Happy New Year!

"...but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:13-14

Happy New Year to you all!

Life Goes On

This week's topic on Sunday Scribblings is DESTINATION. I found an old poem I wrote many years ago that would somehow fit. I think I'd share this for now:

Life goes on...
So tired of thinking about (name withheld)...
So tired of bringing back memories...

Life goes on...

Nothing's definite.
What must I give up?
What must I hold?
Nothing's definite..but life goes on...

Give me a new horizon
Give me a new direction
Show me a new destination...

I was unsure of myself,
full of doubts...
full of fears...

You came along,
set me free
and life goes on...

Look at the light.. don't cease to pray...
have faith, have hope.
Life goes on.

Time Management Part 3

How did I do with my "Time Use Analysis" yesterday? Poor! I didn't even log my time use. I know I did a lot. I went to work, dentist appointment, cooked a good dinner for hubby, taught my son multiplication table x3, and I even did my walking exercises on the new threadmill we got. I actually used my time wisely yesterday. But the point is, I committed myself to doing a time use analysis and I didn't do it yesterday - bad! bad! bad!

I'll try again today. For a start I woke up at 4:15 am. Got out of bed at 4:30. Started blogging at 4:35....

Blogging and the Introverts

I have often wondered, even before I started blogging, if blogging benefits the introverts more than the extroverts....

I am an introvert..and I must say blogging is now one of my favorite things to do. It helps me sort things out and reflects on things that are going on in my life.

For a more eloquent explanation about Blogging and Introverts, read the following articles:

Blogging and Solitude by Ronni Bennett of Time Goes By
Caring For Your Introvert by Jonathan Rauch of the The Atlantic

Time Management Part 2

How did I do with my "Time Analysis Log" yesterday? Fair. By 1:30 pm I stopped logging. Partly to due laziness, maybe partly due to avoidance....

I will do it again today. Hopefully I'd do better. I can already see the benefit of this. Yesterday I became aware of how much time I waste, just with the half day of logging what I do....

I will be blogging my progress (for accountability)....

Brain of the Blogger

I know.. I know I should not be blogging at this time... but I found a blog that would further justify "why I blog" :) Check it out! It's an old blog but still definitely worth reading:

Here's the link to Eide Neurolearning Blog

Time Management

That's it! - I need to do something to improve the way I manage my time. I always feel 24 hours is not enough. Being a "working mom" who is trying hard to do most of everything a "stay at home mom" does for her family...I usually find my self in a stressed out mode - a good candidate for burn-out. I did well this Christmas season because i took a couple days vacation from work. When I get back to work tomorrow, I know the stress of my hectic life will resurrect. At this point I need to find out how i am currently using my time. I will commit to logging my daily activities for the next 3 weeks. I found some tools in this website on Time Management. I will start my "Time Use Analysis" today....Wish me luck!

Quote For The Day

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again
and expecting different results" - Einstein

Change

As I think about the word change, the Serenity Prayer comes to my mind:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

The coming new year will bring changes in my life..in our lives. Some changes are inevitable. Other changes are out of my desire to pursue excellence and/or reach a goal. Some changes I will have complete control of. Other changes will come in the most unexpected time and will be totally out of my control...

The result of my husband's heart exam causes us to change our lifestyle. We will now as a family eat healthier and exercise more...

My desire to be more organized will cause me to exert more effort in changing the way I do things... not to procastinate, to be more assertive and decisive.. not to move things around without accomplishing something, but to take action right away...

Change... yes, there's a lot of changes I will do, I need to do, and would have to do.. but without God's strength and wisdom... I can't and i won't...

The serenity prayer above is in it's abbreviated form. The entire prayer is as follows:

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time,
accepting hardship as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever
in the next.

Amen

For more blogs on change, visit Sunday Scribblings
For a slide show with serenity prayer, click here.
Wishing you a blessed new year. Happy 2007!

