New Year, New Life & New Resolutions

Love, Day #14, January 1, 2012
New Year, New Life & New Resolutions

To grow, to make progress and to move forward in life; change is required and this change itself sometimes requires some kind of stimuli, a turning point, a change of weather, a fresh start and this is exactly what every New Year offers us a chance to start afresh and live our lives exactly the way we dreamt and hence we resolve to do things differently. Whether we pass or fail in our endeavors I think it's important to make a start because sometimes change can only happen slowly.

2011 was the year of lessons and 2012 shall be the year of Grand Plans.

The two most important things I learned which shall be the guiding principles for my 2012 resolutions are:

*Only if you love life truly, will life truly love you back. If you are scared and hold back; life will hold back from you too.

*There is only one question to ask, "What would you do if you were not afraid?" Asking this to myself always helps me take some of the more difficult decisions in my personal and professional life.

Now moving onto the fun part of actually making my resolutions, first I'll mention some of the basic principles on which my resolutions are based.

*I want to improve my health. Exercise more, eat healthier and cut back on the toxins.

*Educate myself further. There is so much to know out there and I want to dedicate some amount of time increasing my knowledge.

*To say "yes" to all the stuff close to my heart including causes and hobbies

*To nurture all my relationships far and close with trust, honesty, respect and love. To keep making deposits in the emotional wealth banks of my relations. A phone call, email, chat, facebook, a lunch date, a drink with the boys… the options are endless. And of course most importantly to love myself and spend time doing things I love, to enrich my mind, body and soul.

*And last but not the least to live life queen size. Travel, be spontaneous, do random crazy things, laugh till my stomach hurts, to talk without thinking, to explore, have fun and soak it all in.

My actual resolutions should come in a more fun format and I have to think carefully as I am one year away from hitting quarter life crisis and maybe the world will end so 2012 will have to be lived properly and thoroughly.

You can’t hide from life, eventually you have to live it. Might as well love it.

Cheers!

John 3:16

Love, Day #7, December 25, 2011

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”

Why do we celebrate Christmas? Is it just about giving and exchanging gifts? Is it about caroling, lights or cultural and traditional stuffs? Is there love in Christmas?

Let us look at Wikipedia for some definition, Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated generally on December 25 as a religious and cultural holiday by billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it closes the Adventseason and initiates the twelve days of Christmastide. Christmas is a civil holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians, and is an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.

Well on my own words and based on the bible, Christmas is where we remember the birth of Jesus Christ, the incarnation, God incarnated to be man to fulfill His promise, fulfill what is written in the Scriptures, and save us from our sins. Yes, from you and me. That is the true meaning of Christmas. It’s not about the gifts and cards we give, it’s not about caroling, it’s not even about you and me, it’s not about what he have done but it’s about Jesus, what He has done and what He is! I hope that people would feel and realize this truth. The love of God for the world, for each and every one of us, I hope that people would really commemorate His birth.

Noche Buena

Love, Day #6, December 24, 2011
Noche Buena

A very cultural and traditional celebration on the 24^th is the Noche Buena. This is annually celebrated the night before Christmas countdown. Filipinos usually prepare for this feast, almost all families celebrates it. One of those who are not is our family. I don’t even remember the last time we as a family celebrated Noche Buena. A little introduction about my family, I am the eldest of three boys. Next to me are 12 years old and our youngest Is 6 years old. We live with my mom while our dad works abroad. If we celebrated Noche Buena, it’s just the four of us though. But what I want to feel is the essence of it. The family thing behind Noche Buena, the love we experience with our family.

Love with family. I am thankful and blessed to be a part of this family. Of course, I don’t have any choice. Hahaha... Kidding. But seriously, I love this family. We’re not this perfect family that you see in movies, or maybe you have right now, just normal families with flaws, weaknesses and problems. I am fortunate and unfortunate enough to be aware of what is happening in my family. Oh I just hope and pray that God would be in the center of our family.

