dive deep to see

my bulletproof vest

divedeeptosee — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 07:53:18 +0000

i admit, i am easily discouraged by unfortunate circumstances. and when trapped in the black hole of fear and anxiety, i immediately turn to God for strength. but like Peter, who after responding to Jesus’ invitation to walk on the water towards Him, I take my eyes off Him and sees the wind and the waves, and eventually sink. Oh me of little faith, indeed.

then one day i recalled, i’ve been in this predicament before — during my college drama years when i was thinking of shifting out, when i was faced with the IT challenges at work. well, the depression days are here again. and so i wonder why it keeps coming back. ’twas good that Marlon pointed out, it is the devil’s work and this i should dismiss. and true enough, since that revelation, i’ve managed to calm down. i learned that i should acknowledge that i really am up against the enemy but my God is more powerful and will always be triumphant; and all i need is to be faithful and to put on the full armor of God.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. — Ephesians 6:10-12

Even with this powerful revelation, the challenges keep coming and the devil persists in putting me down. I need to acknowledge early on the blow of the wind and waves so that I can immediately put on my bulletproof vest, or should i say depression-proof vest. everyday, God sustains me. i shall forever praise you, for you are my Savior who keeps reminding me, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Source: http://www.fun-bible-lessons-for-kids.com/armor-of-god-sales.html

today i met ‘the’ man from manila

divedeeptosee — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 10:18:50 +0000

such a thrill! …to know of someone who’s been-there-done-that in the road you chose to take. this morning, our class had a GIS basic workshop given by a BS Fisheries 2008 grad of UPV.. oh, and he graduated magna cum laude and was class valedictorian. brilliant kid, nice too. after class, he said he was actually from quezon city… cool! then the usual “san ka doon?” and telling of familiar places followed. he said his first choice for college was really fisheries in UPV. then i thought, if i already knew then that that was what i wanted, i would have done the same. lol. but i guess my jump from IT to fisheries was an interestingly odd case. i just hope i make it good here. aim for summa! hahaha! tickle me elmo.

steadfast.

divedeeptosee — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:03:45 +0000

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.

For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to the children of men.

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that both calamities and good things come?

Why should any living man complain
when punished for his sins?

Let us examine our ways and test them,
and let us return to the LORD.

- Lamentations 3: 21-23, 32-33, 39-40

so be it.

divedeeptosee — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:43:35 +0000

I just realized that it’s not just fun to be back in school but it also creates a sense of initiative and creativity in me. Initiative. With the readings and paper requirements in school and challenges at work, I am called to seriously manage my time well and say no to the snares of procrastination. This means, I would have to come up with a realistic day to day schedule and stick to it. Creativity. I always come up with the classic excuse that I am not a creative person. But I guess it can be treated as a skill which can be developed through practice.

The ‘negative’ challenge. As strong as the sea’s currents (which I am able to witness now) is my tendency to fear my lack of ability and life’s uncertainties. But then Jesus says, “Be of good cheer, it is I. Do not be afraid.” Like Peter, I can get very excited about endeavors during its early stages. And when the tough waves come crashing the wall, I easily get insecure and eventually start to sink. Oh me of little faith!

It is said, “There is no fear in love.” So if I see work and school as venues to express my love for others, there should be no fear. I know that God would grant me the grace to do what I am called to do.

The ‘positive’ challenge. It is therefore to stop seeing my incapacities but to start looking at the potentials of God’s grace. Indeed, we are running the race to win. In faith, I am to commit myself to meeting my set goals, which is to finish my study and become instrumental in contributing to a relevant change in the marine affairs situation of the country. Whoa.

Lastly, I realize that, sometimes, you really have to let it out your system so others can attest to my public declaration. So be it.

just do it

divedeeptosee — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 08:51:28 +0000

I have to give credit to the scholar of the law who asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Seeing how busy life can get, this question is sometimes too easy to ignore. Or we may already know the answer (or even have it memorized) from Christian Living subjects during our elementary school years or from our parents’ teaching or from the Good Samaritan story. Then again, the question is not ‘what must we know’, but ‘what must we do’. To act therefore is the key.

What struck me in today’s first reading is the thought that everything has been laid out for us by God – words of comfort, life purpose, redeeming grace, gift of joy, the freeing sense of truth. But we are also to take part by living out this response: “If only you heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and keep his commandments and statues that are written in this book of law, when you return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 30:10)

It is thus very important to humble ourselves and listen to God’s voice. And once we recognize His calling, we must proceed by putting this into practice, doing everything with genuine love of course. Moses continues by saying, “For this command which I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky, that you should say, ‘Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’… No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; YOU HAVE ONLY TO CARRY IT OUT.”

Finally, there’s good news for us. Whenever we torment ourselves looking for answers to our many questions in life, Jesus offers us an answer. An answer that has been tried, tested, and triumphed. And this is summed up into one statement, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

Easier said than done? Then we only have to ask for God’s help, that He may sustain us in living a life worthy of the promised inheritance.

