amlan trip

... from amlan trip :D ... 

traveling has always been interesting and sort of a mystery to me. i've read of great and amazing places, fearsome and heart wrenching stories from those who have been everywhere and anywhere. regrettably i haven't had the opportunity to do so until five years ago and also i just cannot go every time i have the desire to sail or fly or drive to somewhere.                    

the reason for that is not that i lack the drive but the resources and the also the time to follow my heart and longings. a person grows in knowledge and experience when he gets out of his known world and explore the unknown. the fear of it, the intolerance of other culture, the prejudice of the ways other people conducts and go about their lives slowly dissolves when we are expose to them, when we see how they live and the reason behind them. when we are expose to other's lifestyle we become liberal and broad-minded and this results to mercy and compassion.

2 hours ferry ride 

a kilometer outside the town of oslob

company from the other car

pavement and gravel

that's the island of negros oriental!

unknown plant from my wall - why waiting for my pick-up 

lunch stop - this is dessert!

have had this in our yard when i was young - reminds me of childhood

going down to the beach - this bamboo ladder is slippery when wet.

blue waters - going back to cebu @ 12 noon

all i ask of u

No more talk of darkness,

Forget these wide-eyed fears.
I'm here, nothing can harm you -
my words will warm and calm you.
Let me be your freedom,
Let daylight dry your tears.
I'm here, with you, beside you,
to guard you and to guide you . . .

Say you love me
every waking moment,
turn my head
with talk of summertime . . .

Say you need me with you,
now and always . . .
promise me that all
you say is true -
that's all I ask of you . . .

Let me be your shelter,
let me be your light.
You're safe:
No-one will find you
your fears are far behind you . . .

All I want is freedom,
a world with no more night . . .
and you always beside me
to hold me and to hide me . . .

Say you'll share with me
one love, one lifetime . . .
let me lead you from your solitude . . .

Say you need me with you
here, beside you . . .
anywhere you go,
let me go too -
That's all I ask of you . . .

Say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime . . .
Say the word
and I will follow you . . .

Share each day with me,
each night, each morning . . .
Say you love me . . . you know i do

Love me -
that's all I ask of you . . .

Nail Art

i would like to share the first try that i did with nail art. i'm no really a interested in doing this before... i don't have the patience for it... maybe it was boredom or the need to do something different than the usual that led me to do this. it wasn't fun at first, for me at least, i couldn't make the the freakin' news paper prints stick on the nails... but i got it after awhile and many impatient moments after :D

Jen's simple flower nail art

mine :d

the busy moms

i know that this post is soooo late already but still i wanted to share it ... so here goes

like many other churches in our country, we are blessed to have Compassion's Child Survival Program in our church.It is an amazing sight to see the lives of this mothers and children touched by the lives and generosity of these unknown people who are helping change their lives through Compassion International.


It is also equally nice that some foreign friends that has a heart and passion for our people as we do come and share their help and expertise with our mothers. recently we were visited again by our austrialian friend linda and her friend khardene whom she hasn't seen for 21 years in australia... by a stroke of fate or design by GOD (which is what we firmly believe it is) they met again in the "pearl of the Orient seas" and what a meeting it was!!! anyway, i will not go on into all the details of their sweet reunion but these two ladies has helped our indigent mothers learn the sewing so they'll have an income-generating skill (that's just one of the things that they did here).


earlier i have posted here pictures of the babies while their moms were busy with the cutting and the sewing ... this here will be for the moms section... some of the shots that i took was taken while they are pre-occupied with their stuff...

Linda with some of the mothers instructing how to do the flower thingy

the super lady :D

i've discovered that this thing can be use for another purpose other than just firmly holding ur  chosen hairstyle. lol

khardene - the veil lady :D --- thank u din-din... 

pretty cool, huh? - just think that this ladies jumped at the initial sound of the electric sewing machine when linda first showed them how to used it.... now they work it like nothing - like pro's actually ... 


linda is the owner/creative (genius) mind and hands behind Gracelyn Bridal in  NSW, Australia. this lady is AMAZING. deep passion for God and love for people. i'm so blessed with her life.

the happy, the crappy, the awkward

I have read some other somewhere that there was one family who eat together every dinner time no matter what and shared 3 things about their day

1. the highlight

2. the lowlight

3. how they shared the Gospel that day

Then i think that maybe i wont be able to share all this every day and i got this version instead which is more of what i can relate to after the day is over

1. the happy

2. the crappy

3. the awkward

In our family when i was in early college days we usually have the "open forum" where everyone can say anything that is in their hearts.

I kinda miss those times.

