A BEAUTIFUL DAY

          What a beautiful day for me today----everything became a sort of a blessing.... From the moment I woke up, went to work and came back home, everything was on its proper place. My mates were mostly energetic as well hence I also received that positive vibes from them. Experience would tell me that when I and those people around me are  showing positive vibrations, tasks and relationships tend to become light.

          It's true that when we radiate positive aura to others, we will also receive positive aura in return. Moreover I believe that being positive goes along with one's ability to stay focus in all things to be fulfilled.

          Being constantly focus in everything we do is not an easy thing to fulfill. It entails such rich resources of patience and stability. Patience in the sense that as human as we are, we tend to overdo things- we like to accomplish multiple tasks at the same time. I'm not saying that it is wrong or it is not possible. Many gifted and trained people are able to accomplish such task yet  a large number also including myself are at times lost since the sense of being focus is absent. Can you recall concretely any event in your life wherein you are trying so hard to fulfill a certain task when suddenly a separate and unrelated thing popped up? Or you are at the verge of making it to the finish line of your work when suddenly your mind wanders so very far away? These are frustrating moments in our life yet they are also very true to you and me.

     

          Thus, it is with such gratitude that I thank my Divine Creator for allowing me to stay focus each day in my tasks and in my relationships. Somehow, somewhere the road towards the end of each of our journeys seems  so overwhelming, tricky, challenging yet certain factors like determination and focus can assist us to reach it at the peak. 

REMEMBERING in our HEARTS OUR LOVED ONES

          Significant people are ones who can give us comfort and strength when things are getting rough and tough...when everything seems so blurred, they come to our rescue and offer us a sense of perspective. Thus, it is but fitting to remember them always in our hearts including those who are away from us anymore-our faithful departed.

          Their memories and legacy will constantly remind us of their presence. They are merely physically absent from us yet their examples and good deeds guide us in choosing what is best for us. We always have 24 hours in a day and how great it is when we appropriate a part of these 24 hours to offer our prayers for these significant people for they would always be present in our life.

from:www.dreamstime.com

          Physically absent yet their love would always be our source of inspiration. I remember concretely  my mother who died many years ago. Ever since I  was  a kid, she was my mentor in my prayer life. She everyday initiated us into good deeds especially to prayer by reciting the holy rosary. Every Sunday is always a day of obligation. When everybody seemed to be enjoying their rest on Sundays, she constantly became the first person to wake us all up and prepared ourselves for mass.

          Hence, I offer my daily prayers for my beloved Mama and for other faithful departed and this allows me to continue my connections with them. Do you also keep in your hearts and prayers your own departed loved ones?...


 
                        

THANKS GOD FOR THIS NEW DAY

It's SATURDAY and almost at the end of the week. I wake up with so much energy thinking that this day is a complete manifestation of God's undying love  for me- another new day, another new gift, another new blessing from HIM above. I have so many reasons to be grateful to HIM since I am blessed with a family of wonderful and loving people- my wife Yanyan and my son Kurt. They are the main reasons why everyday is such a wonderful and a fresh beginning for me.

           They are my main motivations that give me strength to face squarely every day's challenges and trials. Like any ordinary human being, I come face to face as well with life's trivialities- at times, my conviction to life is tested, at times my goal in life which is to be a constant God fearing individual is put into test by plenty difficult situations YET with my own faith and the LOVE that I receive from these two significant persons in my life, everything seems to be so light.

          Thus, I am very thankful to God above for giving me these gifts in life- my family. How about you, have you learned to embrace deep in your heart the presence of the other people in your life?
THANKS GOD FOR THIS NEW DAY

THE VALUE OF TIME

          Time is one of our treasures in life. Therefore it is always a daily routine for us to plan ahead what we have to do with our time. Thus, time management is very essential in our life journey. But how much do we really invest in time? How much time do we spend for our family, our loved ones or friends? What percentage of our daily time do we spend for our leisure? These are but some of the questions we can ask ourselves in relation to time. 

          One of the sources that I researched regarding time is shared below:

Time management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity. Time management may be aided by a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects and goals complying with a due date.

from:www.pixabay.com

 This set encompasses a wide scope of activities, and these include planning,allocating, setting goals, delegation, analysis of time spent, monitoring, organizing, scheduling, and prioritizing. Initially, time management referred to just business or work activities, but eventually the term broadened to include personal activities as well. A time management system is a designed combination of processes, tools, techniques, and methods. Usually time management is a necessity in any project development as it determines the project completion time and scope. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

          From this source, several components are being discussed and I would like to single out the element of "being able to consciously control our time" for whatever we want to do. We therefore  are the main protagonists each day on how we take control of our time from the time that we wake up then perform our different daily activities up to the time that we go to bed. No one could ever dictate us on what we are going to do with our time. However, it should always be a part of our consideration that our time should be shared and be spent in spreading love and concern for others.

