"Why Couldn't You Take Me With You?"

When my sister's father-in-law died last month in Florida, I knew I had to pay my respect and see him for the last time. That meant that I had to leave "Cocoa," my 10 year- old Chocolate Lab. and "Tootsie, " my other 9 year - old Black Labrador, to my son's care. I had jotted down everything I can think of to make sure that three nights away from Cocoa & Tootsie will be comfortable. 

I guessed  both of them had an inkling that I wouldn't be home for days. This was the very first time that I had to be away more than two nights. Reassuring them with my gestures with my emotionally- cracked voice  almost to tears didn't help. I think I made it more difficult saying goodbye to them...

I'm sure that for those of you who have and had dogs esp. Labradors know that our special bond with our dogs reaches beyond our expectations. They're amazing kennel animals...
Never underestimate the impact of a fuller/productive life they unconditionally offer. 

Adopt one Today...Having one or more can even stretch a span of memory.

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"You Are Loved..."

              The falsetto used in the right places has most registered to my loving this song; also as singing it "live" in an acoustic group. And of course, its lyrics are worth listening to...

Oh God, how I love Saturday pauses when captivating music as this is what it takes to usher my heart to give thanks and rest all my burdens to God. And that's all you & I have to do. We have to learn how to annihilate ourselves from the so- called mundane in our daily life. There's just too many whispers & shouts of this world that only music as this can't penetrate the shield of God's love to us. 

"I Will Trust In You..."

His Love Never Changes...


"Every moment of your wandering" in the aisles of your mind, and perhaps even in the deepest chamber of your heart, you can be rest assured that trusting your darkest pain in the Lord is the "only Way, the Truth & the Life. 

 Because Jesus is the answer. Our strength is flawed & limited. Our accolades and belts of lofty accomplishments without His divine appropriation in your life, when it's all gone and taken away, you are left with endless wandering... The Worst scenario is that, after losing all these secular trophies, depression sinks in and you may stay there for the longest time for you have refused to listen to the saving knowledge of God.
Don't be a stranger...to God.

"You Are In My Prayers..."

Praying  to God has become my lifeline.It teaches me to humble myself; that I'm powerless without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I've seen and experienced that a hearty prayer can move God the windows of Heaven with His grace. I couldn't imagine how I'm still alive without believing the core benefits of prayer.Even when I have to wait for my prayers to be answered, my faith in it never wavered. I still believe that not having an answer is a reason to falter to get on your knees. It's not worth whining about it. Know that nothing can separate you from His love. 

"Twenty-One Day Fast"

"Fasting" is giving up your "guilty pleasures" for such an amount of time. I gave up a few. Not drinking a cup of coffee for the first 3 days was hard. But I pressed on. I had some withdrawals from it but I prayed for God's grace to see me through. I also just concentrated listening to Christian music only played in K-love & Air one radio stations. That wasn't as hard as not to even sip of hot coffee. Whenever I see people drinking coffee, I just close my eyes or walk away from what it seems to be a hard temptation.
The absence of social media/networking for 21 days was a bit fierce. Not writing or sharing my thoughts was dreary. My Blog, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest & Yahoo accounts were all in Hiatus. Didn't check or visit any of them for three weeks. Imagine what does that do to your emotional & physical psyches? 
I thought I couldn't do them successfully. But one thing I realized during and right after the "Fast," is that such deprivation is necessary for your soul to draw nigh closer to God. All of these "guilty pleasures" are things we can live without. If we're not strong in employing boundaries to these fleshly pleasures, we could end up partnering with the prince of darkness. We already know that Satan's maneuvers are very favorable at first until he got a foothold of God's promises to your life. And if you don't immerse yourself of the things that are of worthy in the eyes of the Lord, the flesh caves in. 
So, I thank the Lord for making it to 21 days. I feel replenished doing it.
For next year, I might give up my red meat or no meat at all?
Thank you for reading. As always, Take Heart...

Random snapshots of Today's "Living In The Moment..."

I thought I would reward myself to a good lunch with my very good friend Seny @ Red Lobster. Maybe, seafood with broccoli will help ease the discomfort that I have been feeling in my belly for a while. And it did help.
This week, I took Cocoa, my beloved Chocolate Labrador to the Pet Med. for an annual thorough physical test. I had no doubt in my mind that she'd pass the tests with flying colors. I also took her to the very first walking trail we used to go five years ago. That made her day. Even dogs like to visit, sniff on things that were buried on the ground.
Still need to declutter & organize my room. And that's a big task to tackle. I'm not worrying about making resolutions anymore. I just have one thing that I need to work on wholeheartedly. I need not be affected or bothered by anyone or people who are notoriously sapping your energy without even knowing it. I just want to be in sync with what God is in store for me.

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After lunch, we went to Hastings bookstore instead of going to watch a movie. This stack of magazines may be overwhelming but not really. Some of these magazines are only worthy to be perused with just less impact; other topics could just be scanned with mental images and the rest may need more an hour or two to digest...What I usually do is pick up some new words or vocabulary or fragments and make them my own in my texts. Just like giving a new profile to each word depending where your heart is, as we speak...right now.

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"The Incredible First Cousins"

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