100 Things Challenge

I want to screaaammmm! The room is a mess. Christmas is just
around the corner and I promised myself that I will greet the New
Year with a much neater room.

How did we get here??? We have been in the process of moving for
some time now. Add to that the latest addition to our family. Ha!
Imagine a room bursting to the seams. Half of me wants to just
give it all away. Half of me wants to just hold on for dear life.
Obviously, I am torn.

Apparently, I am not the only once faced with this dilemma. Some
people have even taken extreme measures to get rid of the clutter.

Let me introduce you to a guynameddave. Dave started the 100
Things Challenge. You read that right, Dave only has 100 things.
I don't think I'm ready for that. But you have got to admire how
disciplined Dave must have been to have successfully pulled this
off.

10 / 10 / 10

view from my window sill

oh 10 / 10 / 10...

Woke up at the crack of dawn...

Had grand plans...

Had my camera ready...

You obviously had other plans for me...

Got a "panic attack" after breakfast... MIL and BIL told me

Baby M seemed to be losing a lot of weight...

I have sort of recovered... Good thing I can move his check up

to tomorrow... First time mom jitters... ho hum...

The New York Times Interview: Lee Kuan Yew

Photo courtesy of The New York Times

Lately, he said, he had been looking at Christian marriage vows and
was drawn to the words: “To love, to hold and to cherish, in sickness
and in health, for better or for worse till death do us part.”

“I told her, ‘I would try and keep you company for as long as I can.’
That’s life. She understood.” But he also said: “I’m not sure who’s
going first, whether she or me.”

At night, hearing the sounds of his wife’s discomfort in the next room,
he said, he calms himself with 20 minutes of meditation, reciting a
mantra he was taught by a Christian friend: “Ma-Ra-Na-Tha.”

The phrase, which is Aramaic, comes at the end of St. Paul’s First
Epistle to the Corinthians, and can be translated in several ways.
Mr. Lee said that he was told it means “Come to me, O Lord Jesus,”
and that although he is not a believer, he finds the sounds soothing.

“The problem is to keep the monkey mind from running off into all
kinds of thoughts,” he said. “A certain tranquillity settles over you.
The day’s pressures and worries are pushed out. Then there’s less
problem sleeping.” - The New York Times

I am a Catholic. I am a Christian.

I have friends of other religions and persuasions.
We may or may not have the same beliefs.
We choose to celebrate our similarities.
We choose to respect our differences.

I am glad that MM Lee Kuan Yew was introduced to Christian Meditation.
Yes, it does exist. No need to go looking for it elsewhere.

I have been fortunate enough to have attended the talks of Sr. Mary Niere.
I have attended other contemplative talks and retreats. But I have enjoyed
hers the best.

The Gospel of Contemplation and How to Pray by Sr. Mary Niere are
available at St. Paul's.

The Taming and Reclaiming of Prospect Park West

A few years back, a friend from one of the cities I love
told me, "You're part of a dying breed."

Why? Because I love being human!

I love modern city living.
But I am not consumed by it.
I enjoy the comforts we enjoy in this day and age.
But these comforts are merely "tools".
They are there to enhance the human experience.
Not to take away from it.

Thankfully, I am not alone.

The Taming and Reclaiming of Prospect Park West
Courtesy of Streetfilms

It's that time of the year!

The BER months are back!
Let the Christmas countdown begin!

The 3 Powerful Steps to Phenomenal Success

http://www.flickr.com/photos/showmeone

I will not bore you with my commentary on Bo Sanchez's
latest inspirational message. The article speaks for itself.
Read it and live a phenomenal life!

The 3 Powerful Steps to Phenomenal Success
by Bo Sanchez

"Friend, do you want to be successful in life?
Remember that success doesn’t happen overnight.
Success is a journey.
In fact, you’ll have to pass via three landmarks in this journey.
Between where you are now and where your success is are three landmarks.
Here they are:
Landmark 1: When you discover your talent
Landmark 2: When you develop your talent
Landmark 3: When you deliver your talent

1. Discover Your Talent
A lot of people ask me that question: How will I discover my talent?
Kids ask me that question a lot. Teens ask me that question a lot.
Amazingly, even adults ask me that question a lot.