          At times, relationships are being destroyed by the failure of each one to accord the other a quality time. Sometimes we think of any other excuses so as not to extend precious time with our loved ones. In some cases, we tend to enjoy and spend more time with officemates and friends rather than spending it with our family. What is being sacrificed is the guidance that our children specifically need from us. Consequently, there is this risk of soliciting this time and attention from other sources such as friends who can be bad influence, drugs, and vices. 

from:www.pixabay.com

          Hence, to rest assured our loved ones especially our children that they will experience quality time with us, we should always make it a conscious effort on our part to initiate interaction with them.  

                 

  (part 1)

A GUEST POST: MOTHER

          MOTHERS- the very significant people in our life who play essential roles in our growing up. Here then is a guest post from a high school student sharing to us her admiration for her mom. Basing from her own experience, this reflection will show to us how she valued her relationship with her.

Mother

Mother, mama, mommy or mum-these are just example of names that we usually give to our moms. They're the ones who carried  us while we are in their womb, the ones who`s given us the chance to see the world.  They're the ones who will teach us to be good children for the next generation. They will be the first teachers to teach us to walk, to talk, to write and read. They give us advice on how to live and survive. 

from:www.pixabay.com

They usually teach us to write and read but from those words the most important is that they also love us ,  no matter what, and even though we are at times stubborn and hard headed. In all of these, we've been

grateful for her undying love to us, her children. And that is the essence of being a woman, to give life for a child in an unconditional way. No matter what other people say she will always be there to protect and support for every achievements that a child make.

  

from:www.pixabay.com

In a child's eyes, she`s the goddess.

In a child's dream, she`s the fairy god mother.

In a child's world, she`s the superhero of all time.

And for me, she`s my world and my everything.

by: Romee Christine Gallano 

Love Prospered By Time

          Love prospered by time, that fills the memories. Memories are forever that makes us smile for a while even amidst confusions. Heart always beats, even feeling discontentment and suspicion sometimes. Heart is the reason for breathing, so asfor dying. Likely, few become insane, desperate, and unhappy bearing the fruit of mishandling the relationship. 

from:www.kozzi.com

          In crossing through the waves of adversities, the strength comes not from the paddles but the hands that hold the latter. As a cliché says, “It takes TWO to tango…”, therefore, partners form the strength to strongly overpass the challenges. 

         Love’s worth is more than a life. No one knows the fixed price. It has no monetary value. Some think it pays lower; some think it pays higher. Misunderstanding happens because we tend to gain back the price of how much we invest. Loving is not to outgive but to forgive.

from: www.kozzi.com

          So, love as much as you can, considering his incomparable sweetness and caress despite imperfection. Understand that everybody hasn't the same MENTAL and EMOTIONAL ABILITY as yours to interpret and perceive things happening. Indeed, same as you, no one is PERFECT!!! Besides, we have angel/s to inspire us daily...

by: ELSIE ALVARADO-ANDALES 

      Guest Blogger

WE LOVE YOU MAMA...

           We have basically various significant people in our life. We can name all of them yet personally what comes out as one of the most outstanding is that of our MOMS. Indeed our mother extend several sacrifices and their LOVE for us is beyond any price and timeless. Thus I would say that mothers play a crucial role in our development especially on our stages like when we are still babies, toddlers so on and so forth. Their LOVE is unconditional just like that of Mama Mary and we should always reciprocate this love with a genuine LOVE as well.

          Thus here below, I am sharing this reminder with you to remind us on the importance of our MAMAS in our life.

WE ALL ARE ONE IN SAYING " WE LOVE YOU MAMA"......

Kurt Kristoff Jugan and mommy....

WHAT WILL I DO TODAY?

          Each new day brings lots of potentials to all of us. Different experiences, different people, varied memories. mixied emotions---these are but some of the chapters in our book called LIFE JOURNEY. 

          Everyday that I wake up, questions come out of my mind and what is prevailing to me everyday is the question, " What will I do today?" Upon stumbling this everyday question, it goes down to the very deep of me including my sense of priority in life. Personally this is an important question since I believe that each day brings numerous potentials to all of us. Thus it takes note to keep in touch of our daily priorities so that we can also answer positively the question I posed beforehand.

