MARGIENARY

For three times this year, she almost came face to face with her Creator. The first time was when she underwent an emergency surgery, the second was when her blood went septic due to an acute infection that was made worst by a typhoid fever, and then the third time was when her head and her husband's was almost ran over by a jeep when she and her husband fell off his motorbike during an accident last week. All that made her realize how important time is and that we should be ready to go anytime, cuz really, we never really know. To her, being ready is to be sure that when you go, people who've crossed your path in one way or another will not be left with questions in their minds. Having said that, the near-death experiences she underwent really reminded her about the importance of forgiveness, both in bestowing it and receiving it, but so much more on the bestowing-it-part. She is not one to hold grudges against someone! Gosh, I don't think sh

My very good friend Norman Malcat released a local Christmas album the first of this month here in Nueva Vizcaya. It has 12 songs with original lyrics adapted to traditional and contemporary Christmas music. So Igorots out there, esp. Kalanguyas, you can order this Christmas cd from me... just text me at 09269441970. Here's a sample but I'm sorry that the views do not have anything to do with the song. I just threw in some pics and music together in Windows movie maker so I can upload it here. ;)

wow! I have ignored everything that has to do with blogging for almost a month!  I have been busy doing everything and nothing.  You know, when you're trying to do a bit of everything and nothing seems to get accomplished.  Well, maybe there were accomplishments but not in the things that I have set out to do.  I feel so awful for something that happened a few days ago.  On the eve of his birthday, my 8-year old nephew called me to make good of my promise that I will be his birthday celebrant.  I did promised a month ago that I would bake or at least buy his cake.  I even told him that he should pray that the Lord will provide for his birthday!  ... so my nephew called me, and I was kind of out of town that day and I was not able to do as I have promised and it broke his little heart.  His dad texted me saying that he refused to speak to them; and just sat there with his hands cupping his chin after he talked to me on the phone.  Poor Giel!  And now, he's sick with m

Yessss!!!!!!!  It's finished, over, and done with!!!! I just sent in the last of my papers to a friend in Manila so she could print it and turn it in.  I feel like a thorn in my flesh has been removed.  Well, it wasn't as bad as that.  I enjoyed the reading and writing part.  It's just that the thinking and organizing-my-thoughts parts were truly cruel and oppressive; a patience-trying, mind-numbing, exasperating endeavor.  Now I think I'll go buy myself an ice cream, a chocolate, and a piece of cake.  I deserve all these, don't I?   Yum, yum! -----------------------------------  Thank you Dear God for your goodness, guidance and grace as I plodded through this past semester.  You are incomparably the Best!!!   Thank you Sis D for encouraging me day in and day out to press on.  Thank you, all of you who cared and prayed.

Hello! Thanks for the tag, Wil. .. saves me from forcing my mind to think of something to blog about. ;) Here's the rule: Remove 1 question from the list below, and add your own personal question to make it a total of 20 questions. Tag 8 people, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged. Whoever does the tag will have blessings from all. 1. At what age do/did you wish to marry? I promised my 2nd (or maybe 3rd?:) bf that I'll marry the guy who will ask for my hand when I turn 27. I did! :) And it wasn't him. hehe 2. What color do you like most? Blue (Thanks Wil, I didn't have to type that, although I had to type this longer line.:) 3. If you can have a superpower, what would it be? The power of Persuasion... then I can influence all people :) 4. If you can travel anywhere in the world, where would you want to go? Egypt during the BC years, Ancient Rome, Carthage, Constantinople (Byzantium), First Century Israel, Me

http://johndoe67.multiply.com/ A must-visit site for multipliers.

Photos taken in Banaue and some in Mapayao

http://www.rbc.org/utmost/ A good place to get your spiritual breakfast.

I'm not even surprise anymore that the Lord would reply in such clear a manner as this:  I woke up with a sense of panic this morning for the inability to be done with all that I have purposed to do yesterday and so I know that I will have to work triple time today.  But before I plunged into it, I remembered to give my spirit her breakfast.  Of all the devo links I could have clicked, it's this:  an apt response to my last entry... a page from Oswald Chamber's " My Utmost for His Highest." October 25, 2008 Submitting to God’s Purpose ODB RADIO:  |  Download READ: "I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some ." 1Corinthians 9:22 (http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php) A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying

