Suddenly Slimmer!

Call it fashion magic: When you put on these extras, pounds will seem to melt away!

High Stilettos- Tall, skinny heels give the illusion of long slender legs. plus when you wear them, you use your muscles to maintain balance, causing calves to look more toned.

Drop earrings- The linear shape draws the eye up and down, making cheeks appears less round. Wearing your hair swept up maximizes the effect.

Opaque Black Tights- You could do lunges or just slip these on. Dark solid hues minimizes what’s underneath and hide lumps and bumps. Throw on black heels for even skinnier results.

Chunky Belt- Two key rules: keep it wide- a broad belt cinched at the waist conceals a pooch. (2) Find a fancy buckle. It directs attention to the narrowest part of your figure.

Superlong Necklace- Cascading strands elongate your torso. (A choker, on the other hand, makes your upper half look shorter and fuller.)

Source: Cosmopolitan USA August 2009 p. 70

THE HEART THAT GIVES, GATHERS!

froma forwarded email:

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
One day a man saw a old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her..
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, ‘I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.’

Well, all she had was a flat tire,
but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.

Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, ‘And think of me..’

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her.
The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude.. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan .

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: ‘You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.’

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the
money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard….

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, ‘Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.’
There is an old saying ‘What goes around comes around.’ Today I sent you this story, and I’m asking you to pass it on. Let this light shine.

Don’t delete it, don’t return it. Simply, pass this on to a friend

Good friends are like stars….You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

~GOD BLESS!~

(POST) LENTEN SEASON’S MESSAGE By: Fr. Gerry Orbos, SVD

from a forwarded email:

B  A  G  E  T  S

BACK in 1990, when my brother, Manong Oscar, was the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), I also introduced myself as the Secretary of Transformation and Communion! 
 
        Come to think of it, the whole Lenten Season is simply the call toward real conversion and transformation of one’s heart and character, and, toward a deeper, more personal communion with God and others, especially the less fortunate in our midst. It’s the time to be renewed and vibrant, to be BAGETS (not bakets – Ilocano word for old woman) in our spiritual life once again. 
 
        So, let’s go  B – A – G – E – T – S  for Lent!
B A L I K    P A N G I N O O N
Let us bring back God into our hearts by making a good confession. When was the last time you really humbled yourself and asked to be forgiven by your God? Right away, the evil one will tell you that you have no real sins (denial), that it’s really not that bad so there’s no need to go to confession (rationalization) and that you go to confession “tsaka na lang”  (postponement) . 

A L I S   G A L I T
Look into your heart and dispose all the useless junk you’ve been carrying in your heart all these years. You are not obliged to be miserable in this life! Forgive and you are free. Continue to be angry and resentful and you are miserable. You have been forgiven much. Be grateful. Be forgiving. End your private wars and battles. In the end, nobody wins if nobody forgives. Forget your favorite refrain that says “Me and me against the world.” And stop being calculating and exacting in your relationships. Dapat give na give ka, huwag lang one-give, two gives, three gives!   

G A W A    M A B U T I
Share naman. You who have much in life, please help the many people suffering around. I raise again the question: How much money do you really need in this life to be happy?  How much of that money you are accumulating and holding on so can you take along with you  when you leave this world? Remember, to whom much is given, much is also required. Again, be reminded that the riches (time, talent, and treasure) that you give away are the only riches you bring with you to eternity.  Use your money for your salvation, not for your condemnation. 

E X P R E S S    Y O U R    L O V E
Slow down and take time for God and people, and also for yourself. A very good practice is to kneel down as soon as you wake up and before you sleep to express your adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, supplication (ACTS)  to your God. Another doable and very renewing practice is to drop by a church just to spend some moments of quiet and prayer — the candle glow once more! On the human level, it is amazing how we can “starve” other people of our love. We give only the comfortable installment, as it were, with a plan to give the lump sum when the person is dead or dying already. When it comes to loving, regular daily shower is better than a long drought with a final big downpour.                Little things mean a lot, and it takes very little to make our loved ones happy. A phone call. A smile. A pat on the back. A hug.. Very doable. Just do it now.

T A N G G A L    B I S Y O
Someone once told me that he had no temptations. Why? Because as soon as temptation comes, he’d give in right away! We must not give up fighting our vices and weaknesses. We must continue to try and avoid the occasions and persons that lead us to sin. It would be a good idea to chart once the stages and steps that led you to a particular sinful moment. Once you know that road, avoid it. That’s right: take the “road less traveled.” It leads to peace. It leads to Heaven. 

S A C R I F I C E
The “mardi-gras” and the carnival started as pre-Lenten celebrations to accentuate the spirit of sacrifice, the spirit of fasting and abstinence of cuaresma (40 days). Carnival comes from the Latin word carne (meat) and vale (goodbye).         Lent is the time to say goodbye to whatever or whoever is dragging you down in your spiritual life. So, what would it be? Goodbye girls? Goodbye gambling? Goodbye kurakot? Take your pick. 

