Prayer Warriors

One thing I relearned from the kindest and calmest man I know… to pray. I’m still on the process of taking and giving it ALL up to Him, but I am sure no matter how seldom I pray, He hears me. He answers me.

Thank you for the constant reminder, love. You are truly a blessing, proof of an answered prayer.

TruthNotes

Author’s Note: From time to time I will run a piece by a guest author or reblog a piece from elsewhere.  This post is submitted by guest author Anthony Hessler.

Pray Continually. – 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)

I’ll be honest. I don’t have the world’s greatest prayer life. And I’ll bet you don’t either. We might talk about how important prayer is, how we should start and end the day with prayer, and even tell people that we’ll pray for them when they need it. But we all fall short of seeing these things through. Life gets in the way. We forget to pray.

View original post 736 more words

Autumn Leaf Viewing in Japan

Definitely my dream season. Autumn.

One day, I will stand on the grounds of Japan, picking up autumn leaves and take endless pictures of these fiery red trees. 🙂

JAPAN BUCKET LIST

IMG_6257 For all of the sakura (cherry blossom) fanfare in Japan, quite a few foreigners living here will tell you that they prefer a rather different season. Red, fiery and more spectacular than you might imagine, autumn and the turning of leaves are definite must-see events in Japan.

Where to go to best view those explosive momiji trees? Take a look at some of my pictures and decide for yourself. It’s best to look up autumn leaf reports (yes, they exist!) to see when locations will reach their peak viewing times (NOTE: Kyoto is insanely busy around peak time, so if you are not a fan of crowds it’s not advisable to go!).

KYOTO:

Places visited: Arashiyama, Heian Shrine Gardens, Kiyomizu Temple.

SHIGA:

Places visited: Nagahama, Keisokuji Temple (Kinomoto-cho).

So, my personal recommendation? Keisokuji in Kinomoto hands-down. It’s a bit of a mission to get to, but it’s a…

View original post 42 more words

La Luz Resort – Laiya Batangas

March 16-17, 2014

Finally! Kicking off summer in a 3-hour drive creamy white beach resort – La Luz.

It’s my second time seeing the beauty of Laiya beaches, the first time was during a former company outing in Blue Coral Resort (right beside the majestic Aquatico). The sand is not fine, it feels like small pebbles and it’s not totally white but creamy.

IMG_1111 IMG_1129 IMG_1138 IMG_1146 IMG_1147IMG_1167 IMG_1169 IMG_1178 IMG_1180

We stayed in a 6 bedroom loft type cottage (approx. Php 5,000) which can fit up to a maximum of 12 people (2 pips in a bed), it has a veranda where you can have a night of drinking. It’s not advisable though in our case, since we’re on the 3rd floor and the resources (ice, glass, etc) are all coming from the resort’s bar.

IMG_1122 IMG_1125 IMG_1126

La Luz has a rule that when you check in overnight you have to avail of their buffet (lunh, merienda, dinner, breakfast). The food for breakfast and lunch were okay. Dinner was great aside from that spicy pasta. Merienda was okay. They don’t have variety of fruits to serve but banana and watermelon.

Trips are more fun when you’re travelling with a bunch of fun people. I’m lucky I got the chance to go with his team.

IMG_1238 IMG_1241 IMG_1248 IMG_1261 IMG_1268 IMG_1276 IMG_1292 IMG_1295 IMG_1300 IMG_1320 IMG_1336 IMG_1337 IMG_1350 IMG_1351 IMG_1362 IMG_1364 IMG_1368 IMG_1380

Summer is here!

Finally, the much needed vacation is here.

Batangas-Zambales-BoracayCebuCoron

My planned vacation trips this year. Probably the last sets of trips I would have before 2015. I’ll be out of the lime light for adventures by that year. I have to start planning for myself… and for the future. No matter what they’ll be.

Hello Summer! Nice to meet you…again. Let’s have fun!

144 Cafe

Planning a romantic dinner with your partner? Or need a place to have a chat with long lost friends? Or maybe just a corner for that book you can’t wait to finish?

With its contemporary theme, this little nook may just provide you that space you need. Be it for a romantic dinner, family gathering even prenup shoots, 144 Cafe is just the right place.

image

I was at the lowest most stressed point that day when my man decided to meet me up and take me to dinner. I don’t know where he planned to go but since it was just within Taytay, I thought maybe a local restaurant or an ice cream house. I was correct but I never expected how rustic and romantic the place was. Look.

image

This was just one corner good for group chats.

image

From our view notice how classic our chair was.