26 and beyond

divedeeptosee — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:04:57 +0000

26 days. 1 crazy dream. 1 crazier husband.

it’s been almost a month since marlomee took the road less traveled and embraced the rural and tranquil life in Iloilo. truthfully, we are having a blast… literally. it’s both a blast of fun and a mind-blowing blast at work (i dive into the world of science journalism. marlon swims into the waters of IT management plus the nasty paper works). “Ano ‘tong pinasok natin” has been a regular question of the night. but as we mock each other of the day’s bloopers, we instantly shift to gratitude. the timing of these job opportunities was so perfect.

i enjoyed much of my first weeks at work: i saw the fruits of my copy editing stint (with the all the booboos of course), i joined majority of the Palaro 2010 games (and actually won some of ‘em yey), i instantly bonded with my co-workers, thanks to the family atmosphere i always look for in a job, i get to attend research seminars by respected scientists, bringing out the geek in me. at home, i get to cook breakfast and not panic for traffic coz i aint riding bus no more… its a sunny-breezy morning walk to the office. and oh, it’s flexi-time for me

classes haven’t started yet (yay i can attend the mangrove planting in Guimaras and finally meet Dr. Primavera this Friday). but i am very much thrilled to learn about marine affairs. i only get the chance to visit the city on saturdays and sundays, for class and english mass respectively, but hey im ok here, with the view of the sea from our office, im so ok with that.

so what’s the downside of our stay here? no ref/tv/reliable internet at home. the frogs. the snakes. the tuko. we finished season 1 of Fringe, and guess what, marlon forgot to download season 2. so part of the itinerary for a manila visit (soon yey!) is to download all the nice-to-watch series. and of course to attend marlon’s much-awaited book launch of “May Dumadaang Anghel sa Parang”. and to get all the house stuff we forgot to bring.

im looking forward to more marlomee adventures, roxas seafood-hunt, antique hiking, and boracay trip.

there, i said it na

divedeeptosee — Fri, 14 May 2010 08:45:27 +0000

it’s one thing to file a resignation letter and it’s another to say goodbye to your office friends. para sa katulad kong iyakin, di naging madali ang i-email ang mga users para magpasalamat at sabihing effective june ay resigned na ako at ihabilin sila sa aking mga ”tagapagmana”.

in my 6 years and 2 months stay with the company, im happy to say that i have grown to love my work and most especailly the people i work with. aba para sa ayaw ang programming, marami-raming luha at pawis din ang ipinundar ko para matuto haha.

but seriously, i shall forever value and treasure the IT and project management skills and the cool geoscience stuff i learned. iba talaga ang pinaghirapan. sabi nga, anumang hindi pinaghirapan ay walang kwenta.

but i should say that my pearl of great price is the friendship ive shared with my co-workers… ANG MUSHY!!!! hehe. pero totoo. malaking bagay kasi sa akin ang good working relationship. and to value them and the service you do for them are just some of my motivations to excel at work. andyan yung may mga “favorite” users ako, pero even them, ive grown to really love. and im gonna truly miss them all. at dahil sobra nang mushy, hindi ko na sasabihin na im just happy na naging bahagi sila ng buhay ko. hehehe…

here’s a crazy SITE i saw on random.. sayang di ko nakita ito bago ako nag-file ng R letter haha

http://positivesharing.com/2009/07/best-resignation-letter-ever/

To love at all is to be vulnerable…

divedeeptosee — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:55:11 +0000

… Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell. – C.S. Lewis

life vest under your seat

divedeeptosee — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:49:19 +0000

life vest under your seat / fasten seat belt while seated

kahapon sa eroplano pa-Manila, napalingon ako sa isang babaeng nakaupo sa bandang harapan ko at busy syang nagbabasa ng naka-ring bind na module. siguro teacher o researcher sya. biglang sumagi sa isip ko yung mga plano… naku, eh di kung matuloy ang pag-aaral ko sa marine conservation, ganyan din ang gagawin ko — basa, aral, basa. tinanong ko tuloy si God, “Kakayanin ko pa kaya uli ang ganon?”

pagkatapos ay bigla kong naibaling ang ulo ko sa upuan sa harap ko at nabasa “LIFE VEST UNDER YOUR SEAT” alam kong iyon ang naging immediate reply ng Panginoon sa akin kaya pinagmunihan ko ito. bago mag-take off, pinapaliwanag ang safety procedures ng aircraft (onti na lang mamememorize ko na rin ito hehe). binabanggit doon na may life vest sa ilalim ng upuan, in case of water landing. sa bawat lipad ng eroplano, ang dasal mo ay maka-land ito ng maayos. in faith, you entrust the voyage to God and believe that all shall be well. pero kung sakali lang naman na mangyari ang di inaasahan, alam mong may mga paraan pa para maka-survive.

nakita ko ang sarili kong nakaupo sa klase, nakikinig sa professor. nakita ko rin ang saili ko na nahihirapan, nafu-frustrate. pero nag-flash din agad sa isip ko ang Life Vest Under Your Seat. ito kasi ang assurance ni Lord na basta’t gawin kong makamit ang desire na Sya rin ang nagbigay sa akin, laging may paraan at di Nya ako pababayaan. nasa ilalim lang ng upuan ko ang salbabida.

at paglingon ko pa sa kaliwa, nabasa ko rin ang FASTEN SEAT BELT WHILE SEATED. gustong idagdag ni God na maging masunurin din ako habang tinatahak ang plano na iyon. magiging matagtag ang biyahe, pero kung mananatili akong nakaupo at relaxed, hindi ako mapapahamak. at shempre gusto rin ni God sabihing, enjoy the flight.

kaya sa puntong ito, lalo akong naging excited sa kayang gawin ng Panginoon

para sa health buff at sa happy happy

divedeeptosee — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:56:08 +0000

Better a poor man strong and robust, than a rich man with wasted frame.
More precious than gold is health and well-being, contentment of spirit than coral.
No treasure greater than a healthy body; no happiness, than a joyful heart!

Do not give in to sadness, torment not yourself with brooding;
Gladness of heart is the very life of man, cheerfulness prolongs his days.
Distract yourself, renew your courage, drive resentment far away from you;
For worry has brought death to many, nor is there aught to be gained from resentment.
Envy and anger shorten one’s life, worry brings on premature old age.

- Sirach 30:14-16,21-24