siquijor trip 1

would like to share the photos i took with my ancient palm treo VGA camera during the trip with church staff for our annual staff retreat in siquijor :)

port dumaguete city

titanic? lol

sitting in front of this ferry's engine. temporary deafness after arrival in siquijor :(

cabin view. moments after arrival

dusk beach view

main hotel in salagdoong resort

one of the slide on the right side if your facing the beach

slide on the left when your facing the beach

me jump? not on everybody's life. haha

michelle and rick, pretending they are derek ramsey and angelica panganiban

top right cabin view. gorgeous right?

one of the oldest churches in the island

right side of the church

linda inside :)

cambugahay falls

entrance of the resort

when passing this one km of canopied road you wouldn't think it leads to a beach. when i passed under this trees i was thinking of fairy like places :)

i swear its much nicer at the side and the hidden part. lol

super moon

super moon!!! during my cousins wedding!!! i don't know if mikwen predicted that her night would be timed perfectly with the super moon but i am sure that it was really really nice. it adds a dreamy like atmosphere to her day (or night). it does not matter if we were all sweating inside (it showed a little outside) in our dresses. it still was an awesome night.

here is the picture of the super moon taken by my sister. it looks far but compared to the previous moons we've seen it was way more closer. i like that there is a silhouette and outline of palm trunks on the side :). it is said that the moon orbits the earth in an ellipse rather than a circle and that the closest and the furthest approaches are called perigee and apogee. i think it deserved to be mentioned because the next super moon would be on January 1, 2257. i know. well were blessed to have seen in our lifetime. our God is amazing!

halo-halo

if you are in a tropical country like ours, you'd probably be in the same sweaty dilemma as the rest of us.
right now i can shout to the whole wide world or world wide web that i, NGP, is totally HOT!!! and i am feeling hot, hot, hot! - literally i'm hot... just like the rest of every other filipino (except maybe the one's residing in baguio) i am being slowly purge with every bit of liquid in my body... there really is no way to "fashionably or coolly sweat" or is there?

we're all in the same drench-y, perspire-y and quiet possibly stinky dilemma today so you can imagine the euphoric chorus of  "YES!!!" when Margie announced, "we will have free halo-halo from chowking today". another YES!!.

for dine-in

take-out... this is what we got :)

it should be fair to say that even if i was born in a tropical country and have been sweating for almost have of the reasonable existence allowed to man, i still do not like the heat. never have, never will. my reason is simple. when your cold you can pile up and layer clothes and clothes and still look okay, maybe even fashionable. but when you feel hot you cannot strip down to your underwear while walking downtown and side walks and getting to work. you can peel of your skin but it'd hurt crazy (you are crazy if you do) and it will not lessen the heat one bit.

and honestly i am not so fond of halo-halo either. no offense to those who loves it. i can eat it and enjoy but then i can also live with out it :) today's treat is enthusiastically welcomed and have quenched and helped ward off heat even for just an hour or so...


*photos courtesy of google*

the Ruins

the Ruins. i have heard of this place only maybe two to three years ago... and every time cousins dear of mine posted photos of themselves while touring the place i get really envious. like someone very close to my heart once ask, "how could you have not seen it when you are from negros?" i have been living in cebu now for nearly seven years and the i have't heard of the rise of the Ruins as a tourist spot until three years ago. i have always wanted to go. it looks so majestic in the pictures. 

we originally plan to go around 4 in the afternoon to catch the sunset. they said the sunset is awesome in this place. and also to take advantage of the "golden hour" as they call it, for picture taking. we didn't make it to the "golden hour" though it was dusk when we got there. i was so sorry we weren't able to properly tour the place like a true tourist; you know listen to the tour guide talk about how the finish of the walls shine through because the cement was mixed with egg whites (oh, yes. i did listen for about a minute or two), etc.

pretty fountain by the entrance with (l-r) dayen, me, les and ruby

we were blessed to still be able to see the last nights beauty of the not-so-super moon on our way back to richmond inn for family dinner :), was still so beautiful actually. 

thank you very much to my very generous and wonderful cousin, che-che for the pictures. yes che... even for the blurry ones. lol

if you wanted to see what this place looks like in the sunset and also read an interesting and much more detailed and intelligent history of the ruins, click HERE.

i can't try hard enough

pictures. i will be showing off some of the shots that i did with my sister's new camera. bear with me. i'll improve with more practice. these pictures were taken during the youth camp and from panglao island where i spent the rest of my weekend with sister and her husband.

