Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Got Another Template

When I found out that my blog list was messed up, I decided to change my template. My old template "Birdie's Secret Garden" was so cute that everyone loves it. I like the color green because it is cool and relaxing to the eye. But I guess it's time to let go of that old template because my blog is also messy to look at when you try to use a Mozilla Firefox browser.

So, there you go my blog is now in Pink! Don't you love it? By the way, this template is called "Flower Garden".

On Health Insurance

I’ll be out today to pay for my husband’s philhealth insurance. This has to be paid quarterly but I decided to pay for the entire year so that I will not be coming back again and again just to pay for it. It is because the payment alone would consume half of my day because there are a lot of people who are coming to their office to pay as well as to claim for benefits. Philhealth is a government health insurance agency where it provides sustainable, affordable and progressive social health insurance which endeavors to influence the delivery of accessible quality health care for all Filipinos. This has helped a lot of Filipinos especially on hospitalization purposes.

Aside from Philhealth, most people who can afford opt for another healthcare insurance provider. Some of them also have one because it’s part of their company’s benefits. The selection and comparison of the health insurance provider were already done by their employers. All of they have to do is to pay for it through salary deduction. If you’re planning to get for another health insurance make sure that you know what to do or you can also read this article “Health Insurance Plan Selection and Comparison”. It is very important that you know the benefits of your plan as well as who will be covered. You can compare it to other health insurance provider so that you will know what to choose.

What Happened to My Bloglist?

My cousin asked me about my bloglist because it wasn't there anymore. Hmmm... I wonder what happened to this. I checked on the list and it has nothing. Everything on my bloglist was deleted. It was indeed a very big question because I haven't edited something in my blog.

Well...well... I guess I just have to make another bloglist again. Anyway, I will just have to do this tomorrow. Got to go for now because I'm already sleepy.

How about you? What do you think happened?

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P.S. I'm now updating my bloglist. Kindly leave a note if you want to be on the list. Thanks!

God Knows Best

Laurie, the host of this month's Thankful Thursday asked this question on here post:

Have you ever dropped a coin in the coin slot of a vending machine and not received what you wanted?

How disappointing it is to mash that button that says "Snicker bar" and receive a "Granola bar" instead. When this happens ... you know for certain that something has gone wrong. How in the world could this crazy machine plunk out something that you did not want?

So what do you do when this happens. Kick the machine? Throw the granola bar in the trash? Get angry? Try again?

It is indeed a very disappointing experience when we want something and yet we end up not having it. We prayed so hard to God for something that we ever desire, but it seems that God didn't answered our prayers. Most of our reaction to this kind of situation is to react on God or get angry with God. Do we really have the right to be angry with God?

Today, I attended the burial of my grandmother's sister. It's a very sad event in our lives when one of our relatives passed away. If we were the one to choose, we want God to heal her and be with us, spending time together. But God knows what's best for her and for her family. Despite this loss, I am still thankful to God for a lot of things He has done today.

I thank God for this event in our lives because it gave us the opportunity to meet and bond with our relatives. We seldom see each other and during these times it feels like having a reunion. Thank God for the lives of our relatives.

Truly God knows what's best for us and He always works for the good of us.

"All things work together to them that love the Lord...

Finding the Best Webhost Service

I’m planning to buy a domain for my other blog. Just that I am still not so sure if I will pursue my plan because of domain problems I encountered before. Even though the problem was solved but I don’t want to experience that problem again. That is why I wanted to find the best webhost provider so that I will not have domain problems in the future.

Anyway, as I read through blogs, I’ve heard that webhostinggeeks.com can help me find the best webhost service. I went to their site and I found a lot of information from their site. They have this web hosting awards - best webhost for 2009 which will serve as your guide in finding the best webhost service. You can be very sure that the awarding is reliable because these are carefully examined by experienced webmasters to provide the service you require. Not only that, as you will try to open the other pages of their site, you can also find their list of Top 10 Web Hosting. The list provides reviews and ratings of web hosting customers about their web hosting provider through their testimonials. You can visit their site today and find some great information about webhosting.