Let me be frank with you.
One of the biggest reasons why you haven’t discovered your talent
is because you haven’t been saying a lot of Yeses to life.
You’ve been habitually saying No.
To opportunities. To learning. To experiences. To stretching.

You’ve been saying No because you’re afraid.
You’re afraid of making mistakes.
You’re afraid of being laughed at by people.
You’re afraid of falling flat on your face.
You’re afraid of being humiliated.

Discovering your talent is like discovering buried treasure.
Treasure hunters don’t dig in one spot and automatically find
the treasure.

Treasure hunters go through a lot of surveying the area.
They dig in one spot, find nothing, dig in another spot again,
find nothing again, dig in another spot again, find nothing again…
until they dig in this one spot and find the treasure!

God has called you to serve Him with your talent.
So serve Him and be willing to make mistakes.
Be willing to fail.
Be willing to be a fool for Christ.
All you’ve got to do is say Yes to God!

2. Develop Your Talent

But I didn’t stop in the discovering of my talent.
I developed my talent.

Some people discover their talent, but they don’t develop it.
They’re good mechanics, farmers, speakers, writers, thinkers,
listeners, musicians, engineers, mathematicians, administrators—
but they don’t develop their talent.
They don’t hone their craft.
They don’t sharpen their saw.
They don’t expand their expertise.
They don’t increase their initiatives.
They don’t grow their gifting.

How did I develop my talent?
Simple.
I used it.

I said “Yes” to every single invitation given to me to speak.
Tiny prayer groups invited me to speak; I said yes.
Prisons invited me to speak; I said yes.
Hospitals invited me to speak; I said yes.
Poor dilapidated schools in far-flung barrios invited me to speak; I said yes.
I had to cross three rivers before I spoke; I said yes.
Only twenty people showed up; I said yes.
Only ten people showed up; I said yes.
Only three people showed up; I said yes.
In my early years, I would preach every single day.
I didn’t know it, but saying “yes” to every invitation was fulfilling Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 Hour-Rule of Greatness.

Sometimes, young preachers come up to me and tell me,
“Brother Bo, I want to preach as good as you do.”
“Great!” I say. So I ask him, “How often do you preach?”
“Oh, about once a month…” he says.

I want to strangle him.
“Once a month? By the time you’ll be any good, you’ll be 150 years old.
You should be preaching every single day!
Create opportunities for you to speak!”

Here’s the truth: The only way to develop your talent is to use it.
Let me say it again. If you don’t use it, you lose it

3. Deliver Your Talent
One of the things I’ve found out about this world is that
you don’t get rewarded for discovering your talent;
you don’t get rewarded for developing your talent;
you only get rewarded for delivering your talent.
In other words, do you have the ability to launch?

Planning to launch is not enough.
Preparing to launch is not enough.
You have to actually launch.

There are those who like tinkering with their work endlessly.
So they delay. And delay. And delay.
And they never launch.
It’s the sickness of corporate world.

Again, the reason why people don’t deliver is fear.
It’s same old enemy.
They’re afraid of failure.
They’re afraid of rejection.
They’re afraid of public humiliation.
So they want everything perfect before they launch.

And there lies the mistake.
There’s no such thing.
They don’t understand that perfection doesn’t exist.
What you need to do is launch and re-launch and keep on re-launching
until you get it right.


Give your talent to God.
Just say “Yes” to Him.

May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez"

Giving It Your All

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vshioshvili

"Once upon a time, I asked this question: Why is God so demanding?

Just look at the greatest commandment. Why does God want you to
love Him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your
strength. (Matthew 22:37)

Shouldn’t He be satisfied if you loved Him with half your heart,
¾ of your mind, and 58% of your strength?

Why does God want you to give your all?

Helloooooow.

God doesn’t need your time.
He’s the owner of eternity. He invented time.

God doesn’t need your talents, definitely.
He can just snap his finger and ten thousand battalions of angels
kneel before him to serve.

And obviously, God doesn’t need your money.
He’s owns the universe.

So why does He want you to give your all?

Here’s why: When you give, you create a vacuum. An empty space.

When I was a kid, my Grade 6 science teacher said, “Nature abhors
a vacuum.” Nature wants to automatically fill vacuums. That’s why
vacuums are powerful magnets. That vacuum—that empty space—
attracts blessings. What blessings? The stuff that you gave away will
be returned to you, only of far better quality and greater quantity.