UN-FREAKIN'-BELIEVABLE!!! That's how the fandom of Twilight would say it! I should have listened to wits and nuts when she advised me to not start reading Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga unless I really have free time in my hands. Well, I was just gonna take a tiny peek on the first chapter but when I started reading, there was just no way I could put it down until after three days later when I read all the books; I mean that's not even surprising, what with the obsessive grip of books on me (yes, blame the books:) but you see, the story was something I would have enjoyed reading in late high school or maybe early college but 'goodness, did I read for days on end, all four books and the first 12 chapters of the fifth book (Midnight Sun) which I accidentally stumbled into while checking out the author's site! And then after I gobbled down all the books, I flipped the pages again and again to read my favorite parts; not yet satisfied, I went online and chec

You would know that I've been spending too much time in friendster and other similar sites when you catch me getting all dreamy, sad, and thoughtful.  Like the other night, I accidentally ran into the friendster profile of an old classmate in college while commenting on a friend's picture.  Out of curiousity, I went in and spent the next hour checking out the albums.  I was amazed at the pictures rather the places where the pictures were taken.  I knew there would be pictures of UK cuz I knew that's where this classmate and his wife's been working, but I also saw Eiffel Tower, the St. Peter's Basilica, the Leaning tower of Pisa in Italy, Disneyland, views in Portugal and many other places.  After I gushed and drooled over the travel photos, I proceeded to take a look at his contacts, and of course I saw a few people there whom I knew back in college whose geographical locations were half a world removed from where we used to be.  So that got me thinkin', &

The shadow was crying in the front yard Ringing the bell forcing to come forward Her eyes are trying to look Heavenward But the lights were put out by the blizzard. Yet the sun will smile, when he comes tomorrow Hope, pierce this shadow with your sharpened arrow Storm, calm down! Or leave and let her be Be gentle with your chase, or you'll blow her away. Breathe, Oh day, life into this specter's lungs Hold out your hand, help this wraith to stand Stay away, Oh night, do not come with your shroud Or come with your full moon, keep watch of this phantom. . (Been talking to a friend recently and my mind was stumped and can't come up with any encouraging or profound advice to give to her. After the talk, this is the only thing I could come up with... a prayer. Btw, just in case i am misunderstood, you are not the shadow or the phantom,or the specter. rather, your love is. And you know what I mean. Again, thank you for the inspiration of your life.

I have been despairing at how laziness, listlessness, lack of energy, and panic have somewhat overtaken me at a time when I should be working double time for my coursework.  I have been telling my confidante how things have been going with me, and how I am panicking at the prospect of not being able to beat my deadlines.  Then last night I finished the book that I have been reading for my quiet times so I searched for a devotional from the net.  I came across something written by Chuck Swindoll that led me to read Job 3:1-26.  I had to laugh because, I was on the verge of doing just what Job did in that chapter.  At many points in my life, I have sensed the Lord's good humor.  While reading Job 3, I almost can hear Him chuckling and grinning at me.  Well, Job 3 is of course not a laughing matter, far from it, actually.  But with my frame of mind, it was just the thing I needed to smile and stop pitying myself.  And then I searched again, and this is what I got. October 7 http://ww

an underlined phrase on a yellowing page of a book a word scribbled on a dry leaf pressed between the pages of an old journal a cluster of stars as you look up the midnight sky a scar on your left elbow, a scene in a movie a scent worn by a stranger who brushed past you at the mall the back of someone turning a bend stories in your heart, memories. a place that brings back happy times a picture that fetches lonely tears a thought that lights up your countenance a laugh that reminds you of a face a song that leads you back to the past a love that has left you, memories. finished, done, over, ended no going back, no redemption dead, wrecked, terminated, through cannot love, yet cannot unlove so live, thrive, in my memories past...

These pictures are of an albino peacock. It was forwarded to me in the mail. Some commented that it's like a giant snowflake... I'd say it's like a huge cotton candy... (cuz I have yet to see a snowflake, that is.) hehe... but ultimately, this albino peacock is rare and amazingly beautiful!

