Decisions and Choices

One of the greatest gift God had given us is the power of FREE WILL, He had let us mend for ourselves and be responsible for all our undertakings. Decisions and coming to terms with our choices in life.
Taking responsibility for our actions and standing firm with our decisions.
I am not different from others, and I believe that each and every one of us encounters the same thing, deciding on anything that matter.
Starting our day upon waking up, we already, instantly make choices, whether to go directly to the bathroom or to have breakfast first from what to wear, which shoes to match, which perfume to wear, etc., etc.
This free will can either make or break you, maybe that’s why God put our brain above our heart so that we would think and contemplate first on anything we say or do, as the heart most often than not leads to heartaches and pain, however, our brain’s downside is regret. Regretting is the result of wrong decisions, but it takes a strong and steady personality to overcome this for the knowledge that for every wrong choice we made there is always a chance that we can make better next time, and the lessons which comes after will definitely influence one’s perspective.
I never, well that’s an understatement, one can never not regret any mistakes they’ve done, so I always pick up the pieces of what’s left after every bad choices I made, and as much as I can I try to incorporate the lessons learned so that next time, there’ll be less pain.
So I hope the decisions I made lately will lead to a better, and hoping for a much better, future for me. Like:
1. Staying and sticking out with the job and company I have and pray for the best (for the next two years anyway, in God’s will.)
2. Minimize my expenses and maximize my savings so I can purchase a new place solely for my own. (Amen, amen, amen!)
3. Cleanse myself of bad habits, no matter how hard, but I’d try anyway. (Oh men!)
4. Wait for Mr. Right and hope he’s just around the corner, somewhere. (Well, good luck!)
5. The rest will come and I will just deal with them choices and decisions as they come. (I need to pray more!)
So decisions and choices, it’s up to us. One thing is for sure though, let us pray to God that no matter what we decide for ourselves, let us rest again, with the knowledge that He will guide us and keep us and that He would bless us.
I remember, my dear friend Ivy reintroduced to me the Prayer of Jabez, that says in 1 Chronicles 4:10, and read: "And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested."

Amen?

Amen!

Photography Attempts - Ruins

It's been a while since my last entry, what has transpired? Nothing much,after the Holy Week had passed, it's back to normal which is WORK WORK WORK!

Good Friday ,we had our usual late lunch with Ivy and Benjie of Pritong Tilapia and Talong...yes our favorite TT's on weekend. Eating by hand with chopped tomatoes and fish sauce and newly cooked rice! It really is a treat every weekend, simple food, great friends, to spend the lazy afternoon not doing much.

The next Friday, we had it at my place, after a week of house cleaning and redecorating, rearranging furniture, whew!

I treated my good friends with Sweet Sticky Chicken Wings with thinly sliced Cucumber in Vinegar and Pepper, for dessert it's my very first Biko!

It was another nice Friday afternoon, a tea after and watching TV together, what else can I ask for?

Life here in Saudi is how you make it.

You can make yourself miserable if you want to but why? When you have good friends and good meals, nice, peaceful, clean place to stay, making things simple yet not depriving yourself of the good things, God is good.

Good Friday Reflections

Who says Holy Week cannot be felt and celebrated in the Middle East?

Last night, Good Friday, after our usual Rosary, my friend Ivy and I reflected and prayed the Station of the Cross, with her handy Handbook, and what seems to be an ordinary expression of our gratitude and thankfulness to Jesus, became very personal to the both of us.

Every station has a reflection that we read alternately, and each reflection struck us in a way that we both felt through the bone. She even had to excuse herself in the middle of prayer on the 5th or 6th station, just to comment on how very personal and real the words were.

It's as if God is saying to us things we needed to hear.

Like on forgiveness, judging others, on handling problems, being true to oneself, the importance of inner beauty, selflessness, being kind and things like these which also made me think of a famous slogan a few years back among the Christians "WWJD" or simply "What Would Jesus Do?"

Yes, in every station, it says what Jesus did with every situation we go through our lives. Being holy and humble that He is, He set us an example that as a God that became Human and lived among us, He knows how we felt, He knows our sufferings and He understands. Maybe that is why He said to cast our burdens upon Him and He will give us rests, for He is our Savior and we just have to rest our worries and problems in Him and He'll take care of everything.

"Nakakalokah!" we exclaim.

So in the end, it was a good, Good Friday indeed and what a way to end the weekend here in Riyadh.

Not A Saint and Definitely Not Clean.

Again, for some of you who knew me then, you might still be in "shock" as to what I have been posting here lately. You might say, "is he becoming a religious person?" or "is he going crazy?"

Some might even say, I am being hypocritical.

Maybe I am, maybe I am not. I don't see anything wrong with trying to renew your faith.

It will be tough, yes.

There will be many backsliding. Believe me.
They say one of the hardest temptations to resist is the call of the flesh. This is where I am the weakest. It is my weakness.
Been there. Oh yeah, believe me. But I have my little victories and that's already a big achievement for me. Thank God.

I am not a saint, nor I am clean. I am at the other end of the spectrum. Way, way over the end and I haven't inched a bit. I haven't been the best person I could be.
Sometimes I think I am a failure, but I read somewhere or heard it from a movie, you can never call yourself a failure when you have friends, and with their help, I might get there.

So "delete" that thought for I have quite a few I can call "friends" simply because they are friends.

But praying indeed gives you a sense of peace. Laying it all down for God to see, and telling Him everything there is to say...and then you fall asleep soundly.

So stay with me my friends. We're gonna get through this all, together.