                               (Photo courtesy of BART MAMARIL)

FAMILY is always a PRIMARY SOURCE OF MOTIVATION

          My daily priorities may vary from time to time yet at top of them is always my family- my wife and my baby Kurt. They are always my daily consideration and that everything that I do daily is always for their own welfare. Knowing their special place in my heart and in my life, I consistently put in mind their own good in whatever I perform everyday. They endow me strength to be full of life in my work and in my other activities. 

          Families may seem distinct from one to the other yet at the onset, what binds them all together is the LOVE that   radiates from one member to the other. Ideally, LOVE seems so abstract yet when it boils down to any family, it then presents itself concretely through the loving gestures and accolades that family members exchange with one another. From the simple words "Good morning dad/mom" to any other act of affirmation such as "You did great in your math subject!", they already show much affection and love to every family member.

LOVE ABOUNDS IN THE FAMILY...

          Thus,  it is my attitude to show respect and love in very concrete ways to my most loved persons in life- to my wife Yanyan and to our baby Kurt. What will I do today" I know what exactly it is and it is to continue showering them with so much love and affection.

QUALITY TIME WITH FAMILY

          One of our considered treasures in life is our family. Thus it becomes a very essential part of our everyday living. Apart from our own life, it is the family that stands as one source of strength for all of us. We can learn bountiful things from our interactions inside our family. Certain values we can attribute to our family are  respect, love, affection, truthfulness, certitude, compassion, faith etc.

          On the other hand, it is very essential to ask ourselves: " Do we spend quality time with all the members of our family?", "Are we willing to commit ourselves to spend more time with our loved ones?", "Do we treat all  members of our family equally regardless of their rank, achievements, roles, etc?"

          These are but just some of the questions that we can constantly ask ourselves since being a family man or woman is a day to day commitment. It is such a wonderful feeling when we see all members of our family bonded together by love, affection, trust, acceptance and mutual support.

BE HAPPY INSIDE YOUR FAMILY

          Moreover, each family is a unique entity of any community. Whatever the uniqueness of each family yet there would always be a unified element among all other families. LOVE then becomes the most important component of every family and this love is radiated to all others. Being able to maintain a spontaneous and a positive relationship among all members of the family will result to a healthier environment. Members then will become more gentle, intelligent and likeable person to others.

          Hence I would like to reiterate that spending quality time with our family serves as a positive tool to produce productive members wherein someday, they will also grow as matured members of our society then finally they will also build their own   wonderful families.

HOW COULD WE BE HEROES to our CHILDREN?

          Trying to check from several sources about what a hero is, I discovered that from these series of meanings for HERO, what stand out as typical among them is that they are all geared towards kindness- towards something GOOD for somebody. Considering our children, they love to identify certain heroes in their life. When they're together with their peers, they enjoy playing the roles of their superheroes. Most common of these are Superman, Batman, Hercules, Darna, and many others. These are but just some of our known superheroes in print and in movies. 

"Heroes are people who transform compassion (a personal virtue) into heroic action (a civic virtue). In doing so, they put their best selves forward in service to humanity. A hero is as an individual or a network of people that take action on behalf of others in need, or in defense of integrity or a moral cause.

Heroic action is:

• Engaged in voluntarily;
• Conducted in service to one or more people or the community as a whole;
• Involving a risk to physical comfort, social stature, or quality of life; and
• Initiated without the expectation of material gain". (from Mike Dilbeck, Founder & President- RESPONSE ABILITY PROJECT, www.raproject.org)

Be a winner in life!

          What are the characteristics and qualities of a hero? Courage, honesty, zeal, compassion, have noble idea, trust, loyal etc -these are but just some of them. Going now to our primary role as parents to our children, are we able to portray these qualities and characteristics to them? Ideally for us to successfully and consistently perform them all is challenging and difficult. Moreover I personally believe that the most urgent call for us towards our children is our being a role  model to them.

 

          And among these qualities of a hero, it is LOVE that unites them together since when one is loving, courage, noble, and others will just naturally flow. Consequently we will be positive in resisting temptations. We can also  endure difficulties since we know from the start that our efforts are geared towards the fulfillment of a dream- that is to witness the positive growth of our children.  

          The present world is befell and threatened by numerous negative things like drugs, poverty, absence of fatherly/motherly image in the home, failure to study, hunger and many more. However in spite of them, we can still contribute to this world's positive growth and development by establishing a home that is full of love. Therefore it now becomes an urgent call for us as parents- to consistently serve as role models and as heroes to our children.