Still

Be Still Philippines. It breaks my heart to see how the biggest storm this year has chosen to hit once again Visayas. Our country is still recovering from the earthquake and here comes  "Yolanda" or "Haiyan" as known internationally. Our nation is experiencing a lot of trials and my heart bleeds watching the news lately. Images of children hungry and terrified makes me cry. What if the storm hit my city? No one is safe. Times are hard these days and I pray that Tacloban city will recover soon. I pray that the incoming storm will be much kinder. Please pray for the Philippines. And spread the word that we need food for the victims. There are thousands of them.

Still

by: Hillsong United

Hide me now

Under Your wings

Cover me

Within Your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar

I will soar with You above the storm

Father you are King over the flood

I will be still, know You are God

Find rest my soul

In Christ alone

Know His power

In quietness and trust

When the oceans rise and thunders roar

I will soar with You above the storm

Father You are king over the flood

I will be still, know You are God

Storm

Storm is coming. Be safe Philippines.

Earthquake in Visayas

     Once again, our country is experiencing trials. The crumbling of the centuries-old churches in Bohol is devastating. I cannot imagine the terror they must have felt while the 7.2 magnitude earthquake was happening. The pain of seeing the houses, hospitals, old churches and other buildings falling apart and knowing that there are people trapped inside. I saw the news last night and a son was being interviewed because his mother was trapped inside their house. He said it was so hard looking at the house and he could not do anything to get his mother out. It was so sad that his mom did not make it in spite of the help of the rescuers.

     In TV Patrol last night, the Loboc Children’s Choir sang “The Prayer” in front of the fallen old Loboc Church in Bohol. I was teary eyed watching them sing because the children embodied a mixture of sadness, hope, and love for nation. Watching them sing last night stirred in me a patriotism that I don’t usually feel.

     If you have lived in this country all your life, you will be immuned to children begging in the streets, people jaywalking, cars parked at the wrong places, the “me” first attitude of most drivers, the attitude of people working in government, the poor services that we receive, the corrupt officials who act like saints, and the everyday experiences we have that can make us say that we truly are a third world country.

     That being said, in my heart, I am still proud to be a Filipino. Because despite of all the negatives, Filipinos by nature have a heart of gold. We are hospitable and when need arises, ordinary people become heroes in their own way. We value families and friendships. We are a happy nation and it is easy for us to overcome tragedies because of our camaraderie. Most Filipinos,  Muslims and Christians, turn to God/Allah for strength and guidance and for me, that is the most important value that we Filipinos possess.

Motherhood

Motherhood is always a blessing. My baby has had cough and cold for the past four days. I took him to the doctor yesterday because his cough seems to be worse. It was a good thing we went yesterday instead of waiting until Saturday to have him checked. It turned out that he might have asthma. I am thankful that a cousin of mine lent us his nebulizer. It was my first time to operate it and at first,  baby cannot stop crying. After two sessions of nebulizing, baby started to get the hang of it and just allowed himself to breathe through the mask. Of course, every now and then, he grabs the mask and wants to eat it.Lol.

 Even though we did not sleep well last night, I find motherhood fulfilling in spite of situations like these. I am still on leave today to monitor his condition. He needs to be on the nebulizer every four hours and I want to be the one to do it to make sure it is done right. I also want to prepare his antibiotic myself to make sure it is the right dosage. I could not trust completely to let the nanny do it without my parents in the house. My parents are out of town so I made a decision to just avail of my vacation leave to be with my baby.

I still have a lot to learn about being a mother. I am grateful to other mothers who share their experiences with me. No matter how many articles I read about parenting, nothing beats experience:)

Born This Way

A friend posted on Facebook stating an opinion about the lyrics of the song “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga, “I am what I am” by Gloria Gaynor, and “Love me for what I am” by The Carpenters.