I got this photo from heartlight.org and thought of sharing this as my entry to this week's Word-filled Wednesday. This Proverb is indeed true. A friend will surely love you no matter what happens. Our friends may be sometimes called when things aren't well with us, but God will surely love us no matter what.

Anyway, for more of WFW entries you can visit the The160acrewood.com -the home of Word-filledWedneday.

Memories of My Father

(Originally posted last June 6, 2008, entitled "Fatherless")

My father left us when I was still 4 years old, my elder brother 5 years old and my younger brother 2 years old. I can still remember the time he left us. It was Christmas day of 1983. I was excited then because Father is at home but only to find out that he will not be celebrating Christmas with us. It wasn’t a sad Christmas for me because I thought he will just be back. But Father never came back until then. :(

Eight years after, I met my father unexpectedly at an event at my aunt’s house. My brothers and I approached our father with a happy heart. We kissed him, even though it feels like kissing a stranger, but we were grateful that day that we met him. He promised us to have a fun day and promised to fetch us home on Monday. We were so excited of that promise and we hold on to it. Monday came but Father never came that day. We didn’t even see his shadow at all. After that incident, we never heard any news about him. We didn’t even heard any explanation why he never came that day.

Two years after and I am already a second year high school student. While I was at home, absent from my class due to my asthma, there was someone knocking on the door. As I opened it, it was my father. My heart beats faster and I couldn’t explain what I am feeling. There was a mixed emotion on whether I should be happy that he came and at the same time I felt sad and angry deep inside. At the back of my mind I was thinking what is he doing here? But still my face showed a warm welcome smile to my father. We talked that day but only about shallow matters. He looked at the pictures in our photo album and he told me I looked good on the pictures. He also saw the picture of my mom, and he said mom looks happy. But as I was looking at him that day, I felt pity on him. He looked so dirty and it seems he doesn’t have a bath at all. I invited him for lunch and as I looked at him eating, I got the notion that he never had eaten for days. After the lunch he bid his goodbye.

My father went back home that night. I was afraid that he will really stay in the house for good. He came back for the reason that he wanted to see my brothers and borrowed some shirt from them. Maybe father was facing a hard time that day. Both my brothers were angry at him. They let him borrowed a shirt but my cousins were the one who gave the shirt. We invited him for dinner but we never ate with him only my uncles. After his dinner with my uncles he left.

We were living a simple life after that incident with only our mom supporting us. My mom is both the father and the mother at home. She’s a father when it comes to disciplining us, and she’s a mother when it comes to loving us. After I graduated college, I heard from the Director of the school I’m working, that my father called the office and is asking for financial assistance from us because he was terribly sick with diabetes. The director told my father that we are not anymore connected to his office. He also informed my father that my brother was already working in a fast food chain. My father called my brother’s workplace and was able to contact my brother. He visited my brother at the fast food chain. My brother asked his superior to have a short break because father will be coming. My brother’s eyes were never detached from the entrance door waiting for my father to come in. While looking at every person entering, he saw an old man with a cane in one hand. He was making fun of that old man and told his co-workers “here comes my father…” to his surprise; the old man was really our father. He really can’t believe it! (This seems to be like in the movies, but this is really true.) He welcomed our father and asked him to eat what he likes. Father was asking for his forgiveness that day, and asked him to give him some financial assistance. My brother gladly helped my father. The money he gave was not big enough but I appreciated my brother’s gesture of forgiving our father.

We really don’t have that big grudge to our father. Mom was always there to remind us not to be bitter with him, because he is still our father no matter what. Even if he hasn’t spoke words of forgiveness to me, I have forgiven him a long time ago. According to my friend, my father already died due to sickness. I am not sure of this because we were not informed of his death, or even invited to his funeral. One thing I’m sure of, that wherever he is right now I don’t hold any resentment about him.

One thing I am holding on: “God is a Father to the Fatherless”. I thank God that even though I didn't experience good memories with my biological Father, His love is so real that I cannot feel the emptiness of a physical father.

