Amazing Universe, Amazing Creator

Got this very inspiring and insightful email from Mommy Karen this morning. It really made my day :-) I hope this will encourage you as well ;-) God bless!

Beyond our Sun, it's a BIG UNIVERSE.

ANTARES is 15TH BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE SKY. It is MORE THAN 1000 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.

Now, how big are you?

Now, try to wrap your mind around this.........
this is a Hubble telescope ultra deep field infrared view of countless 'entire' galaxies billions of light-years away.

Below is a close up of one of the darkest regions of the photo above.

Humbling, isn't it?

And yet, Someone knows how many hairs are on your head,

And not even a single sparrow dies apart from His will (mt. 10:29-31)!

Now how big are you?
And how big are the things that upset you today?

And
HOW BIG IS GOD?


Keep life in
Perspective.

And don't sweat the small stuff!

It's all under control (Job 38)




Still some say there is not a God!

Some lucky cat

We're (except for the boys) already so weirded by the mere presence of a cat inside our house, but it got even more weird yesterday.

Before I left the house Thursday morning to go to work:

Me to Rochelle: Paliguan mo si Keana, kahit ibasa mo lang yung mukha nya, dumi-dumi kasi. Ibasa mo lang, marunong naman yan maligo mag-isa.

When I arrived home Thursday night:

Me: Ayan! Ang linis na ng pusa na yan ah!
Rochelle: Pinaliguan ko kasi yan. Ininit ko pa yung tubig.
Me: Ano?!
Rochelle: Giniginaw nga yan eh...
Me: Pinag-initan mo pa ng tubig?
Rochelle (laughing sheepishly): Eh kasi maginaw...
Me: Ako nga malamig na tubig lang gamit ko, tapos yung pusa, mainit na tubig?? (Break into guffaws)
Rochelle: Nanginginig nga yung paa nya pagkatapos maligo eh (buhat buhat nya si Keana tapos shi-ne-shake nya yung legs) Ganyan o, nginig na nginig sya.
Me: Ganun din yung mga rabbits ko dati pagkatapos ko paliguan. Eh paano mo sya pinatuyo? (Dati kasi, I chased my rabbits around our house para matuyo sila)
Rochelle: Tinuwalyahan ko, gamit ko yung pink na hand towel. Tapos nilagay ko sya sa box nya, binilad ko sa araw.
Me: Binilad mo sa araw? Eh buti di sya nabasa, umulan kanina diba?
Rochelle: Natuyo na naman sya bago umambon.
Me: Aaaahh... buti naman...
Rochelle: Tinanggalan ko pa nga yan ng kuto.
Me: May kuto yan??
Rochelle: Oo, dami nga eh.
Me: Patay na o buhay pa? (napakamot tuloy ako)
Rochelle: Di na sila makagalaw kasi basa... hirap ngang tanggalin eh kasi madulas...

Naka naman. Saan ka pa diba?

We brought in Keana's box and placed it by the stairs because it was a bit more chilly last night. She was meowing the whole night, but soon got tired and curled up and fell asleep around midnight.

Me (by SMS to Jazz): Wag kang maingay pagkapasok mo sa bahay. Keana's asleep in her box by the stairs. Pag nagising yan, ngyaw ngyaw na naman yan.
Jazz (by SMS): Do you know how weird that sounds? hahaha...
Me: Weird na nga na may pusa sa loob ng bahay na 'to. (I forgot what else I wrote to him)
Jazz: May alam ka bang vet? Pa-check natin kung may sickness yan...

Swerteng pusa talaga yan. Magaling pumili ng bahay.

"May kuting sa tabi ng pinto."

That's what my kids' yaya, Rochelle, said to me when I arrived home last Monday night.

Me: Ha? Kuting?
Rochelle: Oo (laughing) Bigla nalang sumulpot diyan, 'di namin alam saan nanggaling. Nilabas na nga namin yan eh, pero bumalik ulit.

I went out to check and sure enough, there WAS a kitten huddled against the doorframe. It could've been just a month old or so.

Rochelle: Matapang yan, nung hahawakan namin, nag ano, ngaawwrrrr! (sabay hand gesture)

Shempre sinubukan ko rin diba. I took off my sandal and nudged the kitten with it. Ngaaawwrrrr!! Ayun, tapang nga. Labas fangs and claws.

Me: Tapang ah, kala mo siga o. Natatakot lang kasi yan.
Rochelle: Tuwang-tuwa nga si Keoni achaka si Ninja dyan eh...
Me: 'Di natakot si Ninja? (takot sa pusa kasi yun)
Rochelle: Hindi! Tuwang-tuwa nga sya eh, nandyan sila sa pinto, tinititigan nila, tinatawag nila, 'Keana...'
Me: 'Keana'??
Rochelle: Niloloko ko kasi si Keoni, sabi ko 'Keoni nalang pangalan nya', sabi niya 'No!', sabi ko 'Keana?', sabi nya 'OK'.

And just like that, we now have a pet cat. No one's more perplexed about this than Jazz.