My Christmas 2006

Where do I begin?... Let me start at our Christmas Eve celebration at church. It was fabulous. They did a great job in their presentation of the Gospel in a musicale format. It's not the usual Nativity Story, nevertheless, it brought the meaning of Christmas so clearly - it was well done. I must admit though that I missed the traditional "service" (or mass). I miss the solemn celebration of Jesus' coming, complete with traditional hymns sang by a choir...

We came home...and that's when the "drama" begun. Well... it's not really a drama. It just that sometime after we arrived at home, I started feeling a bit nostalgic, a bit depressed and a bit anxious. It's hard to describe what it was but I felt a downward spiral of mood. My husband noticed it and asked me what's wrong... but I could not give a clear answer. It's just that "down feeling" that I had to fight...and thankfully I won over... (the next day).

I didn't know where that "sad feeling" came from. Maybe it's from the lack of extended family around to celebrate with...maybe it's the difference in culture and how we celebrate Christmas here (we didn't have Christmas eve Dinner or Noche Buena here)... maybe it's the anxiety I feel about gifts (not sure if I got enough for hubby)...maybe it's because our friends who we are going to celebrate Christmas with are doing a non-traditional meal and non-traditional celebration - sandwiches instead of the turkey or ham dinner) etc..all I can think of are all maybes....

Thankfully we have kids (8 and 9). On Christmas morning, they both woke up very early and jumped on our bed ready for "Christmas Day". And so I rallied... I put on my "happy face" until the pretense became real and the joy of Christmas returned. Hubby read the Christmas Story from the Bible before we started opening presents and that helped me get back into a more joyful Christmas spirit...

Today I read a post of Poppycock about her Christmas what she said is so true:

"To fantasize about a perfect Christmas is disappointing, especially if we look towards, and fall short of our own Christmas card expectations. When we mind about ideal gifts, the perfect party, the better wine, the unsteadiness of relationships, more so an unfortunate Christmas eve fire, and so on, we find how effortlessly we spoil Christmas, specially if we make it dependent upon these things. But to remember the reason for the season -- that God so loved us that He sent His only Son Jesus to die for our sins, is what Christmas is truly all about. Which gives us peace, joy, and abundant love, that allows for us to smile after the tears, hope against hope, and move on through our fears. And that I know, for I lived it." (I know and live it too - Liza)

How about you? How did you do this Christmas Day?

Merry Christmas

"For God so loved the world that He gave his only Begotten Son, that whosoever belives in Him shall not perish but have an everlasting life" - John 3:16

"For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" - Luke 2:10-11

From our family to yours....
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Great Book for Moms on Christmas

We bought this book two years ago and has become one of my favorite Christmas book. We read it every "night before the night before Christmas".....



This photo is from Amazon.com and the book is available there. It's worth buying!

Happy Holidays!

Be Still....

Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still". Exodus 14:13-14

I am trying to be calm...be still...

I visited Be Still blog and the mini-video that was featured today helped me be still. I was trying to post the video here but didn't know how so here's the link to Francis' blog and you can watch it from there:
BE STILL.


===================================================

Finding my Place in the Bloggers World

My mom used to teach us to always choose our friends wisely. She said there's a saying that goes: "show me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are".

Here in the Bloggers World, I noticed that the LINKS or BLOGROLLS tells a lot about the Bloggers. With this note, I would like to admit that I still am trying to find my "group" is in this bloggers world. My blog roll is an assortment of interests and stuff of all sorts, and i like it that way. I like variety and assortment. But I know that somehow those assortment represents something....

If you've noticed, the "Blogs I Visit" are in alphabetical order instead of by category . I thought about categorizing them but there were overlaps so I didn't.