So for now my three things

1. The Highlight: Waking up this morning and thinking that i am gonna be happy - really really happy today. The sun was out but it wasn't too hot. as I've shared before that i'd much prefer it if i wake up and it's raining but since it is not i am thankful to God for dry humid weather where every kids can be present at the center today. it also means that my caseworkers will be able to do their home/school visitation without any fear of getting wet. we had our staff devotional which was very revealing to me as i am not aware that some of my friends have deep struggles and i am either too insensitive to notice or i just lack the quality time that would have been needed to "care". I am happy to be able to pray for them.

2. The Lowlight: as i've mentioned above i am really happy - but this source of happiness also seem to cause me a great deal of anxiety and embarrassment. i am the kind of person that gives a lot of thought about what other people says about me. this is not a very healthy habit but also not something that i would completely set aside... as i am working with people and minister to them i have to be careful that my actions and my speech will not cause them to question God's position in my life and the value i place on my privacy.


3. The Awkward. i've no awkward moment today... just a few unintentional slips and clumsiness. like forgot that the coffee cup i am holding was just boiling hot a minute ago when i poured it into my mug but as i was reading an MMS from him then i gulp it down and burned my tongue in the process. then when my office mates asked me why i did it when i "knew" it was hot - i flippantly said i forgot. there now a new label for me... forgetful and out-of-mind. 

...til next time when my mood swing to writing lousies again :D

texting woes

one very tired right thumb from texting - solution: stop texting to many people, wait for them to call :D

2 cups of coffee in 3 hours (broken promise to fast from coffee this week - solution: chew lots and lots of tums (eww)

i am a reformer

this video is a radical declaration of "my" christian faith. it branded and tightly confirmed everything i am and everything i would like to be for GOD. i desperately want to be a REFORMER.

Christian Pick-up Lines

1. Hey.... nice bible!!
2. I would like to pray with you
3. You know Jesus?! Me too!!
4. God laid it heavy on my heart to talk to you
5. I know a church where we cold go and talk...
6. How about a hug.. Sister?
7. Do you need help carrying your bible?... It looks heavy
8. C'mon Christians don't shake hands. Christians gotta hug!
9. Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?
10. What are your plans tonight? Feel like a bible study?
11. The scriptures say "give to those who are thirsty and feed the hungry" How about dinner?
12. Oh. You don't have an accountability partner? Me neither.
13. I was wondering whether you wanted to come over and watch the ten commandments tonight?
14. Is it a sin that you stole my heart?
15. Would you happen to know a Christian woman that I could love with all my heart and wait on hand and foot (?)
16. Hey nice bracelet. What yould Jesus date? Oops, I mean "do"
17. I was wondering, have you ever tried praying at a drive in move before?
18. Excuse me, I believe one of your ribs belong to me.
19. You know they say that you have never really dated until you have dated a Christian....

stole this from: J-Dimension

i stole this from: J-Dimension

u are my personal sun :D

i couldn't remember when i first fall inlove with sunflowers... all i know is that everytime i see them

it expresses weird happiness; freedom, summer (not that i like summer - i know a lot of people will protest.. i prefer rainy season). the thing about summer is that everything seems bright and gay... like everything is possible... well maybe that's a bit over rated but that is what sunflower evokes in me... the positive, the hope...

* all photos are from: we<3it.com

give in to me

pls pls pls.... give into me...

today i am changing the name of my blog from Experience Life! Love Life.... into Life as I Know It.

the reason : it the new name sounds closer to what i mean when i first decided to blog the things that i  want to... so...

.... for no special reason i am changing its name and now it is officially "Life as I Know It"

it means exactly that - writing about things in MY life as I KNOW it - in my perspective, in my looking glass, through my experiences, and my biases (unless i otherwise indicate it).

a recent picture of me taken from Imperial Palace in Lapu-Lapu City, Phil. this was a fun night with our friends from Australia, linda and khardene. we were able to sneaked into the resort using the white faces of our friends - sorry ladies :D. but i am sure they had a good time fooling the guard too.

this is life as i know it (one minute part of it) not the "fooling security guards" part but the having-fun-whenever-you-can part :D

- not like this -

our future is not  bleak like this...

... but brighter than this :D

   when something begins you generally have no idea how it will end. the 2 years stay on a work place becomes 5 years... the status you thought you would change in 3 years remains the same :D; the people you thought will just be passing becomes the friends you lean on... the relationships you thought would last a lifetime has ended way shorter than you could ever imagine leaving you weary and guarded and the person you have never ever thought to love becomes soo central in your life that it scares the sugar out of you.
   planning for the future.. trying to predict the future...as if figuring it out will somehow cushion the blow... but the future is always changing; the future is the whole of our deepest fears... and our wildest hopes
but one thing is certain when it finally reveals itself.. the future is never the way we imagine it (sometimes)


   there are some of us that spends lot of time focus on the future..planning it working toward it. but at some point you realize that your life is happening now! not after school, after work or after your wedding day but right now .......... this is it, its here.. and often times, if you're not careful, you miss it.