Bongganess: My Top 5 Fave Biblical Quotations

I've been meaning to do a 'bongganess' on my favorite books but alas, I cannot narrow it down to 5. I can, however, pick 5 favorite lines from one of my favorite books, The Holy Bible.

Believe it or not, I love reading the holy book, papaano palagi akong nasasapol bwahaha. A tried and tested bestseller, heck even J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series cannot outsell it. Bar none, the Bible is one of the best books ever written, trust me........

Here they are, 'bongganess' quotes from the holy book:

5
Proverbs 3: 5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

4
Matthew 6: 22-23
Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is darkness, how deep that darkness is!

3
Matthew 7: 1-2
Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
Ouch ouch ouch ouch. Guilty ako palagi.

2
Matthew 16: 26
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but to lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

1
Matthew 7:12
The Golden Rule
Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

When I was little, I thought someone just made this up. Only 2 years ago did I found out it was from the holy book. Napaghahalata haha.

Have a sunshiny day (even though it's raining)!!!

Statutes from Kahlil Gibran

I once heard that a truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age. One of my oldest possessions is this book, 'The Prophet' by one of my all-time favorite authors, Kahlil Gibran.I've had this for more than a decade (about 12 years now) and I never tire of reading it over and over and over again. I've managed to even memorize some lines in the process. Allow me to share some of my favorites.


ON GIVING
You give little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. . . . . . .
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.

ON JOY AND SORROW
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

ON REASON AND PASSION
Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgement wage war against your passion and your appetite. . . . . . .
Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul.
If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas.
For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.

ON PAIN
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. . . . . . .
Much of your pain is self-chosen.It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.

ON TALKING
You talk when you cease to ba at peace with your thoughts. . . . . . .
And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.

ON CHILDREN
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you.
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

ON MARRIAGE
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. . . . . . .
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

ON LOVE
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep. . . . . . .
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.


Have a smashing day!!!

On Sex & the City and Samantha-isms

I got to read Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City even before it was made for television by HBO in 1998. As for the copy, it was borrowed from me a few years back, I don't remember who, but whoever that was, nanawagan ako pakibalik haha. The book was based on Bushnell's writings for The New York Observer. Bushnell even mentions in interviews that Carrie Bradshaw is her alter ego (notice the intials CB) and her three best girlfriends, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha are actually an amalgamation of her real life friends. Although I was surprised when I saw SJP playing the part of Carrie, she did play the part seamlessly. So did Cynthia Nixon for Miranda Hobbes, Kristin Davis for Charlotte York, especially Kim Cattrall for Samantha Jones. Seriously though, I think SJP and Kim Cattrall should be given best actress awards for playing friends on TV when they were clashing in real life about a salary dispute. I was thrilled though when they announced that the movie will push through and is set to be released in May 2008.


I like Carrie for her intelligence, wit, and her fashion sensibility. I do like Samatha as well for her adventurous spirit. I took a test and I am a Carrie, even Joel insists I am. Although I seriously see myself as a cross between Carrie and Samantha. No, I don't sleep around. I just really like her carefree spirit and her liberal and uncensored views on sex and the opposite sex.

Anyhoo, here are a few Samantha-isms for the Samantha in you..............

ON WITHHOLDING SEX: "A guy could just as easily dump you if you f--- him on the first date as he can if you wait until the tenth."

ON PREMARITAL SEX: "Before you buy the car, you take it for a test drive."

ON UNDERSTANDING A MAN: "You can lay your pussy on a table right in front of one and still not know what he's thinking."

ON WHY SEX IN AN ILLICIT AFFAIR IS SO GOOD: "They design it that way."

ON BAD KISSERS: "If their tongue's just going to lay there, what do you think their d---'s gonna do."

ON WHAT DEFINES FRIENDSHIP: "I don't put my d--- in you."

ON POWER AND SEX: "The only place you control a man is in bed. If we perpetually gave men b--- jobs, we could run the world."

ON MARRIAGE: "Marriage doesn't guarantee a happy ending. Just an ending."

ON WHETHER SHE SWALLOWS: "Only when surprised."

haha......

P.S. Belated happy birthday to Ate Baby who celebrated her bday 2 days ago. Happy bday also to Tes and Cel. Blowout!!!

haha

Things That I'm Grateful For

I first heard of 'The Secret' from my husband about 4 months ago after he heard his crush-in-denial Karen Davila on the radio rave about it. Aba maganda siguro, masubukan nga at baka sakaling bumait na ako. The first time I read it, no impact, reminded me a lot of Dale Carnegie's 'How to win friends and influence people'. Then I see it featured on Oprah. Mabasa nga uli, baka sakaling umepek na. After bombarding myself with 'The Secret' i.e. reading the book thrice, watching the movie 4 times, and playing the audiobooks on my ipod almost everyday, I think I'm on my way to recovery, I mean enlightenment.

So here's a list of things that I'm grateful for:

My husband Joel, my soulmate and the love of my life. For the constant love, patience and understanding he showers me with.

My 2 boys, my little angels, who always have and always will be God's greatest gift to me and my husband. They are my constant reminder that life is indeed beautiful.

Our work, which gives us the opportunity to juggle our routines and spend a lot of time with our kids.

My family who always has and always will be there for me no matter what.

My in laws (mother-in-law, sisters-in-law) who have always been supportive and understanding in more ways than one.

My mother, for showing me through example the power of sheer willpower, determination, and strength.

My Tita Loi, for always being an epitome of poise, grace, and kindness.

Wakeboarding, for rocking my world and for the exhilarating highs, excitement and sheer bliss it has given me.

and the not-so-personal stuff:

President George W. Bush, for showing and reminding us all that war is really not the answer.

President Gloria Arroyo, for making me realize the at 5'1" I'm not that short after all.

Ex-President Joseph Estrada, for giving us third world folks a glimpse at a very luxurious life through his colossal mansions and by importing all those Escalades and Navigators.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, for saying on national television (after the verdict on his father's plunder case was given out) "ginawa nila yang batas para parusahan kami". It made me brush up on my history lessons, reminding me that the first set of laws were established in 1760 B.C. under the Code of Hammurabi. I thought for a moment I was dreaming and that until this century, laws were non-existent.

What about you, what do you have to be grateful for???