Habang pinagkakatuwaan namin si Keana last night:

Me: Ang labo nito, may pusa sa bahay natin. Rabbit or dog sana eh...
Jazz: Sige na nga, aso nalang! (ayaw nya ng aso sa bahay, mabaho raw kasi) Pag pinalaki natin yan, dadalhin pa natin yan paglipat ng bahay.
Me: Shempre! Alangan naman iiwan pa natin yan no? Kawawa naman.
Jazz (grimaces): Eh!
Me: Kilala na tayo niyan. Nag-meow meow nga sa'kin nung umuwi ako kanina. Andun sya sa tabi ng gate, lumabas nga sya nung nakita nya kami.
Jazz: O?
Me: Gustong-gusto sya ng boys.
Jazz: Baket Keana?

Explain naman ako.

Jazz: Eh baket pa rin 'Keana'?
Me: Babae sya eh! Pag lalaki nga raw, 'Keanu'.
Jazz: Ang layo naman yata ng 'Keana' sa 'Keoni' no?
Me: Ano ba!? Pangalan lang yan sa pusa!

An hour later, while waiting our turn at the cashier in Shopwise:

Jazz: Iba nalang, 'wag 'Keana'.
Me: Eh ano?
Jazz: Ewan ko.
Me: Eh yun na'ng tawag ng boys sa kanya eh.
Jazz: Keana. Anlabo. Pusa.
Me: Ang cute nga nya eh. O ayan, di tayo maka-decide sa anong pet natin sa bahay, nagkaroon tuloy tayo ng pet.
Jazz: Baket pusa??
Me: Sya nga pumunta sa bahay natin eh!

Rochelle & I have been trying to feed her milk. I keep saying na kailangan pa nito ng dede ng nanay nya.

Me: Keana, 'asan ba kasi yung nanay mo? Iniwan ka ng mommy mo?
Jazz: Ginawang siopao na yun.

I'll post pics of Keana tomorrow ;-)

More proof that Work is (generally) bad for one's health

Eh paano yun, I had generally spent 20 hours per day back in Trend...

IF YOU FORGET ME by Pablo Neruda

Sharing one of Pablo Neruda's heart-wrenching, soul-elating poems... everybody say "aaaaaaaahhhhhh...."

I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine

Parents in a Flurry

And, no, I didn't mean little squirming moms and dads in a cupful of McFlurry.

Last night, I attended a parents' meeting at Victory Christian School's Fort branch (my son Keoni goes to the Pasig branch). I was 30 minutes late, had no idea what was going on, and the scene I had entered was, yes, of parents in a flurry. Although I had missed it, I think the mom who hosted the meeting started it the wrong way by assuming that everyone knew what the issue was about, thus causing a flurry of emotional reactions. So, Cito Beltran (whose daughter Hannah went to the same school) took over and began explaining the situation from the start.

The issue was: the school was going to be privatized. The next school year would be used to transition from the current (which are pastors) to the new management, whom we don't know yet. Currently, there are 3 groups -- all are also from our church, Victory Christian Fellowship (also known as Every Nation Leadership Institute) -- who have offered to take over the management and financial situation at the school but the Board has yet to hear the proposals and make a decision. It appears that, well, the school has been running on deficit, there's no school fund, and the church can't financially support/subsidize for the school's tuition anymore. What happened was, pastors and parents -- 10 years ago -- had a vision about a school but weren't ready to keep it running past the Grade 4 level.

It's a very long and messy story actually, won't waste your time reading all about it. As it turns out, some parents (like Cito) have been following this saga for the past 2 years, which was around the time when the school added the 5th to 7th grade levels. And all the while I just thought, man, the school's management is really bad (I could think of worst adjectives but let's not get into that). Most, if not all, the parents were complaining about how disorganized they were. But, wow, the problem's deeper pala.

Hmmm, well, at least now I know why my son's tuition is 20-30k less than other school's...

Anyway, I was just sitting there and listening and observing for 2 hours (yes, Beng, I kept my big mouth shut) while all the other parents were debating and offering suggestions or airing out their feelings.

I don't know why I felt bored. I felt a bit guilty for feeling bored. I was like, what's the problem ba talaga? What's with all the emotion? Get a grip will ya??

So what if the school's changing management? It's not closing down. And buti nga Christians din yung mag-t-take over. Things could've been worse, you know. Like at my high school, magkakapatid yung owners tapos pinag-awayan nila yung pera ng school. It went to court, and the Chinese community knew all about the family feud. And those guys were supposed to be Christians! Ergh, can you say "hideous"? Kadiri talaga.

Cito and Pastor Ron (whose daughter is in Kinder) made a very good point when they said, in the end, a school is a business and you need money to keep a business running. And we don't have to be nervous about the new management, because they're from the same church, they know the same God and the know the same Bible, and they have the best of intentions for the school. These are professional educators who know the business and can do it better than our pastors (who've done a good job as well) can. If it would make the parents feel more secure, they could schedule a panel discussion with the new management so we'd all get to know them and their plans better.

But, moreover, it's the parents' responsibility to train up their children in the right way -- not the school's. The children is a reflection of the parents, not of the school. And besides, even if the school management changed and the name was changed, so what? It's the same foundation.

Pastor Ron also said, it's time that parents chip in and help out in whatever way we can, by praying for the school, for the management, by trusting its leaders and, most especially, trusting God's plans for the school. In the closing prayer, he said that God loves our children more than we do, and that God definitely knows what's good for them, so we just need to trust Him.