Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you did enjoy your holiday! I really wanted to post my thoughts on this season but my writing ability won't allow. hehe. So, just let me share to you one of the email messages I've received for this Christmas time.

THE INCARNATION

When we reflect on the celebration of Christmas, it is imperative that we remember we are reflecting upon a mystery and so no amount of thought is ever going to fully explain the incarnation to us to our satisfaction. The Second Person of the Trinity, the ever-begotten Son of the Father who is without beginning or end, also takes on human flesh — as if talking about Him was not difficult enough already. How are we supposed to respond to this wonderful mystery which lies at the heart of our salvation?
How we respond is up to each of us as individuals and it will depend upon how willing we are to submit our lives, and in particular our minds and hearts, to a mystery. The result of doing this will be a journey into the unknown — the unknown of the mystery of Trinitarian life in whose image we were created in order to be in relationship with God and one another. This sounds rather "heavy," doesn't it? Well, it is. However, it does not have to be a mystery only — it can and will be the experience of our faith if we allow it to be. What I mean by this is that the witness of the history of the Church's understanding of life in relationship with God is drawn from the lives of men and women who have freely chosen to enter into precisely this journey. Where it has led them is a different story for each one of them. Yes, there are familiar characteristics in them all, but each has a unique strand to it as well. Are we up to the challenge? I do not know for you, but I do know that I want to go down this path. Let us pray for one another that we will all be open to the work of the Spirit in our lives so that we will be willing to be led according to the will of God and thus arrive at the true end of our being — eternal life with the Trinity in heaven. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

Reflection Question:
Are you afraid to surrender all to God? You probably should be up to the point of realizing that it is impossible for God to harm you. He always desires the best for us all.

Jesus, help me to surrender to Your call more deeply and so experience Your calling me deeper and deeper into the mystery of the life of the Trinity.

This passage may be a li'l bit heavy for me but I really found it reflective. I also remember the priest's homily during the 1st Christmas eve mass that I attended last night since we started celebrating Christmas away from our hometown, that Jesus was sent in order for us humans to be freed from our sins. As a Catholic, this reminded me that we are really loved by God for him to send His Son to us. So, we should be thankful for this everyday of our lives. That's why I really love the saying that goes, "Count your blessings, not what's missing." Of course, we can't really deny the fact that worry always cross our path when trials come but we need not be, just count on HIM and everything will be alright.

A Blessed Christmas and a faith-filled New Year!

A Dream Came True

I just wanna share one my experience of having a dream come true. Not really a dream exactly but this one has been one of my "desired" things in my life. As silly as it seems, this dream is to visit the bridge of a ship - whatever ship it may be. I just found it interesting on how they command the ship or what are their machines are since those are really unusual for me knowing the fact that marine courses are not really for women (as I was taught). And so, the dream remained as it is.

But without anticipating it, that dream came true. Last two weeks, when we were boarding to Bohol through Superferry 1 with Ninz, he unexpectedly stumbled upon his ex-officers during his apprenticeship time. When we were at the deck, his former 2/m passed by and that's when they started their conversation knowing the fact that these people were his mentors during his neophyte days and that they weren't able to see each other already for the past years. And so, to make the long story short, we ended up going to the bridge to see the chiefmate of the ship who is also a friend of his. Here are some pics I took while listening on their conversation:

a view of the horizon from the bridge

ninz talking to his former chiefmate

"control area" (sorry but really don't know the name exactly, i've yet to ask ninz..)

Honestly, really didn't expect this to happen. Thanks to Ninz. Their machines may not really be the "state-of-the-art" kind according to Ninz but nevertheless, it's the bridge, right? And I'm sure that not all gals have a chance to visit this part of the ship unless you're some kind of a VIP..hehe

Bohol Escapade

There's nothing much happier and sweeter than traveling with your special one. Just sharing a sneak peek of my trip in Bohol with Ninz..:)

pic with our Bohol shirts..:)

facade of Dauis Church..

passing Dauis, Bohol..

More pics of the Panglao beach soon..:)