leslie - at the top of balay silangan campsite, loay, bohol

this proves we are sisters... we play with whatever is in our hands when talking on the phone :)

 jori - at the foot of the bunk bed - in a room i shared with 12 more people. what do you think is on his mind? haha

 aliyah to me: "hi baby!"... glowing because at first i thought i'm the only one she calls baby. ha! it turns out that she calls everyone baby. 

 les and carsten's sliding door. my left leg looks bigger than the other. 

 les - in alona tropical. 

 mr. and mrs. madsen. watch out for the opening of their resort. alona northland resort (click to go to their website) on november 2012

 i know i already told somebody that this is my fave place in panglao. this place has a dreamy sort of feel. maybe because of the hanging stuff all around and the way the cottages are build. and the place has lots and lots of trees, goody :-)

 kayaks. waiting.... waiting....

 the window that i love - while having breakfast in alona tropical 

 lightning mcqueen and his gang. belongs to a boy having breakfast with his parents right next to our table. his dad is eyeing me suspiciously while i took a picture of his son's toys. lol 

  mango juice in the morning instead of coffee. what more can i say? 

 water lilies nearby :)

 panglao homes- quietest compound ever :-D

 :-D

worth the wait

at its best our age is an age of searchers and discoverers, and at its worst, an age that has domesticated despair and learned to live with it happily.

-          Flannery O’connor

worth the wait

waiting. filling time while we wait for the phone to ring and deliver the good news or get the bad news over with. standing in line. preparing for an event. or simply waiting “until things get better.”

but what if the good news we wait for never comes? what if things just don’t get better/ what if the waiting is meaningless? too many people abandon hope, abandon trust, and decide, despite the contradiction, to live happily with their despair.

our Lord has something far better in mind. in him we find meaning in the waiting. While we watch our hopes fade, he is turning our eyes toward a truer hope. while he makes us wait, we learn to trust our future dreams to him. waiting is hard, but waiting on God means the wait will be worth it.

for I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

day 17 of take my heart oh God

summer lovin' 1

this was taken at cendet, cebu city. one of the spur of the moment shots and edited in picknik. don't you think it looks nice? i do :)

the loner

a midst the greenness of the rice field
you stood unmoved
no deafening noise...
no glaring lights...
no lurking shadows...


free from the bustle of the city traffic
free from the cobwebs of intrigues that tends to spoil one's life
free from being involve in a world of chaos


how lovely you are 
to be placed where heaven and earth meet...






by: *Lani Paloma- Gatumbato*

monday blues

i think i'm much more umm... indisposed than i let on. :( throbbing head, countless throwing up (no, i'm not pregnant!), weak limbs and abdominal pain, both eyes feels like they are going to pop out of their sockets and other irritatingly irritating stuff only women with problematic monthly woes would understand. haay. sa pagkakapoy!


feeling lazy so even if i think im gonna gag with the thought of jollibee for lunch i still went out (under the protection of sunglasses and im-soon-going-to-die-feeling) and bought jollibee!


sorry for the terrible post/rant :-D ill do better next time. i hope? 

why i love HIM

do i love him because he is too precious to me?
that loving him would mean my life?
do i love him because he is my happiness?
that without him i am nothing? lost?
what is being lost anyway?


one morning, i wake and called his name
didn't i do the same thing then?
but this day is different to me...
quiet different.


my thoughts crowded the room
calling the same name i've known
why this feeling unknown to me
 keep braggin' and pullin' me
from the person i've known to be?


i let my eyes go wanderin
maybe... yes, maybe i could let my emotions
go as a drop of rain
but no! i can't deny this feeling anymore
that keeps telling me -
"you love HIM"


i let my eyes go more beyond the scene
the bleak cold morning
the old weary sun
the lonely rugged mountains
the dropping leaves,
the empty highways
even far far away


but my thoughts keeps on forcing me to HIM, back to HIM
i look like a girl in love!
i whispered
Jesus... Jesus... Jesus...


why do i him so?
and of course i should know
He had loved me first








*by: Lani Gatumbato*

hope alive

all human race has something in common,

something elusive,

something intangible, invisible.

something enormously important...

behind every action

beneath every endeavor

lies this quite, persistent, creative force...

giving strength to all who believe in it,

and call upon it, and blend in into their lives.