If I'd be very honest...I am feeling a bit " out of place" at this time. I still don't know exactly where I belong. For example, I visited a lot of Christian women blogs and they are wonderful and i am very much drawn to their blogs. But most of them are SAHM (Stay at Home Moms) and most are "homeschoolers". As much as I'd like to be in that circle...I don't know if I should. You see, part of the reason I started this blog is so that I can vent about my sentiments on being a working mom. All of my best friends here on Maui are SAHM, and many times I feel I am a "wannabe SAHM". So.. to make this long story short...the question I asked myself before I get so involved with the SAHM circle is "do I want to subject myself to this again? (being surrounded with SAHM moms)? That's what I already have here on Maui...maybe I need a support group of working women. Then I discovered BlondMomBlog and enjoyed it. yes, she's a working mom and enjoys her writing very well....But there's only a few "working women" blogs i really enjoyed.... Maybe I am just not the "career oriented type"...

And then there are the Christian Bloggers... But as much as I like talking about my Christian Life, I definitely don't want to leave behind my non-Christian friends and I don't want the Non-Christian bloggers to be uncomfortable in visiting my blog to the point that they won't come back.

And then there are the Pinoy Bloggers. I'm impressed at how much the Filipinos are very active in the Bloggers world! Most have excellent Blog sites! But then again after reading many of the Pinoy Blogs, I only have a few that I'd choose (they are now in my list of blogs I visit") because some of the blogs are too lengthy and I felt a little out of touch with the topics they are conversing about...

And how about my passion for advocating for kids with LD? ADHD struggles, etc?

Ok, I am rambling and babbling. Just tired. Maybe tomorrow morning I'd be more coherent....

Christmas Gifts - Five Languages of Love

I don't know about you...but for me, buying gifts sometimes increases my stress level to the max! (ok, not just sometimes...it's many times!)

Have you heard of the teaching on Five Languages of Love? (If not, make sure you check out the link).

I found out that my primary love language is called "Acts of Service" while my husband's primary one is "Receiving Gifts". My husband loves to receive lots of gifts...and I mean LOTS...lots of NICE gifts! I, on the other hand, am happy with whatever "gift", and even just one...as long as he helps me in the house so I don't get so stressed juggling my life between home, kids, and work....


Oh my... I need to get ready for work... I'd be back later... But before I go, I just want to remind you to make sure you find out what the love language of your "loved one" is so that when you give them your Christmas gifts this year, it will be more meaningful to them.

Merry Christmas!

Nativity Scene

This Nativity Scence has always been a part of our Christmas decoration as I was growing up. It's now called a "vintage" at Ebay. It's just made out of cardboard but ours lasted for 40 years (my parents probably still have them up at this time...)

Speaking of Nativity, I still have not seen the movie The Nativity Story. It's on my "to do" list for Chrsitmas but still has not gotten the time to do it. Have you seen it? Did you like it? I know the reviews weren't that great but I think I'd still like it....

Merry Maui Christmas!

I have been resisting joining Boomama's Christmas Tour of Homes simply because of my usual mantra: I don't have time to do this... But everytime I visit many of the participant's homes, I keep on thinking, I have to participate...I want to.....a lot of you have been nice to share your home... So here is ours.. Welcome to our Maui Christmas home...















More photos in many of the following Christmas Blogs. I want to put them all in here, but I've got to go ready for work... maybe later...

Thank you for visiting :) - Mele Kalikimaka!

How Many More Days Before Christmas ????

UPDATE: FOR YEAR 2007
DETAILED COUNTDOWN -
click HERE

For Count of days until Christmas 2007, here it is:

The post below is for 2006:

Oh my gosh! I'm starting to go into a panic mode! Noooo... don't do this Liza!...breathe...breathe... there's no reason to panic...Christmas should be a time of peace and rejoicing... no panicking allowed!

I still have so many "to do's" on my Christmas to do list. I better get going!

OK... breathe...

I found a blog that I can relate to. Thanks Blondemama :)

Attitude

This is originally written by Chuck Swindoll. I'll write the reference later as I can't recall what book he wrote this on:

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.

It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.

We cannot change our past ... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ...

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitude.


And so, today, I have once again committed myself to striving to have a better attitude daily. The circumstances around me will not change, but I have the power to change my attitude.