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families... (NIV)
Psalm 68:5-6

Call A Friend

I had a heart-to-heart talk with a friend last week. We did not set our talk to be a formal one but in the middle of our conversation, my friend started to open up what’s in her heart. I was so shocked with what she shared to me. She shared all about her problems and the things that bothered her. As she was sharing her story, I can see her face teary eyed. We consumed the entire afternoon talking to each other and I whispered a prayer to God asking for wisdom to say the right words to her. Her face looked happy after our conversation.

Sharing your problems to a good friend gives you a chance to vent all the frustrations, disappointments and all your sad emotions. Hearing some words of encouragement from a friend is a good reminder that you don’t have to feel guilty about being stressed when life is difficult. Friends give you the reassurance that whatever you’re facing, you don’t have to face it alone.

Is life difficult for you today? You can call a friend to help you get through some worst times of your life. Better yet, I can be your friend and you can call me anytime when you need me.

For People In Recovery

It’s a good thing to know that there are a lot of sites online that cater to the needs of individuals who are struggling with drug addiction and alcoholism. InTheRooms Meetings is one of the best sites that provide an opportunity for people in recovery to grow and progress even when they are away from meetings. It is considered as the top recovery site in the web. It is a place online where everyone involved in recovery can learn and share with one another. The site has a wide range of great programs and resources that will suit the need of an individual who seek online help.

Just recently, InTheRooms created the largest and most comprehensive Meeting Database. Their database currently consists of the most current Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and Gamblers Anonymous (GA meetings and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Members of this site are also encouraged to help manage the accurate meeting database online and this will be completed by June 30th.

With the current innovations InTheRooms is making, I’m sure it can help a lot of individuals who are struggling with addiction. You can visit their site and check out the new AA, NA and GA meetings database. By the way, most addiction groups are anonymous, that is why they named it ‘in the rooms”.

Today’s Thankful Thursday’s theme is “Father’s Eyes”. I was a bit hesitant to make this post because I don’t have anything to write about my biological father. Although most of relatives would usually tell me that I got his talents from singing, sketching and the ability do a lot of things. He left us when we were still little kids and I only had few memories about him. Despite that, my heart is still grateful for this experience. I may have never experienced my father’s love and care but through this experience God has allowed me to feel His great LOVE being a Father to the fatherless. (“A Father to the fatherless… Psalm 68:5)

So today, I am very much thankful to my Heavenly Father. I am so thankful for my Father’s eyes, his eyes that find the good things in every situation. Even my life is not perfect, my family is not perfect, my biological father is not perfect but God saw the good things on this situation and I thank Him for allowing me to see the good side of things in this situation.

I am thankful for His eyes that is full of compassion. Thank you Lord for you know my pain, my struggles, my suffering. Thank you that you understand every tear that falls from my eyes.

Thank you Lord for being such a great FATHER to the fatherless!

Happy Father's Day everyone!

*** To join this weekly meme,you can visit Laurie of Women Taking a Stand. Join us in thanking God today!

First Day of School

I was very happy to meet our new pupils for this school year. The kids were very cute and lovely. I was even more glad to meet my Nursery pupils. They were all cute and smart. Some of them were clingy to their mom at first but before the class time ends, they were already loose as some of them were already talking to their other classmates. Today was a very tiring day for me, but this is nothing compared to the experience of meeting wonderful kids entrusted by God to our care. It is my prayer that my life will truly be a blessing to these kids and to their parents.

True Beauty

My Thankful Thursday post will focus on this week's TT Theme, "True Beauty".

I thank the Lord for the beauty of His creation and it causes me to think of his greatness. One of the most beautiful creation that can truly moved my heart was His creation of the Universe. I can say that it is indeed true beauty. I stand in awe how God placed each stars, each planets and other heavenly bodies. What is more amazing is he named all of the stars in the sky and He call them by name... He is truly amazing!

When I think about God's creation, my heart is indeed grateful for who He is. Thank you Lord for being such a GREAT GOD!

My hubby is looking for a wooden or rustic furniture for his music room. I told him that he will just have to buy a plastic one because it's a bit cheaper. He said that he wants something like the one in the picture. After an hour of discussion we ended up to choose a bamboo sofa because it is cheaper. So, I guess this Saturday, we're going to buy one.