HOPE... enfolds some people like a shining mist.

apostle paul was a missionary of hope - in an almost hopeless world

and it took a lot of courage for paul to stand up 

and tell those people that hope was real

and that is is almost as important as FAITH or LOVE.

if you lose all HOPE,

you stop trying and you stop caring...

each of US is put here

to HELP dilute the misery in this world.

keep your HOPE alive.

my GOD - GOD of all comfort

Among all the names that reveal God, this, the “God of all comfort,” seems to me one of the loveliest and the most absolutely comforting. The words all comfort admit of no limitations and no deductions.

Hannah Whitall Smith

God of all Comfort

We love seeing the word ALL if it points to something favourable for us. We love when  ALL of the shoes at our favourite store are on sale, or  ALL  of the candies in the bowl are dark chocolate, or  ALL  of the bills are paid in full. However, when  ALL  aspects of life seem to crash down around us, that’s a different matter. We find ourselves in desperate need of the “God of all comfort”.

Consider the ramifications of that name. No problem or heartache is outside of God’s range of comfort. He has unlimited resources –a vast wellspring – at his disposal. When we’re hurting, truly the loveliest name of all describes God bringing us not some comfort, not comfort for some things, but ALL the comfort we need.

The GOD of ALL comfort waits today to comfort you. No laminations. No deductions.

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 

                                                                                       2 Corinthians 1:3-5


day 1 of take my heart oh God

found a new love

*i meant found 3 new loves*

this lady here introduced me to the new loves of my life: 

malot & i in moon cafe, robinsons mall, cybergate

in the midst of training for the communications department (compassion international), i had a terrible tooth sensitivity issue. so i asked permission to have my tooth checked-up and according to my doctor what i am experiencing is called dentine hypersensitivity.  "it is sensation felt when the nerves inside the dentin of the teeth are exposed to the environment. The sensation can range from irritation all the way to intense, shooting pain (wikipedia)". glad that mine is just an irritating irritation.

i have to have a root canal, a treatment in which diseased tissue from this part of the tooth is removed and the resulting cavity is filled with an inert material. this dampened my day :(. 

good thing malot dear introduced me to two new things that saved my day :-D

yogorino yogurt

YOGORINO frozen yogurt!!! 

although their websites boasts, "it's not frozen yogurt, its YOGORINO... that's all". the sour and the creamy made a perfect blend"  :)

bentley's tea

BENTLEY'S GREEN TEA!!! 

    Product Description

It's a tea connoisseur's dream come true! Over 100 Bentley's Finest gourmet flavored premium black and green Tea from India and China bountifully fill this elite, hand-crafted wooden tea chest. Open it up and find that its lovely red-lined lid can double as a serving tray! From the classic, aromatic bergamot of Earl Grey black tea to the exotic taste of Passion Peach tea, there's a pleasing variety of our finest classic blends to treat your tea-loving taste buds! Drink a cup of royalty with Bentley's Finest Tea!

i personally do not like tea. this one's different. it's flavored. it has spiced. it has a little bit of a kick to it :). so i'm recanting my abhorrence for this tasteless thing now. i'm a fan.lol

fish mozarella melt

FISH MOZZARELLA MELT!!!

this has baked tomatoes underneath that makes almost all your taste-buds come alive. i am now putting spaghetti ala gambas to second position from the list of moon cafe favorites. 

ummm... what was i complaining about earlier? oh, right. dentine hypersensitivity. what is that again? hahaha. just kidding. i am sure i'll have to confront that problem later.

thank GOD for a blessed day :)

20 reasons why he dislike the philippines

i assure you with utmost assurance, you will only have two kinds of reactions after watching this, you'll either agree or dislike this guy. let me know what you think. lol

it's not so much the reasons that he cited that's irritating, because almost all of those really needs to be given considerable consideration and attention by our government and every concerned filipino citizens, but it may be because of the snobby, snotty, haughty, (okay, defensive. lol) our-country-is-better-than-you attitude. 


he is stating facts. no doubt about that. but, does he have to curse with an "F" word when describing everything that he doesn't like? Ah BASTA! this guy needs more than just a lesson in culture tolerance and constructive criticism but also a good whipping.


two comments i thought balanced it all out : 


comment one: american
"look,i'm not filipino ,but you know what,bro? you shouldn't say all these things.all countries have differences,negative or positive.It's not like our country, america is so perfect. we may not have some of these bad things that you see in the philippines but still, IT'S F*****G EVEN. we have negative stuff in america too,and other countries as well.there's no perfect country!

and i've got 20 reasons why i don't believe in races, just humans."