I just want to share you my one and only request to God for my family, that before I die, I want see my family complete. Eating together, laughing together and anything that a normal family does together, I want to experience that. It’s been 5 years since my dad went abroad to work. I hope it happens soon, very soon.

Philia (Friendship)

Love, Day #4, December 22, 2011

Philia (Friendship)

Today I’m going to talk about another type of love. It is known as one of the four ancient Greek words of love, philia. In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, it is usually translated as 'friendship', though in fact his use of the term is much broader. Friendship is one of the most important relationships. A friend is someone who is there for you always, someone who knows you and understands you, someone who deeply cares for you. Even though you just see some of your friends occasionally, they’re still a friend. He/she still loves you. I want to share you this information that I just had found out, I think this will educate all of us.

In philia, Aristotle divides it into three based on the motives of forming them: friendships of utility, friendships of pleasure and friendships of the good.

Friendships of utility are relationships formed without regard to the other person at all. Buying merchandise, for example, may require meeting another person but usually needs only a very shallow relationship between the buyer and seller. In modern English, people in such a relationship would not even be called friends, but acquaintances (if they even remembered each other afterwards). The only reason these people are communicating is in order to buy or sell things, which is not a bad thing, but as soon as that motivation is gone, so goes the relationship between the two people unless another motivation is found. Complaints and quarrels generally only arise in this type of friendship.

At the next level, friendships of pleasure are based on pure delight in the company of other people. People who drink together or share a hobby may have such friendships. However, these friends may also part—in this case if they no longer enjoy the shared activity, or can no longer participate in it together.

Friendships of the good are ones where both friends enjoy each other's characters. As long as both friends keep similar characters, the relationship will endure since the motive behind it is care for the friend. This is the highest level of philia, and in modern English might be called true friendship.

Interesting right? Well my opinion about this is simple, put love on every aspect of these friendships. Imagine the world if we have this nature in ourselves to love and care for people. I bet that everything in life will be more meaningful if this is the mindset of everyone. Take a look at this video and see a glimpse of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYATwAZzWEE&feature=related

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philia

Agape

Love, Day #3, December 21, 2011
Agape

Agape is one of the Greek words translated into English as love, one which became particularly appropriated in Christian theology as the love of God or Christ for mankind. In the New Testament, it refers to the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term necessarily extends to the love of one’s fellow man. Many have thought that this word represents divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love. Although the word does not have specific religious connotation, the word has been used by a variety of contemporary and ancient sources, including Biblical authors and Christian authors.

Yes, the first paragraph is from Wikipedia, anyway it’s my third day of writing blogs regarding love and I remember this word called “Agape”. Love of God for mankind, wonderful to know and understand, isn’t? The world is very complicated, full of problems, poverty everywhere, disasters, crime, sinful desires, etc. As if there’s no God. It’s a sad truth right? But the good news is, God exist! He’s alive and well, He sees us, He knows us, He is with us and most of all, He loves us! Believe it or not He loves us. He loves you, no matter who you are. I can give you a lot of biblical verses to support me here but I don’t need to. The very reason you are alive and reading this right now is because of His love for you. He created you and gave you life because He loves you.

He wants the best for us, but we’re so immature and excited to do what we want, we choose not to have God’s best. He loves us so much yet we don’t love Him the way He loves us. Most of us love the world more than Him. The desires in this world are so attractive that we love it more than loving Him. We got caught up in sin. We disobeyed what He taught us that led us to our fall. Not realizing that we are trapped in sin. No one can save us from that! God loves us so much, that even though were sinners and it’s impossible for us to be perfect, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. Now how great is that? That love that a father gave up His own Son to save us from our sins. We are not worthy of that! We are bound to hell but then, God’s grace is overflowing that He still made a way for us. Why? Simply because He loves us! The question is do we love God? Are we expressing it to Him? Is it seen in our lives? Are we giving Him back the love that He deserves?

