay Him back - nothing.