Leave Them To God

This week my wife and I were to send our son and daughter to their respective college and university.

It was a hectic week in view of the heavy workload and the tight schedule. we were indeed busy and hardly had time to breathe.

But it must be done. It concerned the future of our children. They are excellent in their studies and they deserved to further their studies in their field of interest.

They are great kids and we are very proud of them. Our son is doing medic and our daughter is dong computer science.

On Monday, we were to send our son. We put up a night in the airport. It must be quite sometime since I went without sleep for a day or two. But it was worth it and indeed a great day to remember. All of us finally did doze off automatically despite our will and determination to stay alert.

Bringing our son for his registration made us proud. All Parents greeted one another with smiles and laughter. We had many things to share for we were all very proud of our children.

Helping our son to clean up his room and buying the necessary daily supplies were also great moment of delight. Finally, we realized that our family members were so close and we had so much in common.

Parting with our son was not easy especially for me. My wife took it calmly but I was secretly in tears. Our son looked okay and he told us that he was confident to do well.

We said goodbye to our son. He looked calm and we believed he would be okay.

That evening we were on our journey home, leaving our hearts with our son.

It was not easy for us since our daughter would be leaving us for her university.

But We leave them to God, knowing that the LORD God will take good of care of them, much much better than what we can do.

Love Others As Ourselves

The Bible says "love your neighbor as yourself" and "do unto others as you would have others do unto you.". And Confucius says "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others."

So I believe it is a known fact that we love ourselves and we will do everything just for our own good.

But what about those who love to punish and torture themselves? Some say it is to purify sins and to save souls. Some say it is to discipline oneself and to rectify one's faults. So I believe they do that because they love themselves.

But what about those who often think of committing suicide? They claim that they are not willing to bear the pains and sufferings anymore. They are telling that they cannot endure the nightmare and the dark dreams any longer. But I still think they do that because they love themselves.

We look into the mirror everyday but we never claim that we are ugly. We pose and smile in front of the mirror. We comb our hair, we shave, we put on makeup, we tighten our tie, and we do everything... and still we slowly and carefully admiring ourselves in front of the mirror. So I declare the old sayings are still true: we do love ourselves.

All of us take good care of ourselves, our loved ones, our properties and everything that we have and desire to have. And we all know that we do all this because we love ourselves.

But the frightening fact nowadays is that many just do not know they love themselves. They continue to do wrong and hurt others until something happens to them. They only regret their actions after they have wounded or hurt someone. They only show remorse after they have murdered or raped someone. They only repent sincerely when the whole family is broken up or when the friendship is beyond repair. Doing things indiscriminately at the spur of a moment always cause much harm and hatred.

If only we know we love ourselves, we would be more careful in our speech, our writings, our actions and our behavior...

If only we love ourselves, we would love others as ourselves.

How Deep Is Your Love

Love is a funny feeling that gets inside our heart. It remains with us for a long long while. Sometimes it haunts and daunts us all our days. Sometimes it is so sweet and touching that we want it to go on and on.

Love is the answer to our many problems in the world. But love is the emotion that is hard to embrace and comprehend.

Some of us fall in love because it is a natural human emotion. Almost everyone has a sense of wanting to love and be loved by someone. We want to share what we have. We open up our heart slowly and reveal our little secrets to those we love. We expect the same from our loved ones. Together we create and build our love story. It maybe a quiet affair or it can be very spectacular with many chapters of frustration and emotional highs and lows. But love is always exciting and eventful. It is always passionate and emotional. But, surprising for some, love does not always last forever.

Some of us fall in love because we want to offer someone something good that we have. We want to share what we have with those in needs. Some of us may come with ulterior motives. Others love with a sincere heart. We sacrifice our money and time for charity works. Sometimes we risk contacting contagious diseases or being physically harmed. The efforts of some of us maybe well respected and well received by the communities at large. Nonetheless, there are many of us who carry on our tasks quietly and remain unnoticed and unrecognized all our lives.

Some of us believe there is a season for love. When love is in the air, everyone must celebrate it. And so we celebrate the Valentine Day, Mother Day, Father Day, birthday, etc. Some of us believe love is a quiet affair to be cherished, nurtured and treasured. We quietly taking care of one another's needs, wants, and feelings. Our deep sense of understanding and respect for one another make us realized that there is such a thing as the high standard of love.

And so as we grow in love, we learn to love our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves, just as it was commanded in the Bible.

The funny thing is we never really understood how deep is our love...

A Meal To Remember

I can't really remember when is the last time I bring my family out for a meal.

To be able to bring the whole family out, eating something delicious and tasty, talking, smiling, and laughing amiably can be and have been a truly amazing experience.

And I have it today after a long long while.

It is so nice and I really miss it...

We spend a good time together, sharing so much affection and love, and opening up our hearts and minds. I never think we can share so much in such a short time. We are just like long lost friends.

For many months we have been busy with our own activities.

The children are busy with their studies and hobbies and virtually have no time for the old men.

And my wife has been busy with the chores at home one after one that she refuses to eat out most of the time.

And I am also busy with my workload.

Everyone has their own plans and keeps themselves occupied in their own room.

I wonder why we seldom acknowledge each other's present except during meal times.

Oh, it has been quite a while ago since we enjoy each other's company. The last time we are happily together was during the Chinese New Year in January 2009.

We realize that we miss each other and we really treasure the sweet moment we have this morning.

Come another month, the two elder children will be flying again to higher institution. The youngest daughter will be lonesome again.

The double-story terrace house will once again be quiet and cold. The three of us will once again be hiding in our secret place doing our work alone again.

Yeah, we have a nice and big house, but we miss our sweet sweet home... and our happy meal.

But that's life. And life must go on.

But at least we have a meal to remember...

Blogging Is Fun

I love blogging. It's fun.

Blogging is sharing with others. Through blogging, I learn to know that I do have a lot to contribute and help others. I may not be an expert, but past knowledge and experience have helped me dealt with problems and difficulties in life. And I think I do have some good tips and advices to share with fellow bloggers and readers. Blogging makes me ready to serve and help others.

Blogging is learning from others. Through blogging, I learn to know that I do have a lot to learn. There are many bloggers out there who can give me good tips and advices on fostering family ties and friendships, on enjoying the working life, on admiring nature and the great outdoors, on cultivating good habits and hobbies, on good recipes and cooking, etc. Blogging makes me humble and show me that I am not always right.

Blogging is discovering. Through blogging, I learn to know and realize my strengths and weaknesses. Blogging helps me to improve and enhance my strengths, and helps me to correct and minimize my weaknesses. Through blogging, I learn to groom and make myself better, and enjoy a healthier and happier lifestyle. Blogging also opens up my narrow and prejudiced mind, widens my selfish and jealous heart, and makes me ever willing and eager to give and to receive. Blogging makes me rediscover my true self.

Blogging is knowing people. We may not see things eye to eye, but we respect and appreciate each other's stance. We treasure each other's present and contributions as we delve deeper and wider into our understanding of the issues at hand. I respect and honor all bloggers and I always look forward to learn and to share with them.

Bloggers need not be shy. In fact, bloggers assist and encourage each other to grow and progress to the road of success and victory.

Bloggers help me to make money too. LOL

Blogging makes me realize that God has given each one of us many talents and skills, and together we change and improve our world for the better.

I love blogging. It's fun.