It has been almost two weeks now since I was discharged from the hospital and 4 days since I finished up all my antibiotic treatments.  But for some reason, I still feel like a fish out of water.  Except for a persistent dry cough and unexplainable lethargy, I am not really feeling under the weather, but mentally, I still feel like I am down in the dumps.  I botched my quizzes in Greek yesterday (although that was aggravated by the professor giving me one wrong quiz paper.  It was not the one I studied for but one that I have taken earlier, so at least I would expect that there should be a little bit of it retained in my mind, but nada!) With the other quiz (I took two of them because I missed the last one during my hospital stay), I forgot most of the vocabularies, the case endings, and so I was not able to translate any of the Greek sentences.  I came home feeling like I was the dumbest person who ever lived.  I have studied real hard, prayed, and I had a strong feeling I

I was awakened this morning by the sound of raindrops falling from an overcast sky on to the tin roof of my borrowed house and the gentle breeze that makes the flimsy curtain dance as it hangs on my window. I looked outside and saw a big yellow flower with drops of rain in its beautiful petals glistening in the morning light. With all that, I breathe a short thanks to Heaven for the cool morning and promised myself that this is going to be one beautiful day; it will be one of the best days of my life. Oh, could I be more wrong... Someone was at the door. No, there were two people knocking at my door. I stood on the tips of my toes and try to recognize who they were. When I went to open the screen door, I was astonished. There standing before me was my niece whom I haven't seen for what, 11 years? The last time I saw her, she was 5 years old. Now standing before me, all grown up, 16 years old. I let my eyes linger on her face. The moon-shaped forehead and the droopy eyebro

I was awakened this morning with the sound of raindrops falling from an overcast sky on to the tin roof of my borrowed house and the gentle breeze that makes the flimsy curtain dance as it hangs on my window. I looked outside and saw a big yellow flower with drops of rain in its beautiful petals glistening in the morning light. With all that, I breathe a short thanks to Heaven for the cool morning and promised myself that this is going to be one beautiful day; it will be one of the best days of my life. Oh, could I be more wrong... Someone was at the door. No, there were two people knocking at my door. I looked over my shoulder and try to recognize who they are. When I went to open the screen door, I was astonished. There standing before me was my niece whom I haven't seen for what, 11 years? The last time I saw her, she was 5 years old. Now standing before me, all grown up, 16 years old. I let my eyes linger on her face. The moonshaped forehead and the droopy eyebrows ty

These lines are for my my heartsis D...  sorry, sis, I have no time to be really deeply poetic...hehehe.  Thank you for the inspiration of your life... Let God hold your hand When conflicting possibilities stare you down When His will is unconfirmed When there’s nothing to do but wait Let Him hold you by the hand.   Let Him give you His peace When your heart is anxious When you want to chicken out Let God hold your hand.   When all you’ve left is a sigh A heart that could only cry Let His love embrace you And His presence comfort you.   When everything is fuzzy And your eyes just can’t see Let His wisdom be your sight He’ll lead you by the hand.   When you think you know And you find out you don’t Be assured that He knows Just let His wisdom be yours.   So in everything my dear Be it in matters of the heart Or in issues of the mind Let God hold your hand.

Start:      Dec 15, '08 7:00p End:      Dec 29, '08 Location:      Lakewood, Zamboanga del Sur

The morning woke up with a smile on its comely eyes As the hands of the sun caressed its beautiful face Drying up the tears that the night has left in its wake The darkness walks away like a phantom leaving no trace. And when the night comes, the new moon will rise It will shine like the sun, lighting up your path So you will follow the way of your heart You will soar, you'll live, you'll never come apart. So your heart is like a bird fluttering freely Trapped in a cage but singing merrily Even in captivity this bird lives happily Knowing that freedom is just a breath away.

I'm thinking I did nothing this year but get sick, be hospitalized and spend a lot of money I don't have on medicines, hospital bills and dr's fees.  So for the last few days, I kept myself from writing anything here because I decided that I don't want to write about sickness again. But on second thought, I realized that it is not so bad after all because I do want to praise God for another chance at life here on earth.  Now that sounds a bit spooky, but yes, this last hospitalization that I underwent almost took me (of course that is from a human perspective, since God knows for sure that it was not yet my time to go).  It has also made me realize a lot of things-- made me see how I have been wasting my time on things and activities that do not really count for eternity. While in the hospital battling an acute kidney infection that almost went systemic (an infection going into the blood thereby spreading to all parts of the body), and a typhoid fever that won

Thank you, nothing to utter but you         To thIs loving heart who careS How I wish for a deeper one than you         To cry out my earnest appreciation Alas, my mind is empty but for ‘thank you’         Yet if your ears would meet my heart No doubt, you’ll hear the melody of my gratitude.   Kind thoughts, prayers, valuable gifts and your lovely face on that trying day         Etched forever in my memory         Your name is written in the threshold of my heart.   Oh that I could come up with something other than a resounding thanks   Uhuh, nothing comes to mind, nevertheless, THANK YOU.