Speaking of Dyslexia

Children suffering from dyslexia often diagnosed with other maladies

Imagine learning your alphabet but not being able to make sense of those letters as they combine to make words. Imagine being able to read the words but not able to comprehend the meaning of the sentences. Imagine trying harder yet falling further behind in school each year.

One out of 10 students doesn’t have to imagine. They live this frustration every day. An estimated 10 percent of all students have learning disabilities, most of these affect language processing. October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month so it’s an appropriate time to raise understanding about this disorder.

What is dyslexia? A simple definition is that dyslexia is an inherited condition that makes it extremely difficult to read, write and spell in your own language despite average or high intelligence and despite exposure to teaching methods that work for almost anyone else.

A research-based definition by the National Institute of Child Health and Human development is that dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.

These difficulties typically result from a deficit in phonological component language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Studies show that individuals with dyslexia process information in a different area of the brain than do nondyslexics.
Although dyslexia may be the most common specific learning disability, it is not formally identified in schools. Many parents and professionals may be more aware of the attention deficit disorder checklists than one for dyslexia. Many kids are labeled with ADD when, in fact, they are dyslexics.

Parents need to be alert to the possibility of dyslexia so they can help their kids get proper assessment, accommodations and remediation they need. Some common signs and symptoms of dyslexia may include reading that is slow and effortful, especially when reading out loud. There is a tendency to make wild guesses with new words, skipping over small words – like a, an, the – while mixing up orders of letters.
There is a common misconception that dyslexic people see letters and words backwards but, according to Dr. Sally Shaywitz, a professor of pediatrics at Yale University School of medicine, that is not the case. There may be some reversals in writing but no more than the other kids. Perceptual skills of what the child does with a word on a page is the problem – making the transition from print to language.

Children with unrecognized dyslexia are mislabeled as inattentive, lazy, careless or slow, but that can be far from the truth. There is a very long list of people who have overcome dyslexia and became successful. Dyslexics are over-represented in creative and inventive fields like arts and architecture or computers and engineering. Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and Leonardo Da Vinci all exhibited signs and symptoms of dyslexia. Famous and successful people with dyslexia include Charles Schwab, Jack Horner, Winston Churchill, Nelson Rockefeller, and the list goes on.

However, not all people with dyslexia go on to greatness. It is estimated that 30 to 50 percent of adjudicated juveniles and adults have been found to have learning disabilities compared with 5 to 10 percent prevalence in the general population.
Learning disabilities increase a child’s risk of delinquency by a staggering 220 percent. Dyslexia is a form a learning disability and our kids who suffer from it must be given proper attention and help.

Early identification and remediation is a crucial key in overcoming dyslexia.
Parents and teachers have a crucial role in identification by recognizing the child’s patterns of difficulties as it relates to dyslexia symptoms. The earlier a child is given the proper help, the easier it is for the child to overcome difficulties in school, and succeed in life.

For more information on dyslexia and other learning disabilities, visit the Web sites Schwablearning and LDOnline.

Who Me? Write? You've Got To Be Kidding!

I can't believe how far I've gone with this blogging thing! Truth be told, I am not a writer, and I am surprised how I am keeping up with my blogs.

If someone told me in my high school years that I'll be writing, my answer would be "you've got to be kidding me!". English, Language, Writing, Literature were not part of my favorite subjects in school. I love Science, Psychology and Social Studies ...but writing? God knows how many books reports I had plagiarized back then. It was my weakness. I was not good at grammar and I was not a creative writer. Part of the problem was that I wasn't a "reader" either. I didn't read for pleasure back then.

So when did I like writing? In college I gave my life to Jesus (was "born again", as others would say). During my early Christian life, I had the urge to start a journal (mind you, I wasn't a "diary-writing" kind of person at that time too). In my journal I started writing to God, what I feel, what happened to my day, my prayers, wishes, and requests. The more I write, the more I enjoyed it. I realize that I can express myself in writing, and that my quiet time with God is not only enhanced but it was "documented" as well. I also started my love affair with books. I started reading for pleasure (actually for spiritual growth) and love doing it since then.

