Chronicles of Charyl

------------ ------------ ------------ (the conversation between a mentor and a mentee (if there ever is such)) ------------ ------------ ------------ Student: ___, can I ask u sumthn?... hehe.. ds myb such a rily early time of d day 2 ask such..bt I rily ned 2ask it!! Teacher: Go S: Hehe..Cnxa na ka ___ ha.. NiReply man jud kah...hehe.. Uhm, how do one get her mind off som1?.. T: By not trying so hard to, but not dwellng on it too long. A mind dat doesnt meditate on God’s word is a toy of many unpleasant n etc thots. S: Oh!... Doesn’t meditate on God’s word… : Hehehe… I nid dat pukol sa ulo… its tempting 2say I shudnt hav askd nlng n d 1st place… hahaha… bt I needd that…! Haizt! T: Oh well. both are by grace. Wat I mean is, it’s our part to offer. It’s God’s part to sanctify. Evrytng by grace anyhow. S: I do have QTs… Bt I gues,oder thots overtake… Uhm, does ds go on saying we can actually control wat we shud think?.. T: Yes. We can. Renewing of one’s mind is a discipline. Loving ...

If eyes are made for seeing Then I guess this is blindness That in my sight is besetting. I cannot see the good in bad - When something destructs The comfort road I trod. I cannot see hope in desperation – When injustice comes knocking And forces its visitation. I cannot see joy in pain – When my heart is beaten and torn And the pieces scatter in ruins. I cannot see blessings in struggles – When my strength is spent And ahead still lie the hurdles. I cannot see provision in nothingness – In times when I’m in deep need And help seems away from reach. But someone sees what I can’t see – Beyond my failing eyes, Beyond my faltering me. I wish I have her eyes – The eyes of FAITH that ever sees God’s grace without disguise. ~L.C.A. 18 January 2010 (A very close friend is about to have an eye operation. Her name is Faith. What a name, isn’t it?)

But for the first time in my life, I just don’t want it to arrive. I’ve always been the Christmas “fanatic”, if I may use the word for the lack of better term. I look forward to the gifts, merry-makings, game prizes, foods, firework-displays, decorated trees, blinking lights, well-lit highways, excited chats and shouts of laughter. When I started working, my list adds the following: more parties, more foods, cantatas, special numbers, bonuses, and cash gifts. So, what seems to be the problem this time? I don’t know. Christmas has just suddenly become so expensive! You know what I mean: Buy gifts for this and that, contribute for parties here and there, and travel everywhere. It has also become so detailed – “What’s our theme for this year’s party?”, “Your food assignment is (that one which sounds European)”, “I hope my manito/a would give me something from (an elite clothes brand)”. Ok fine! What had gone wrong? Had I not ever grasped it at all? Where has all my overwhelmed de...

Just as the country is overwhelmed with joy for the honor received after international television network CNN awarded Hero of the Year to Filipino Efren Peñaflorida, we are then overwhelmed with devastating emotions, after a politician’s family was massacred in Mindanao area, which reflected the dangerous “other side of the coin” of the country that heroes like Efren represented. As if in a playground, the series of events is a seesaw, an alternate of up and down play. Unfortunately, this is the real thing, and not just a child’s typical after-school pastime. I confess I have gone ecstatic to speechless when these details flashed before me. I mean, how am I supposed to react about this, I should describe as, injustice? Shall I be angry because of the self-serving motives of the attack, if indeed proven that it was politically motivated as popularly alleged? Or shall I just focus my thoughts on the less violent ones, (like Efren or Manny Pacquiao’s victories for the nation) that I may b...

Is it possible that something so beautiful, so treasure-able, so magnificent, and so extraordinary could be forgotten in time? How? It happened with the so-acclaimed "High Queen" Susan, one of the Pevensie siblings who stepped into Narnia, rescued the land's beings by fulfilling an old prophecy, led the country into their Golden Age and fought and won the Narnian Kingdom back to the rightful leader Prince Caspian when they returned the second time. Susan appeared as the heroine-queen in the two books of the 7-book series "The Chronicles of Narnia" by CS Lewis. So her name naturally is a byword through all Narnian creatures, who are mostly talking and walking animals. If you've read the books, you'll ask this very same question. In the last book of the series, "The Last Battle", we find only the other three Pevensies, Peter, Edmund and Lucy going back to Narnia, this time to witness how the land is going to be restored to its original state...

Laughter is the best medicine, they say. True. But to me, it is a gift. And when it comes at unexpected times and places, and brought by unexpected people, it is mostly cherished – and heartily enjoyed. On my way to work early this morning, I had a stopover again at my favorite “ carenderia ” (some kind of viand store), to buy my breakfast and lunch dishes. As I was waiting for my order to be served, I felt a strong pat on my right shoulder, with a force that caused me to turn around. Along with that, I heard a male’s voice almost shouting, “Rosabelle!” (Well, at least that’s how I think it is spelled, coz I heard it as “roh-sah-bill!”). Obviously, he was referring to me. We were both surprised to see each other’s strange faces. Then the guy, who was probably expecting me to be his classmate because he was in a university uniform, was obviously ashamed of the mistake as he said, “Oh! I’m sorry! (Wrong person, in other words.)” I was ready to make out my laughing-out-loud san...