24th: GRATEFUL. THANKFUL. BLESSED.

Last night, before I fell asleep, I thank God for this another year. After that, I said a little more thank you's and some prayers. Without me knowing, it's already past 6 in the morning. I woke up so early because of a too good to be true dream; a dream that answers almost all of the prayers and wishes I whispered last night. Then I told myself, "Si Lord talaga, walang kupas." I rushed to the bathroom to prepare for this long day.

While riding a jeepney, the man beside me handed me a piece of paper then he said, "Wala yang bayad, libre lang." I looked on that paper he is giving me then I saw a bible verse. Without hesitation, I grabbed it and read it (feeling ko, message ni Lord sakin yun for this day). It felt good when I saw the man smiling while I am reading it. Again, I told myself, "Lord, thank You for reminding me that though I am a sinner, You are still here to make me feel loved specially on this day."

Going back to the house and opening my laptop, I saw a lot of messages, tweets, and posts greeting me a happy and blessed birthday. Once again, I told myself, "Thank you, Lord, for these people who love me despite my weaknesses and flaws. Simple greetings are more than enough to make this day special to me."

Truly, things that cannot be seen are more than all the material things in this world. On my 24th year, I must say that I feel more blessed knowing that I have people who truly loves me. With the overflowing love and happiness I am receiving, I don't think I need to ask for more. 

Lord, again and again, thank you for continuously reminding me of the things I should do. Thank you for your constant love and (quick) answers whenever I pray. Above all, thank you for this not-so-perfect yet wonderful life you have given me and for making me live it with a purpose. 

To all who remembered my birthday, thank you! Please know that those greetings are all appreciated. Thank you to all who texted (ooops, my smart number's temporarily not active), called, posted and sent messages on facebook, twitted, and of course, to those who greeted me personally. You're all the reason why I want this life to be lived well. 

From my heart to yours, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! :)

Lord, You are my Healer

Today, I am alone here in our house because I am sick since Friday. Thinking that I may not able to attend a mass later afternoon, I decided to find a Sunday TV Mass. At first, I wasn't able to find one. Maybe because I woke up at 8:00 am and it may be late for Sunday masses so I decided to just watch this dog feature at Solar News Channel. Lucky enough, after the program I was watching, a Sunday Mass started. 

The mass began and I watched and listened like the usual thing that I do every Sunday. The homily was about learning to choose between good and evil. The priest said that each of us must live like a lotus that lives in a dirty place but when its flower blooms, it is still pure white. 

Before the mass ended, the priest gave a short prayer to those watching from home. I close my eyes and just listened. He prayed for those who are suffering because of typhoon Glenda, those whose hearts are broken, and those who are sick. I prayed simultaneously with him. I called God and asked Him to heal me and my father completely. Suddenly, I felt like someone hugged me. There's this different warmth that I felt and then my tears run down. 

I don't know if it is just because I am sick or what but I want to believe it's God who hugged me to let me know that I am now healed. I am so glad that today, I had even a second physical encounter with Him. 

I believe that He is always listening to us, especially to our deepest prayers because He never failed to answer me. Indeed, Lord, You are my Healer, my Savior, my Father. Thank you for your unending love.

    Your loving daughter,

Go Green!

I don't know what's pushing me to write this late at night. Maybe because of the guilt I've felt when I saw comments on this blog a while ago or it's just this time of the day when I can't sleep or maybe because I just woke up from a short nap or... okay, no more excuses. I am writing because I want to.

Working in a place where great dishes cooked by excellent chefs are everywhere makes me feel lucky. In fact, I feel luckier because our free lunch isn't just simple lunch. I mean, it is still cooked special. On top of it are the sweets prepared during meetings and those that we can take home. With all these, who am I to complain?

But as time passes by, it feels like I need to change something. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate food. I always feel blessed each time I eat because I know that while I am eating, there are some who cannot afford to eat. It's just that I believe that I should change for the better and that this change is to start eating greens.

I admit it, I eat vegetables but I don't eat those leafy thingy. I don't know why but I just don't feel like eating it. I don't like the taste and the after taste. Okay, too much excuses again. This time, I need to change not because I need to but because I like it. Fine, I need it to... because I am not getting any younger and I think including greens on my vegetable list is a good way to prepare for the years to come.

So thanks to salad dressings, especially to thousand islands and balsamic vinaigrette, and also to all those food that goes well with salad. Now, I am starting to eat those leafy things. Although not all but at lease some. Here's one of those greeny things I ate courtesy Earth Kitchen:

And congratulations to myself! It's been a year since I stopped eating junk food everyday. 

I think, it is really change that is truly inevitable in life. Let's just make sure that we change only for the better. In my case, I am changing for better health.

To all those who still cannot eat vegetables or greens like me (before), try it! As the old saying goes, "There's no harm in trying." I just did and it no harm to me! :)

xoxo