(To quote): “There’s a song before by The Carpenters that goes, “You’ve got to love me for what I am for simply being me.” And then Gloria Gaynor sang, “I am what I am and what I am needs no excuses.” It ain’t much different form Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”

They’re self-centered and selfish; expecting others to take you for  who you are, period. Not even a hint of wanting to change for the better.

People with this mindset expect people to bend over for them, to just accept them and how they talk, to embrace them in the midst of their tantrums, to “love me for what I am” because “I am what I am...” and “I was born this way.”

Truth:  Jesus loves you for who you are – a sinner. But He did not accept you and love you and die for you and rise for you for you to stay the same. Jesus came to bring change -  a transformation -  from the inside out, for the better.

The moment you settle for being who you are, then you negate Christ’s finished work on the Cross.

Let Him love you for who you are but allow Him to transform you and make you a better person. Because truth is, yes, you were born that way but you don’t have to stay that way.” (Unquote)

I have been caught singing “Born this Way” and “Love me for what I am” a few times. I do not know the whole lyrics of the song. I just know the chorus. After reading my friend’s post, I have come to realize that he actually has a point. Of course we have to accept and love ourselves first because I personally believe that it will be hard for us to accept and love others when don’t accept and love ourselves.

I kind of agree when Lady Gaga says:

There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are
She said, 'cause He made you perfect, babe
So hold your head up, girl and you you'll go far
Listen to me when I say

I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way

Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way, born this way

These days where so much emphasis is made on physical beauty, weight, height, skin color, hair style, clothes, shoes, and other temporary and material things, it is easy to feel unattractive. So much promotion is made on liposuction, botox, and other beautifications done by doctors. I like the highlighted lyrics where Lady Gaga says God makes no mistakes and we are perfect the way we are. If she is talking about the physical aspect, then I completely agree with her. However, if she is also talking about our attitude then I agree with my friend’s observation. Lady Gaga says there ain’t no other way because she was born this way. But people do change and can change for the better.

Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way
Baby, I was born this way

It is not wise for us to think that we cannot change because we are born this way. Yes, we may have inherited some not so nice characteristics, but those can be changed for the better. An introvert person can be an extrovert in the future and vice versa.

I am glad to have read my friend’s post. Sometimes it’s also nice to understand the songs that we sing. It made me “google” the lyrics of the song and tried to decipher what the song meantJ

Quotes

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” 

― Mother Teresa

Have a Happy Weekend Everyone. Hope you'll spend it with your family and help promote world peace:) 

Zamboanga Crisis

     I cannot understand what goes on in the minds of terrorists. Why do they continually use violence to get what they want? When a member of their own family accidentally gets killed, they react as if they have never killed an innocent civilian. They simply do not have any respect to other human beings. Their mindset is selfish and futile.

     Watching the news about what is happening in Zamboanga angers me. It pains me to see innocent civilians young and old running away from their homes to seek refuge. It enrages me to see that they have used citizens of that beautiful city as human shields and did not even spare toddlers. Don’t they want a peaceful life? Why do they blame everything on our government? Yes, our government is not perfect but I believe the current administration is far less corrupt than the previous one. And I believe that they are doing their best to solve the many, many problems of our country. Six years is not enough to fix corruption in the Philippines. A six year term is simply too short for an honest leader but sadly too long for a corrupt one.

     I wish terrorists would have an open mind and realize that using violence to get what they want will only get them nowhere. I wish they would have a lot of conscience and see that they are hurting innocent families. Children losing their parents, parents losing their child, businesses falling apart and all the unnecessary killings only paralyze our country. I wish they would have the heart to love our country and respect one another’s religious beliefs. I am not really aware of the root cause of their hate as I seldom watch the news. But one thing I know, whatever they are fighting for, it does not justify them using innocent victims as their shields. It does not justify them disrupting the lives of the people of Zamboanga City. It does not justify the pain, the hardship, the loss, the terror our fellow Filipinos are experiencing right now because of what the MNLF are doing.

     Please pray for Zamboanga City. Pray for Mindanao. Pray for the Philippines.