I have been blog hopping this week and found so many wonderful bloggers who express themselves so well. I caught myself a couple of time wishing I can be as eloquent and as funny and creative as them. Then a tiny small voice inside me said ... "you're doing just fine...."

Yeah, writing is not something I am very good at..but something I am growing in to and loving it. I think I'd blog some more :)

Persistent Praying

The following is an excerpt from a book I read while I was at the Prayer Mountain in June of 1991. I wrote them in my journal but forgot to write down the source or reference. If my recollection serves me right, I believe the author is E.M. Bounds (but it can also be D.L. Moody or A.W. Tozer)

Persistent praying never faints or grows weary. It is never discouraged. It never yields to cowardice but is lifted up and sustained by a hope that knows no despair and a faith that will not let go. Persistent praying has patience to wait and strength to continue. It never prepares itself to quit praying and refuses to get up from its knees until an answer is received.

Persistence is made up of intensity, perseverance and patience. The apparent delay ins answering prayers is the ground and demand of persistence.

Of Prayer and Conduct

The following is an excerpt from a book I read while I was at the Prayer Mountain in June of 1991. I wrote them in my journal but forgot to write down the source or reference. If my recollection serves me right, I believe the author is E.M. Bounds (but it can also be D.L. Moody or A.W. Tozer)

Prayer produces cleanliness of heart and purity of life. It can produce nothing else. Unrighteous conduct is born in prayerlessness. the two go hand in hand. Prayer and sinning cannot keep company with each other. One, or the other, must of necessity, stop. get men to pray, and they will quit sinning, because prayer creates a distaste for sinning. It works so much upon the heart, that evil-doing becomes repugnant.

We pray feebly, because we live feebly. the stream of prayer cannot rise higher than the fountain of living. The force of the prayer closet is made up of the energy which flows from the flowing streams of life. The weakness of living grows out of the shallowness of character.

Feebleness of living reflects its weakness in the praying hours. We simply cannot talk strongly, intimately, and confidently to God unless we are living for Him, faithfully and truly. Te prayer closet cannot become sanctified to God when life is alien to His laws and purpose. We must learn His lesson well. Righteous character and Chrsitanlike conduct give us a peculiar and preferential standing in prayer before God.

The Lord is My Comfort

Comfort; my comfort comes from the Lord
For I lean upon His breast
and I trust upon His heart

Comfort; my comfort comes from the Lord
For I rest upon His promises
And I know He knows what's best

Comfort; my comfort comes from the Lord
For His joy eases my pain
And His peace always sustains

Comfort; my comfort comes from the Lord
For in Him I have strength
and His love carries me through

Comfort; my comfort comes from the Lord.

Of Sacrifice and Love

Sacrifice brings death to what my heart desires
Yet love gives strength to overcome
A wound may leave a scar that brings remembrance
But pain is there no more
With sunset comes darkness and night
but in sunrise is the promise of light
Weeping may endure for a night
but rejoicing comes in the morning

Christmas Caroling

Going to my kids Christmas Program made me nostalgic about "caroling" in the Philippines....

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia on what this caroling is about:
In the Philippines, children also celebrate Christmas with the traditional Christmas caroling --going from house to house singing Christmas carols. Makeshift instruments include tambourines made with tansans (aluminum bottle caps) strung on a piece of wire. With the traditional chant of "Namamasko po!", these carolers wait expectantly for the owner of the house to reward them with coins. After being rewarded, the carolers thank the owner by singing "Thank you, thank you, ang babait ninyo (you are so kind), thank you!"

I happen to find a site called Maligayang Pasko that contains lyrics of some of the familiar Filipino Christmas songs. This made me feel nostalgic. I threatened my husband that I am going to buy a "karaoke" to sing Christmas carols every night until Christmas. You should have seen the horror in his face!

