A HOUSE OR HOME?

And a house is not a home
When there's no one there to hold you tight
And no one there you can kiss goodnight

"A House Is Not a Home" is a 1964 song 

recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick. 

Written by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David,

No need to say more...

SOAR HIGH!!!

But those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

- Isaiah 40:31

Soar high!.... is God's calling...

and not just Ateneo's cry!

We have to discover 
our own strengths and weaknesses....

Opportunities and threats

as it is called in Strat Planning!

Strengthen our strengths 

to bring us to higher heights!

Convert our weaknesses 

so as not to be pulled down!

Recognize the opportunities 

that come our way!

Appreciate threats as 

venues for challenge!

We may decide to make life so simple...

for our own comfort!

But maybe... JUST MAYBE...

God wants us to do more... 

so much more...

FOR OTHERS!!!

Muruk, Zamboanga City skies

NIGHT TIME

It is night time,

Time to lay our weary heads...
Time to rest our dreary souls...
Time to restore our energies... 
for the next day to come!

Sleep tight...
Sweet dreams...
For a beautiful day ahead...
awaits you!!!



Muruk, Zamboanga City

THE NATIVITY SCENE (BELEN)

As I was around many hotels and malls in Manila, I found that the symbols now seen are the Christmas tree and Santa Claus!

But what is Christmas really about?
from Wikipedia:

Christmas (Old English: Crīstesmæsse, meaning "Christ's Mass") is an annual commemoration of the birth ofJesus Christ^[5][6] and a widely observed holiday, celebrated generally on December 25^[2][3][4] by billions of peoplearound the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it closes the Advent season and initiates the twelve days of Christmastide.^[7] Christmas is a civil holiday in many of the world's nations,^[8][9][10] is celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians,^[1][11][12] and is an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.

So, we shouldn't forget one symbol so meaningful... the BELEN or the Nativity!!!

from Wikipedia:

The Nativity of Jesus, also The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus, primarily based on the two accounts in the gospels of Luke and Matthew, and secondarily on some apocryphal texts. The word is anglicized from Latin De nativitate Iesu, a section title in the Vulgate.

The canonical gospels of Luke and Matthew describe Jesus being born in Bethlehem, in Judea, to a virgin mother. Luke features the Christmas story, in which Joseph and Mary, as part of a census, travel to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born and laid in a manger.^[1] Angels proclaim him a savior for all people, and shepherds come to adore him. In Matthew, wise men follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, born the King of the Jews. King Herod massacres all the toddler boys in Bethlehem to kill Jesus, but the holy family flees to Egypt and later settles in Nazareth. 

I was glad I found a huge Nativity set on one of the facades in Ortigas across EDSA Shangrila and SM North EDSA...

In the area, I also saw a glimpse of a BELEN inside the Jollibee Center and asked my friend to take photos of it! 

I felt that these were the only two Nativity scenes  during my short stay in Manila other than those I saw in the Department Store!

I do hope to see more BELENs as Christmas approaches!!!