comment two: filipino

"as much as i'd like to dislike this video, i just couldn't. he is mostly right. and the thing is, there are a lot of things us normal filipinos can do and i'd start with the easiest:

1.stop throwing garbage / pissing/ spitting everywhere and anywhere (yea, he forgot to mention about spits)

2. learn to fall in line.

yang 2 yan di nga magawa ng karamihan eh (those two are mostly the ones that most filipinos couldn't do). Puro reklamo lang (they're all complaints). you do not need to be a genius to realize what's wrong or right. i mean come on? how hard can it be?"

declining knowledge

As wonderful as life is in so many respects, many of us look at our world today and wonder how we are ever going to get out of the messes that still seem to afflict us so sorely. Many people appear stuck in fairly unremarkable relationships at home or at work. Our political process seems broken by a fundamental incapacity to see our common interests or devise ways of pursuing them together. We become obsessed with our differences and fearful of others and absorbed with our entertainments to an extent that we seem unable to seriously contemplate how we might reach out to one another instead of building higher walls. It is for all of these reasons that the most urgent need today is for human beings to regain or discover a clear vision of God.

Observing this gathering calamity decades ago, A. W. Tozer wrote:

The decline of the knowledge of [God] has brought on our troubles …. It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as he is …. A rediscovery of the majesty of God will go a long way toward curing [what most ails us at the present time].

Only a fresh vision of God will reorient us on the inside in the manner needed to begin to truly reorient our world on the outside.

*excerpt from Dan Meyer's sermon* 

undignified

it's funny sometimes when we declare that we do not need to please anybody - just ourselves. we say, "as long as this makes me happy, i do not mind what others will say". that truth is very subjective at times because now and again what makes us happy is when we see other people , our friends and families, our acquaintances and love ones,  approve and is pleased with what we've accomplished and achieved. i am not sure if that is also true with you but it is with me. i fail to remember that i'm supposed to "do everything, absolutely and undoubtedly, everything for the glory of God". 

last sunday's message was about the audience of one. our GOD. losing our supposed reservations so God would be glorified. do more and exhaust everything we got

i couldn't help but remember a long time ago when i was with my Immanuel Bible College group on a 3 day conference in waterfront hotel that involved a non-stop praise and worship for 5 hours. i can still see in my mind that while the whole congregation of people were jumping and swaying and clapping in time with the song, i just stood there clapping my hands. my friends from both sides, and from the front and the back of where i was sitting was already doing all they can so i'd jump. but i didn't. why? i'm not used to jumping and dancing, clapping yes, but dancing and jumping? gracious me! you may laugh but i was embarrassed about what will people say to me. i know i would look so awkward.

so the message hit me hard. and as always when God speaks to you, you sit in your chair and squirm and soak what he wants you to learn - so you could grow.

2 Samuel 6:17-19

¹⁷ They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD.¹⁸ After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. ¹⁹ Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

david has been dreaming of bringing the Ark of the Covenant, which was the symbol of God's presence during the old testament times, to the city of david in jerusalem. king david was so desperate to please God so much that he sacrificed oxens and fattened lambs every sixth steps all the way to the city.

... and david danced before the Lord with all his might - wearing only a linen ephod... 

he was dancing in the streets a midst the blowing of ram's horns and loud shouting in praise for God's great goodness in allowing the Ark of the Covenant to be brought upon the city of david. he didn't care what he must have look like to the onlookers. all he wanted was to make God see how grateful he was!

but.

^{2 Samuel 6:16-20}

¹⁶ As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart...

she DESPISED him in her heart! talk about crazy! what were she thinking?! she was more concerned with what other people would say, with what the "slave girls" would think of her husbands dignity. probably she was thinking, "how would this make me look?"

²⁰ When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

what was the price for her indignant thought and insulting outburst?

2 Samuel 6:23

²³ And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

as for David.

2 Samuel 6: 21-22

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

david was not called a man after God's own heart for nothing. he did not mind what people thought of him, he didn't mind what his wife had to say, he cared nothing about his status as a king. all he did was "danced and praised" God. and it paid off. God blessed him and michal got what was due her.

would i be willing to do the "undignified" (and i'm not just talking of dancing) for God's glory?
would i willingly "sacrifice" (if i'm really shameless to say sacrifice) propriety and poise so i can delight myself in him?
how about you? are you willing to do all that it takes?
or would you rather be michal?

*personal enlightenment comes if u read the whole chapter of 2 Samuel 6* (just saying)