***

FOR 2007 UPDATE and to listen to tagalog Christmas songs, click HERE

Christmas Family Traditions

I was planning to blog on Christmas Family Traditions but once again my "blogging time limit" is up. Last year I started a discussion on Schwablearning message board about Christmas Family traditions so i thought I'd post it here for now:

Schwabbie friends share their Christmas Family Traditions

Also, I dug up some archives from a fellow blogger who also likes celebrating family traditions on Christmas:

Renny's Christmas blogs from last year

Merry Christmas everyone!

Broken Car and Dental Visit Updates

I got a call from the auto shop mechanic yesterday. He gave me a quote of the extra parts I have to pay. I almost fell off my chair when I heard the quote. Just for the parts (timing belt and Water Pump), it'll cost about $400 dollars! The new radiator, all the labor are covered by warranty. The news made me worry and I told the mechanic to hold off replacing those parts until I tell my boss. The car is a company car and yes it's the company's responsibility to pay for the repair...but I still felt like it's my responsibility to pay since it broke while I was on a personal trip. You see, the company I work for is very generous to me. They let me use this company car as my personal car too. Anyway, I was hesitant to tell my husband about it and was hesitant to tell my boss. My plan was to ask my boss if the company can pay when we get the car and then they can deduct from my salary installment basis.

Today my boss asked me - "How's your car - have you heard from them?" I was quite nervous when I said..."well... the repair will cost us a lot of money". His face looked worried when he asked "How much?". I said "four hundred dollars!" waiting for him to exclaim "that much?". Much to my surprise, his faced looked relieved and said "that's all?". I said, "well,I was afraid to tell you because it's too expensive" He said., "that's nothing. go ahead and tell the mechanic to replace those parts". Yehey! I didn't have to say "he can deduct from my salary" - the company is going to pay for it! God is good!

Now, about the dentist visit.... it went well. Okay, I lied - it was ok. No, it was PAINFUL! Our lady dentist pulled my molar and it wasn't easy. They had to anesthetize twice. I was planning to blog the detail of that ordeal but on second thoughts I'd rather not. Let me just say that I am on "hydrocodene" at this moment. I was given a prescription of 20 pain reliever pills - take every 4 to 6 hours as needed. I know I'd sleep well tonight.

It's Been a Good Blogging Week.

Liza's Eyeview received several comments this week and I am very excited! It's really fun connecting with others through blogs.

I have learned recently that in order for my blog to get more visitors, I would need to visit other blogs and leave comments there as well. However, I don't have that much time to blog hop (maybe someday when my kids are older). I am just so haapppyyy to see that some of my blogging acquaintances and friends are coming back once they happen to stop by here.

I still need to complete my profile. Maybe I'd do that tonight. For now, I need to make a pot of coffee and get ready for work!

Happy holidays!

Equanimity Prayer

God, grant me the equanimity
to live with the clutter I cannot organize;
ability to clean-up the mess I’ve created
and wisdom to know the difference.

Love Hopes All Things

The essay below was written by me about 4 years ago and was published in our church's devotional:

Love Hopes All Things

It was 2 o’clock in the morning. I was on bed tossing and turning. My heart was anxious and my head was spinning. I was worried about our son. He’s just 5 and he’s already having problems at school.

It’s almost 3 o’clock. I still could not sleep. Whispering, I prayed “God, what future does my son hold? Show us how we can help him” I did not hear an audible answer. But in the stillness of the night I knew the Lord had spoken and said “For I know the plans I have for Gardner…plans of good and not of evil…to give him a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). With these comforting words, I went to sleep.

The scene above happened several years ago…and I from that, I’ve learned to appreciate this aspect of love that I’ve not focused on before: hope!

More than anyone, God knows the depth of my love for my son Gardner. And on that night, God reminded me that He loves Gardner so much more than I possibly can! After that prayer, God has been showing us each day his wonderful plan. Hope unfolds every step that leads to Gardner’s bright future. No longer am I anxious. Instead, love has taken away my fears. Yes, there are times when I still worry, but I have learned to turn my worries into prayers and the result is a tremendous hope!