I was tagged by kayni I am: sleepy... hehe I think: I'm losing my edge... maybe my mind too :) I know: that God's love in everyone's heart is the only thing that can make this world right. I have: a dream, to write a bestseller... (a bestseller in my tribe) I wish: I'm home with my lovey... I hate: strange men seatmates on a bus seat who are inconsiderate of your discomfort. I miss: my lovey... I fear: sugar and acne I hear: the neighbor's puppy barking I smell: my laptop overheating I crave: for my husband's inihaw na tulingan, and kilawin na yellowfin I search: for long lost friends (and x-bfs (hehe) in yahoo, reunion.com, altavista, google, etc. every now and then. I wonder: if i will ever be a mom... I regret: losing my patience over trivial things with people that I love I love: reading and translating.... and you! I ache: whenever I miss B :) I am not: taking my health for granted anymore. I believe: that all things work together for

Start:      Nov 17, '08 08:00a End:      Dec 12, '08 4:00p Location:      SIL. Bagabag

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5odhh_pop-corn-telephone-portable-microon_news Check this out!

It seems to me that August 1st came centuries ago and yet here you are still holding on with five more days to go. Not that I wanted you to end because your end will surely find me wanting--wanting in the things that I should have accomplished many weeks ago. As I look over my shoulder at the days that had passed, it seems that all I did was beat deadlines. But August was an interesting month too, no doubt. The last of my aunts, my best friend in grade school finally got herself a husband and so last weekend we were all fired up preparing for the wedding. The ceremony went well except for the part that my sister and I had to hunt for candles (again...) when we thought all was ready. It was also a nice time catching up with family especially seeing new additions to the clan... an assortment of baby cousins, nephews and nieces that I don't get to see very often. You also brought an evening of relaxing dinner with blogger friends Bill and Wil. (Thanks, you two...) Now, August, you

Nagulat sina sara, biglang may umakbay at bumati sa kanila! :) Some pics taken during our aunt's wedding in our backyard where Sara and I were the runners.

I just finished reading a book by LeGette Blythe called The Bold Galilean.  It was a biblical epic on the life of our Lord Jesus told from the point of view of the Roman centurion whose sick slave Jesus healed.  It was a novel well-written. All of the elements of a good story are there--the accounts found in the Gospels with a few fictional embellishments here and there to move the story along.  Two weeks ago, I read a bio-documentary of another biblical figure Pontius Pilate written by Dr. Paul Maier.  It is also under the label of historical fiction but at the end of the book, the author had notes on each chapter of all facts, events, and people that truly happened and existed historically that were documented extrabiblically.  Last week, I read  The Flames of Rome by the same author.  As the title implies, it is a novel about the reign of Nero and the persecutions of the Christians during Nero's reign.  The novel depicted a beastly emperor and a morally-rotten Rome

This is a meme:  You know how pages like amazon and other shopping pages have "wish lists" beside their shopping cart?  So this is a wish list meme: MY WISH LIST: 1.  A complete volume of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia (I have a pdf copy, but it's more enjoyable to sit on a chair, with a book, and turn the pages instead of clicking arrows.) 2.  A complete volume of Bodie Thoene's AD Chronicles. 3.  A pink violin for my sister in law 4. Paul Maier's Books for my bestfriend     a.  F lames of Rome     b.  Skeleton in God's Closet     c.  M ore than a Skeleton:  It was One Man Against the World     d.  In the Fullness of Time     e.  Pontius Pilate 5.  A boyfriend for my sis D  and maybe for R and J too... and S also? hehehe 6-7-8-9.  Good health for all the people I love.. 10. A pretty mare.....a real live one... I tag layad, pinehills, best, fbi, art, ybette, labfek, and anyone who happens to come by this page.   First, choose one among the 10 wish

Thanatos, I learned from my Greek vocabulary last week, means death. You're familiar with Thanatology of course--a term derived from two Greek words 'thanatos' and 'logos', which means the study of death. I don't know why this week, I have been kind of obsessing with death. I jokingly told my husband that when I die, and he wants to marry again, he cannot and should not marry another Igorota. In one of my classes, a professor said that everyone she knows whose about to die kind of know that their time is near. I don't know how, but the expert said, intuitively they know. (I don't know if even those who are killed by tragic accidents had some sort of a premonition about their impending death.) Anyway, my recent brush with death has reminded me so strongly of my mortality. It had me thinking and made me write my last will and testament. Well, my will includes the selection of songs to play during my wake, what the living should do (e.g. try to have