Listen carefully. The more you give, the bigger the vacuum you create.
The bigger the vacuum, the stronger the magnet—and the more
blessings you’ll attract into your life.

That’s why giving your all is the secret of big returns. There’s magic
when you give your All. Because you also attract All that God wants
to give to you." - Bo Sanchez

This is powerful stuff! Lately, I've been dreaming, planning, praying,
hoping, and moving to accomplish one too many stretch goals. This
is a great affirmation that all my efforts will one day bear fruit.

All in God's good time!!!

How to Have a Hair Makeover

I have been with my stylist for more than 10 years now.
She knows what I like and DON'T like about my hair.
On the upside, I have never left her chair with a bad
hair day. On the downside, I always end up with the same
look.

S knows I will never have anything new done by her.
But she knows I'll be back for my regular cut. And I'll
have my hair fixed when I've had something done that
wasn't quite my liking.

#15 Solo Flight on my 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days -
Have someone else cut/style my hair

I've finally crossed that off the list. Yes, my hair
looked great when I left the salon. Yes, I do not have
a stylist much less a blow dryer at home. Yes, my hair
suddenly has a mind of its own.

My fault really. I kinda told V to just work her wonders.
I forgot to tell her that putting too many layers will
bring out my natural curl (aka buhaghag) and will make
my hair fly every which way(aka tikwas). Can you imagine
my dilemma?

Sooo.... for today's How To:
How to Have a Hair Makeover

1. Figure out WHY you want to change your hairstyle.
- Do this because you want a change. DO NOT DO THIS
because you need to make changes in your life. If you
feel like jumping off a cliff, a new 'do just wont do.
2. Do your research.
- Look around. If possible, show the stylist some
pictures. This will help you avoid a "Surprise!".
3. Give the stylist a heads up on what will and wont
work for you.
- Consider your life and your lifestyle. A photographer
has more artistic license on his hair than a doctor.
If you're low maintenance like me, forget having a style
that requires blow drying. Believe me, it's not gonna
work.
4. Have a Plan B.
- If your worst case scenario suddenly comes to life,
what are your options? Do not skip this step as it may
save your sanity.
5. Take the Plunge.
- If you've thought about it a gazillion times and you
still want to have it done, then go for it!

As for me...
Well yes, my hair will grow back. But I will probably have
to wait more than a year to have my old hair back. I just
remembered that I've had this "new" style before. Back
then, I had to grow out my hair then rebond it to get it
back to normal. I'm currently breastfeeding so it's gonna
take awhile. Ho hum ho hum.

Perfect Timing

God's timing is perfect - it's never too early; it's never too late, it's always
on time.

A few weeks ago, T and I were at a function. I asked her how their recent
family trip went. The kids had loads of fun! And that was that... or so I
thought...

I found myself up and about at 3:00ish in the morning. Not unusual as
Baby M feeds at the oddest of hours. And then it hit me... Just as I was
about to crawl back into bed, I suddenly got a clarity of purpose; an
answer to a question I didn't even know I had...

Suddenly, I found myself with renewed energy and strength. Suddenly,
I had courage. Suddenly, I knew what I needed to do and why it needed
to be done.

Sometimes we ask if God is listening. Maybe we should be asking ourselves,
"Do we listen to Him?" I believe He speaks to us in many ways, sometimes
all we need to do is LISTEN.

Welcome 2010!

Sorry, my bad, I had so many things going on these past few months that I
didn't have time to update the blog...

A couple of days of Baby and Holiday Shopping
A few hours of Child Birth Classes
Tons of "General Cleaning"
Half a dozen Holiday Get-togethers
1 Baby Shower cum Despedida cum Birthday Party
1 House Warming
1 First Birthday Party
1 Wedding Shower
1 Wedding
2 Funerals

I don't know how I managed to get it all done, I'm just glad I did.

I'm now 38 weeks pregnant! No return, no exchange! Ready or not, the baby
is coming! I'm just wrapping things up at work and then I can finally say
that I'm "ready" for the big event.

Let me rephrase that, I'm ready to GO to hospital. I'm still bracing myself
for the giving birth part. And then there's the newbie mom angle.

2010 is definitely going to be a major year for me! Wishing us all more love,
peace, happiness, good health and success this 2010!