This is the power of love. It is fueled and sustained not by an ever-changing emotional or physical state, but by deep beliefs and hopes that are given by God to those who trust Him. Real love has a capacity to view life – and live with it – with an optimism that is refreshing because of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col:27)

Real love can hope because of what God can do in a person’s life. Love…hopes all things.

Times Flies So Fast - Christmas Memories

I was looking for an old photo (browsing through hundreds of photos we have taken and stored in the computer) when I came across these two old Ginger Breadhouse Making photos (maybe 2 or 3 years ago). I placed them side by side with the new one and once again reminded that time flies so fast! Not only did my kids grow, but our Ginger Bread Houses grew as well :) My kids have the same old big smile .. but they definitely have grown....I know... I know... I said I'll talk about Christmas movies but I am already tired and can not think well. I also said I'll talk about Christmas gifts and I didn't. I guess I should stop announcing what my next topic will be :)

Christmas Movies

I loved watching Little House on the Prairie and their Christmas Special is one of the best Christmas movie (TV Movie) as far as I am concerned. We watched it again last night. I'd be back tomorrow for more discussion on Christmas movies.. I have reached my "blogging time limit" for today :).

More Holiday Movie Suggestions in this Schwabbieland Discussion

Lessons from a Donkey

A friend of mine at Schwablearning Message Board posted this and I thought it's funny (and has a lesson) so I decided to put a copy in my blog. Enjoy reading:

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his
back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of
our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.
Live simply and appreciate what you have.
Give more.
Expect less

NOW.

Enough of that crap . . The donkey later came back, and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him. The gash from the bite got infected and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.

MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON:
When you do something wrong, and try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you.

Dentist Visit - A Bummer!

Warning: If you are easily grossed out or do not like going to dental clinic, this post is not for you.

I had a sort of emergency dental appointment yesterday because the bridge I have (molar) was loose.

As soon as our dentist looked at my dental chart, she was alarmed. "Liza, you have not come visit us for 2 years. You have not done the check-up and cleaning. This is not good". And of course she was right. It was not good. The tooth that my bridge was attached to has a deep cavity. Not only that , my gums are not in a good shape, and the other tooth I have with a crown is also not in a good shape (our dentist had to refer me to a specialist for the crowned tooth). I was bummed. Really bummed. Actually, I was feeling guilty. Very guilty. I should have known better. I shouldn't have missed those appointments. But I was busy. I'm a working mom who do not have enough time for myself. Now, I wasn't only feeling guilty. I was also wallowing in self-pity. Discouragement. After several X-rays and exams (poking my gums so hard), I was told that they would have to extract my molar where the bridge attached and then I would have to have an implant. I also need to do some deep cleaning to restore the health of my gums. Then I need to go to the dental specialist for more exams. They found a couple of cavities. Yikes! my teeth are in a bad shape!

Again, I am feeling guilty. I should have known better. I should have taken advantage of our dental services. Had I been faithful to going for my annual check-up and 6 month cleaning, this would not have been like this. I do brush my teeth regularly morning and night but is not good at flossing. I grew up not having fluoride in our drinking water, nor taking fluoride like my kids do. I also grew up in a country where dental services cause an arm and a leg - only the rich can afford to do a regular visit. My parents have full dentures and my older brother has half of his teeth with dentures. My younger brother (who is in L.A.) and I are fortunate to have out teeth still intact (or partly intact - several has fillings).

My husband asked, so how much will all these dental work going to cost us? The answer is I don't know. I didn't have the heart to ask our dentist yesterday. I'm, scheduled to go back there on Tuesday, I guess I'd asked for a quote.

They say misery loves company..ad since I was so bummed with the result of my dental visit yesterday, I started searching for blogs related to dental visits. Someone must have experienced this before...maybe. Well, I found a couple - here's the links:

Mommy Bites Back
Cost of Dental Work

Moral of the story: Don't miss your dental appointment.