Born with a humble beginning spent youthful days mostly in service your beauty is not ordinary your mind is so deep like the sea your voice is so gentle like a breeze your vision is so clear your pen is powerful your heart is so pure you are wise like a princess your love is so true your commitment is forever your faith is so strong and your work is for generations you are an inspiration to millions of youths after you you are a blessed child of God.   (this was written by a 'fan'  I mean a 'fwend' (hehehe) and I thought it's a good thing to share to all the women out there who are kind of 'fool enough' to love their people, language, and ultimately God, more than the comforts and promises of this world!  The world may see us as fools, but nursing? journalism? banking? teaching? business? anyone can do that! but what we do? something tells me, only a few can.  so we are among the chosen few..... and we are loved! :-)

I remember when I was in college, I hated Behavioral Psychology so much.  That is because you are forced to look at yourself--that is your inner self, and if you don't like what you see, the tendency is you'd hate the course, like I did.  One of the theories I met then was Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Development.  And now, I met him again in my Life Span Development, but now I have a different attitude towards the theory, hopefully because I have grown a little bit since then. :-)  Reading and studying Erikson’s psychosocial development theory is like submitting oneself for psychoanalysis.   One cannot help but relate each stage to oneself and one’s own development, asking if one was able to navigate through the stages victoriously.   Compared to, say for example, Piaget’s, I like this theory better in that it provides a more descriptive and true to life’s experiences, prescriptions and descriptions, as well as a birth-to-the-point-of-death stages of a human being

I remember when I was in college, I hated Behavioral Psychology so much.  That is because you are forced to look at yourself--that is your inner self, and if you don't like what you see, the tendency is you'd hate the course, like I did.  One of the theories I met then was Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Development.  And now, I met him again in my Life Span Development, but now I have a different attitude towards the theory, hopefully because I have grown a little bit since then. :-)  Erikson came up with eight stages of psychosocial development which starts from infancy up to the point of death.   His stages include 1) Infancy, 2) Early Childhoood, 3) Play Age, 4) School Age, 5) Adolescence, 6) Young Adulthood, 7) Middle Adulthood, and finally, 8) Late Adulthood. In the Infancy Stage which is from birth to eighteen months, an infant is to develop Trust to his caregivers if his experience is positive, if not, the infant will develop Mistrust, meaning he will have a

On OPENMINDEDNESS: "I am incurably convinced that the object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid!"    G. K. Chesterton "Where there is no sympathy, there is no understanding." ON MINISTRY: "BE A SOLDIER OF CHRIST.... in active service DO NOT BE in the Secret Service."  

Start:      Aug 2, '08 11:00a Location:      CFM, Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya

I was listening to the last three lectures on my course in TheologyII which is a study on the doctrine of glorification, one of the major themes in the process of salvation when I came across this analogy of the sun and moon and glory. "We know that the sun is a source of light. It is because of the intense combustion which takes place in it that the sun produces both light and heat. The moon by contrast is a dead body in which there is no heat on the surface and in which there is no intrinsic light. But the moon does appear as lighted because it reflects the light of the sun. The glory of the moon therefore is reflecting the glory of the sun by reflecting the rays that come upon it and sending them on toward those who are of service upon the earth. This is exactly the situation of the Christian in this life already to some extent, but even more fully at the point of the ultimate consummation of the purpose of salvation. For in heaven indeed, our major purpose will be to g

I heard one lady from a minority tribe down under in NZ told a Hawaiian presenter to let the art of hula dancing die peacefully rather than having people who do not belong to the culture, and who do not understand the heart of the art, perform it for the sake of entertaining foreigners and tourists at hotels. She said that performing an art outside of its original context will not revitalize the culture but rather it is short of turning the art into something like a dead piece of stone on a shelf in a museum. That comment made me wonder, is that what we are doing with our culture? In our effort to preserve our dances by performing them at school and other festivities, are we actually uprooting these dances from their meaningful place in our culture and history? Much of the Kalanguya (and probably other Igorots) dances are performed in a specific occasion, for a particular purpose. Much of their meanings are associated with our animistic religions except probably for our wedding d