WFW : Be Still and Know

May this verse be an encouragement to all of you. God has reminded us to be STILL in all the problems that we are experiencing, in all the struggles we have, in all the pains that we are bearing because HE is in CONTROL.

Happy Word-Filled Wednesday everyone!

Bogie's Retail Store

My husband always mention about his idea of putting up a small retail store. I am not buying his idea yet because I know that is still impossible as of this moment. He was having this idea because I am into selling stuff like women’s RTWs, and he told me that I am good at it. He suggested that, it would be good to have a store where we can put all items on display to attract more buyers. Anyway, if that happens, I’m sure it’s going to involve a big amount of money. The construction of the store would be the first thing to do and after that will be the stocks to be sold. We will then have to find some nice shelves to place all the items that we are going to sell.

Talking about shelves, I’ve found gondola shelves to be nice and very functional for my soon to be retail store. I like it because it has pegboards where you can use to put baskets and hooks as well. It also comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes and can be placed anywhere you wanted to. In fact, this is now the most common shelves I’ve found mostly in retail stores. I’m planning to request a quote on this so that I can have an idea how much I would be spending for shelves alone.

Oh my! As I am writing this post, I’m beginning to like my hubby’s idea. But I believe this isn’t the right time yet. For now, I will just have to settle selling RTW’s to my friends. It would be nice then since I will not be spending on other bills. All I have to do is increase my "convincing power" to my friends. I guess I will just have to forget about Bogie’s retail store for now. I will just have to wait for the right time.

Repainting the Classroom

It’s back to school time here in the Philippines and we are on the process of renovating and repainting our school. One of the major works we will be doing this week is the repainting of the walls in the classroom. We wanted the kids to find out something new when they go back to school. Aside from that we want them to like and enjoy their new home for the next 10 months of their lives. For now, we are still choosing the right colors for the wall. We prefer a color that is not so bright or dark to give our classroom a spacious look. As I have read online, one color for the walls and ceiling would give your room a wider and spacious look. Anyway, we hired an expert for that and I’m sure he’s good about it.

Feeling Better

Thank God, I am okay now! No more breathing difficulties just a mild cough. No more colds and no more terrible headaches. My two days of rest was indeed very helpful. My aim for this week would be not to expose myself from any allergens as I don't like to be sick again. Good thing, my aunt gave me a mask yesterday. Anyway, I thank God for healing me and giving me added strength. Thank you also to all my blogger friends who prayed for me.

For The Lovely Bloggers!

I got another award from Phebie and Shelo. Thanks so much for this “One Lovely Blog Award”.

The rules are:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I am giving this award to the lovely bloggers out there with a lovely blog:

Nanay of A Glimpse of a Widow's Heart

Laureen of Words from My Heart

Ate Nenette of Nenette's Niche

Phebie of Love’s Haven ( I’m returning this award to you because you deserve it.)

Shelo of Mimundo del Amor ( Your blog is lovely too, so giving it back to you.)

Aiza of Little Singkit

Jesulalaine of Day to Day Miracles

Pepper of Up Close and Personal

Fe of Fe’s Journey of Life

Ate Jeneath of Beautiful Feet

Cookie of Cookie’s Corner

Mem of Precious Moments

Ate Litlit of Genuine Cuisine

Denise of Shortybear’s Place

Auntie Grace of Amazing Grace

Neonlight of A Perfect World

My Start Page

My husband created a browser start page for his PC. I asked him how did he do it, but he was making of fun of me and told me that it’s a secret. Well, my curiosity led me to search for it in the internet and I found the answer at http://my-start-page.com. Now, here’s the screenshot of my start page.

You can create your own start page too!

Yesterday, I was exposed to dusts because we were preparing the classroom for the regular class next week. As an asthmatic, I shouldn’t expose myself to dust because it’s the major factor that triggers my asthma. But I don’t have a choice and still continued with what I am doing. After a few minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore because I always sneeze right there and then. My eyes were already swollen as if I was crying the whole day. I had runny nose and my head felt like its being hammered. So I stopped and took an anti- allergy medication.