Christmas

I know I said I'd talk about "Christmas gifts" tonight, but I am not in the mood. As you may already noticed, I blogged about blogging instead. To continue on with the Christmas celebration here, here's a link for you to enjoy: Re: Jesus - Christmas

Maligayang Pasko!

Be Thankful - It's My Choice

I can grumble about my broken car and whine about how it's making my life difficult, or I can be thankful that the Auto Shop is still honoring the warranty and so i won't have to spend too much money fixing it; and I can be thankful that I have other cars to use (hubby's truck and my boss' van).

I can complain about Maui's lack of efficient public transportation system, or I can be thankful that I live in this beautiful island...

I can worry about Christmas gifts and stress about the coming holidays, or I can be thankful that I'm still alive to celebrate another Christmas season....

I choose to be thankful today.

Anxiety Part 3

Psalm 131
My heart is not proud, O Lord
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too difficult for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

Car still broken. The auto shop said it'll take a week or two to fix it.
This auto problem is making my life difficult.
That's why I pulled out one of my favorite Psalms. Time to make that Psalm real at this moment.... time for "anxiety proofing" device.

On Our Way to the Christmas Tree Farm

We were on our way to the Christmas Tree Farm yesterday when my car's radiator blew off and my car died. Good thing I was on a caravan with our friend Cassie. She ended up bringing my kids to the Christmas Tree Farm while I waited for the Towing Company to tow my dead car. One good thing is that I was able to clean the inside of my car while waiting for the towing truck. I mean, it's been on my list of things to do, to clean the inside of my car but I never got around to doing it. Well, I did it yesterday.

So, I never got to see the Christmas Tree Farm (never had) but the inside of my car is clean. Now the bigger problem is I don't have a car to use today (Monday) to go to work. Yikes! If you've been to Maui, you know that there's no Public Transportation System, so I'm stuck. Maybe I should not go to work? (ha! ha! - right!) I'll have to go rent a car this morning.

I believe the "enemy" is trying to dampen my Christmas joy. But no, I won't let him!

"The joy of the Lord is my strength"

December 1st

December 1st is a special time of the year. It's my parent's wedding anniversary. This year they are celebrating their 42nd anniversary. Isn't that wonderful? In times like this when divorce rates escalates to a high percentage, it is a comfort to know that some couples do stay together and love each other until death do them part. What an inspiration!

When I was growing up, December 1st is also the time we "officially" start the Christmas celebration in our family. So, in my effort to "re-create" this warm Christmas feeling..and pass it on to my family now... I made sure that we "officially" celebrate Christmas on December 1st here on Maui. My darling husband, knowing my mission, lovingly bought me this extravagant Advent Calendar. Oh, I am very thankful. But there's one glitch. I have not done this kind of Advent Calendar before and it caused a little bit of stress in me. OK, I think I will create another post about Advent Calendar later so I won't get off track with my Dec. 1 post.

After dinner, I pulled out from storage a plastic bin of books which contains our collection of Christmas books, our Christmas days Scrapbook/Journal, and Christmas Cards and letters we received last year. Oh, we had fun rummaging through them. My kids (Gardner and Noelle) found their electronic book that plays Christmas carols. The 3 of us started singing (much to my husband's dismay). We sang every Christmas carol in that little book. Yes, we sang out of tune but joyfully and with all our hearts :)

Gardner and Noelle read a book to me. Then time to watch one Christmas Movie. I was pushing for "Charlie Brown Christmas", but the kids are not in the mood yet for that movie. They chose the "Tom and Jerry Christmas", so that's what we watched. Actually, that's what they watched :)

Anxiety Part 2

I felt it again... that lump in the chest that causes me to breathe harder...

Anxiety...it's the fear of the unknown...

I know I am stressed with the fact that my one week off from work is now ending and I still have tons of things to do my list. These are the "to do's" that I thought I would be able to accomplised during my one week off.... but only accomplished a few..

No, I cannot let this anxiety dwell within me... It has to go away....

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6