God created us and gave us life; we disobeyed Him, because of that we are bound to hell. But because of His grace and mercy, He still made a way; He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins for us to still have an opportunity to be with Him in heaven. Why? Agape, love of God for mankind.

Sendong

Love, Day #2, December 20, 2011
Sendong

I heard news regarding what happened in Cagayan De Oro and Iligan. There was this typhoon named Sendong. It was very destructive and powerful. It was said as the world’s deadliest storm for 2011 for its death toll of almost 1300 with still hundreds missing. The sad thing here is that the people don’t have any idea that there is an approaching typhoon that night. Most of those people I guess don’t even have any idea that they’re going to die that night. I think some are even looking forward for Christmas. Excited to celebrate it with their family thinking of what they’re going to do tomorrow or in the next days. But it all ended that same night. An unexpected deadly typhoon hit them.

Hearing all of this in news, testimonies of survivors really made my heart melt. There’s this unexplained compassion for these people, love. The question here is “What’s next?” After hearing it in the news we feel the need of helping them, there’s this urge in us to care for them, compassion. Are we just going to have this compassion and just go on with our lives? An author in the bible named James once said, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

He is currently telling us in this passage that Faith without works is dead. We should express our faith, our love for these people, and how is it seen? It is seen by our works, by the things we do. Now what am I saying here, readers of my blog and all around the world. Let’s make a difference. Let’s help one another, let’s express this love and compassion for those who are in need of it. Especially right now, these people who were victims of Sendong. There’s a lot of opportunity to help these people. Praying, donating old clothes, donating money, visiting them and comforting them. There’s a lot to choose from, come on people. Spread the love. Express your love to them, don’t just stand there and watch them. Help them, be a blessing, be an inspiration, be an instrument of Christ, give hope, and I assure you that God will bless you for that.

Beach Wedding

Beach Wedding, Day 1, 19 December 2011

Today I attended a sunset beach wedding at The Lighthouse in Subic. It was my church mates who got married. They’ve been together for almost 4 years and both of them are a good friend of mine. It’s wonderful to see loving couples getting married especially on a beach. While waiting for the marriage to officially start. It kept me thinking, am I ready to get married? Who do I think I am going to marry? Where? Is it also a beach wedding? When? Or do I even want to get married? What is it inside marriage? A lot of questions that makes me wonder about marriage. I’ll try to answer them all.

Do I want to get married? Of course I do, I know that I don’t have the gift of singleness or celibacy. In fact I already have a special someone whom I know is the one I am to marry. It’s not that I know it because I know her too well, or because we’ve been friends for a decade, best friends for 6 years in that decade, or because some angelic being came to me and told me that “she was the one”, but simply because I just know it. Seriously, you’ll experience it too, you just know it. I know it’s too early for me to claim that she’s the one but I will prove it to you after 5 years. You just know it! Believe me! It’s so awesome that God made it that way. Anyway, back to my topic. I’ve been thinking of getting married at a beach too, the difference with this is I want it sunrise. Hahaha... I want my marriage to be special; it’s one of the best events that will happen in my life. It’s a one in a lifetime opportunity. But honestly, I don’t care wherever or whenever, as long as I am going to marry the person that I love, the person that God has set for me, the one that is predestined to be my wife, you’ll know it. Trust me.

Marriage, is it really worth it? To marry the person you love? Sounds so ironic, right? Of course it is, but has it come to our senses how hard it is to be inside marriage. Even the most beautiful days have their sunsets. There’s only one secret that I know in a long lasting relationship, Love. Put Love in the heart of your relationship and everything’s going to be perfect. I assure you of that since marriage was Love’s idea. I know it sounds too sweet but it’s true. In marriage, we should prepare ourselves. There’s no turning back. Divorce is not in the dictionary. If you had a big fight, Love encompasses everything. You’ll fight for your marriage, for the person you love. Love and peace will rule in your heart once you allowed it to lead you. So if you dare to ask me, marriage is worth it with the person you love if you put Love in your heart.

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

- 1 John 4:8