At 5:00 PM I went home and I immediately took a nap as I was already drowsy. My husband woke me up for dinner and as I checked on the time it was already 9:30 in the evening. Still sluggish but I decided to get up and ate dinner. After that I went back to sleep.

At around 4:00 AM, I woke up because I couldn’t breathe anymore. I was coughing early in the morning, that my husband told me not to do some activity today. I just went out to buy some medicines and after that I spend the whole day resting. I’m still not feeling well today and my whole body is weak. I felt like having fever but thank God my body temperature is just normal. I hope I’ll be okay tomorrow. Please pray for me.

People Reaching People

This is one of Greg Laurie's devotionals which I happened to read today. I find this article a great reminder for all of us to reach others. So, here it is... hope you will be encouraged.

"So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you."

—Acts 10:33

Acts 10 records the story of a man named Cornelius, a centurion who lived in Caesarea. Caesarea was a Roman outpost in Israel, named after Caesar. As a Roman military officer who commanded a group of 100 soldiers, Cornelius would have been taught to worship the gods of Rome that mostly were from Greece, which Rome conquered. He also would have been taught to worship Caesar as a god. Yet this worship apparently left Cornelius feeling empty.

Being around the Jewish people all the time, maybe he thought, You know, I believe they are worshiping the true God. So he started giving money to the poor, and he started praying to the God of Israel. Even though he was a non-Jew, he called out to their God. God will reveal Himself to the true seeker (see Jeremiah 29:13), and because Cornelius was truly seeking God, He sent an angel to tell him to summon Peter, who would have a message for him.

But the angel didn't cut to the chase and say, "Hey, Cornelius! You need to believe in Jesus, who died and rose again." Why not give him the gospel right then and there? Because the primary way that God reaches people is through people. Romans 10:14 says, "But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?"

Peter was the man whom God wanted to use to reach Cornelius. God wanted Cornelius to be saved, and He also wanted to use the conversion of Cornelius, a Gentile, to open Peter's eyes to the fact that there is a big world out there that needs to hear the gospel.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org

CD Duplication

My friend’s giveaway on her wedding was a compilation of all their favorite songs all provided in a CD. I find the giveaway very nice because I am fond of listening to music. The CD was also unique because it was personalized with their faces and name printed on it. I really like the giveaway that until now, I am still using it. I guess my friend really did a hard time looking for the right person to duplicate as many CDs as possible just for their wedding.

Talking about CD duplication services, it is very important that you go to the right guys for this kind of project. Once the people are experienced and reliable, you can be very sure that your project is in good hands. Just like Coptech Digital Inc., CD duplication Boston a company that provides the best duplication services like cassette duplication, dvd duplication, print solution and etc. You can be assured of their services because they provide comprehensive personal support and consultation on their clients. They also have won numerous awards for their designs and CD and DVD screen printing as well as Digital – offset printing. You can visit their website and learn more about the services they provide.

Being the Right Person

It’s first Monday of the Month and I thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity to join other Christians sharing thoughts how God has touched their marriage. This is my second time in Marriage Mondays and I felt so blessed to join to monthly meme.

The topic for this month’s Marriage Monday is “Being the Right Person”. The host is Christine of Fruit in Season. As I read through her post on this, I was truly blessed. Here’s a portion of what she wrote:

“If we want to make our marriages better, we need to focus on becoming the right person, instead of worrying whether or not the person we're with is the right person for us. Especially in a Christian marriage, which is meant to be a garden where selflessness and servant-mindedness take root, we should bloom and prosper by continuing to work toward being the person that will most bless, complete, and encourage the one we've chosen. And as we all know from our own observations, the grass is actually greener where it is watered.*

Success in marriage isn't finding the right person,it's being the right person; I strongly agree with this statement. In fact, this has always been my prayer to God; to be the right person for my husband. I am not perfect but I always strive to become a blessing to my husband. I submit to what he wants and I always understand him when situation requires me. I always find ways to please him in all aspect in my life. Of course, I can’t be the right person without God working in me and in our marriage.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Monday, June 8, 2009

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Friday, June 5, 2009

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

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Monday, June 1, 2009