Here’s the view from the garden.

image

image

They also have spots indoors. Each set has its own theme. This was a shot from our side. The place was reserved so we didn’t go in.

image

I was thinking to spend my birthday here. We fell in love with the place right at that moment. It was both love at first visit for us. Thanks to an officemate who shared the experience. 🙂

image

We never knew there was such a sweet escape just around the corner.

Pouring my heart out.. a battle with entities with identity crisis.

It’s been a year. And until now as of this writing, I’ve been a target, an unwilling victim of cyberbullying. Yes it do exists.

Believe it or not, there are real people behind these cyberbullies. What I’m most disappointed about is that, they do not use their own persons to be credible enough to justify all unkind claims. They create fake accounts so they can bash all they want, no limits, no hesitations. Just pure evil words to destroy your focus, your relationships, your confidence, and create the cloud of doubts they want you to believe.

At first, i thought it was just a funny joke. Created by people who seem so engrossed of the idea that someone is so happy at the expense of their loss. Without even considering the fact that happiness is a choice. And that no person defines your individuality but yourself.

Now, it has reached to a point where I get affected not because of what they say. But of the intensity and the gravity of their actions. And the extent of how far and foul they can go.

Why are they doing such things? I do not know. Maybe they themselves do not know. Because they do not know when to stop, and just let go.

Identity theft, use of fictitious name, libel, slander, fraud and deceit. All punishable acts of crime under our laws, but of no use against a virtual entity using a fake name and personality. I do not twitch at any of their slightest comments about me, nor the person involved with me or close to me or who I care about. Because I know and I live by the truth. What I can’t fathom is the time and effort they waste just to search me up, and research on my whereabouts, create names and identities only to tell me things I knew are without any doubt, make-up stories. Pure bullsh*t.

Yes they can find me. They actually found me. And I know they will not stop finding me until I get to a point where I will choose to bend at the lowest level just to be at par with, just to reach them. I cannot. I did not. I will not. Never.

But I did not say I will not do anything. I still believe in justice. That we can fight for our legal rights. So that those simple values we learned from grade school to the highest diploma we could get, and the reputation we build all our lives will not be put to waste because of these virtual creations. I am determined, if they can find me. I can find them too.

I hope one day, one time. I get face to face with these entities. And face to face, I will forgive them and smile. Because nothing is more precious than the gift of forgiveness. I may not know why they did such things, but I will be happy to know what I can do to help them and show them kindness, that no one can ever buy nor take away from me.

I promised myself to find the truth. And by that promise. I will.
If by my lifetime, I won’t be able to do it. I know God will reveal the truth in time. And give them the lesson, they all deserve.

“Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.” Proverbs 13:3

Panagbenga 2014

Feb. 22-23, 2014

My first ever true Festival. (well, I had Pahiyas last year but festival for me is about street dancing, parades, people and food! Pahiyas was a bit tame except the colorful designs, fruits and food by the houses.

It was just an overnight thing with my 2nd family. We left Manila at around 6am and by noon, we are already in Baguio. Thanks to NLEX-SCTEX-TPLex, the drive was smooth and hassle free. TPLex has just opened but not yet fully functional. Last stop was only until Paniqui Tarlac. It’s supposed to run all the way to La Union, cutting travel time to Baguio by approximately 2-3 hours.
image

When we arrived, street dancing competition was still ongoing, We opted to stay in Hotel Ola near the City Hall. The location was pretty good, Burnham Park, Sesion Road, Night Market, and Pasalubong shops are just a few minutes walk away.

Here’s our room. I love their sheets and wooden planks on the wall. Very classy.

image

image

image

Good for 5 persons @ PhP 2,750.00 per night.

includes:
Hot and cold shower
Cable TV
Breakfast
Walk in closet
No aircon (who needs it anyway)

Night Stroll

We had our dinner at Solibao Restaurant in Burnham Park. Food was okay, seems prepared in a rush because of the volume of customers but still satisfying. Local serving is more than the usual, 1 order is actually good for 2 tummies. 🙂

image

image

 

There was an ongoing concert that night in Burnham park and another one in a park near our hotel. It was more of a dance/singing contest rather than the usual jamming or concert.
image

image

 

Flower Float Parade

We went to Abanao Square, one of the stop points of the parade. As early as 5am, people are staring to pile up and look for their own places to get a good glimpse of the event. We chose to stay at the footbridge so we can see everything. I didn’t have my SLR with me. But if you have one, you better stay on the grounds so you can move around and get good shots 🙂

image

The parade started passed 8am.

image

Here are the floats. Sorry if all shots are birds eye-view level. We had no choice. 🙂 My personal favorite was float number 15.

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image