S M I L E
Whatever sacrifice or good deeds you do, do it with a smile. God loves a cheerful giver, and God blesses a generous grateful (not resentful) heart. Take away that “Good Friday look” from your face and that “far-away look” in your eyes. 

S E C R E T
If you want to experience real joy, do all of the above in secret.
        Let it be something just between you and your God, and you’ll experience a joy which the world cannot give or take away. Come to think of it, maybe this is the reason I started this with a note about being a secretary — a reminder to keep our Lenten project of transformation and communion a secret. 
Lord, you are calling me again
towards deeper  conversion.
Today, this moment, I hear your voice.
Help me not to harden my heart.

Amen.

36 WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS

from a forwarded email

An Angel says, “Never borrow from the future.  If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn’t happen, you have worried in vain.  Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice.”

1. Pray
 2. Go to bed on time.
 3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
 4. Say No to projects that won’t fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental    health.
 
 5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
 6. Simplify and unclutter your life.
 
 7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough,  two are often too many.)
 8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
 
 9. Pace yourself.  Spread out big changes and difficult  projects over time; don’t lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns.  If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and  let go of the anxiety.   If you can’t do anything about a situation, forget it.
12. Live within your budget; don’t use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut).  This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems?  Talk to God on the spot.  Try to nip small problems in the bud.  Don’t wait until it’s time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between
     despair and hope is often a good
          “Thank you Jesus.”
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most.
32. Sit on your ego.
33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe
36   . Every night before bed, think of one thing you’re grateful for that you’ve never been grateful for before.  GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU.  “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

Three Wonderful Stories by Bo Sanchez

from a forwarded email

TUYO, TINAPA AND GALUNGGONG
By: Bo Sanchez  
 
Let me tell you a story. Three construction workers were on top of their half-finished skyscraper. Rrrrring!” the lunch bell sounded, and the three men sat on a steel beam jutting out of the 56th floor with their lunch boxes in hand.
 
The first guy opens his and groans in exasperation, “Tuyo!” There is not a day that I don’t get tuyo for lunch!” He turns to his buddies and announces, “Mark my words. If I still get tuyo tomorrow, I’m going to throw myself from this building.”
 
The second guy opens his lunch box and moans, “Tinapa”. Everyday, I get tinapa!” He looks at his friends and declares, “Believe me when I say this. If I get tinapa tomorrow, I’m going to jump and kil! l myself.”
 
The third guy opens his lunch box and it was his turn to despair. “Galunggong” . All I get is galunggong!” I’m telling you, if I still get galunggong tomorrow, I’m going to jump from this building and die.”
 
The next day, the lunch bell rings and all three men are again seated on the 56th floor. The first guy opens his lunch box and starts crying, “Tuyoooooo!” And so he jumps and crashes on the ground.
 
The second guy opens his lunch box and wails loudly, “Tinapaaaa!” And he also hurls himself off the building and dies.
 
The third guy opens his lunch box and screams, “Galunggonggggg! ” And so he too jumps off the building and splatters on the ground.
 
Days later, during the funeral of the three men, their three wives embrace and weep together. The first wife cries out, “I didn’t know my husband didn’t like tuyo anymore! Why didn’t he tell me? If only he told me, I would have prepared something else.”
 
The second wife echoes her statement, “Yes! If only I knew, I would have cooked something else, not tinapa!”
 
The third wife, between sobs, speaks up, “I don’t know why my husband killed himself.” The two wives look at her curiously.
“Why?”
She went on, “Because … my husband prepares his own lunch everyday…”
 
I love this crazy story because it presents a very important truth: all of us prepare our own lunch. If we don’t like our jobs, if we don’t like the state of our relationships, if! we don’t like what’s happening to our spiritual lives – we have no one to blame but ourselves. Because God has given us free will. He has given us the power to prepare our own lunch.
 
If you want to earn more and be free from debt, if you’re sick and tired of your bad habits, if we want to put more joy in our marriages, if we want to grow in our relationship with God – then go back to your kitchen and prepare yourself another dish. Because you design your own future. You create your own destiny. Ask yourself what kind of future do you want to have? What kind of life? What kind of eternity? You decide.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ 
I Love Rubber Bands
By Bo Sanchez
 
Let me tell you a crazy story I heard recently.There’ s this husband who out of sheer love for his wife decided to prove it to her. So he swam the widest oceans, crossed the deepest rivers, and climbed the highest mountains to show his deep devotion to her. But in the end, she divorced him.
 
Why? Because he was never home.(Get it?)
 
Let me tell you an experience I had as a kid. One day, I asked Mom, “Why do my shoes keep eating my socks?” As a young boy, that was always a mystery for me. All my other classmates never had that problem. Their socks remained tight and high up their legs the entire day. 
 
Mom didn’t answer my question but simply gave me two rubber bands which I dutifully placed around the top of my socks. To this day, fifteen years later, I still have permanent circle marks around my legs. But aside from giving me this slight defect, the two bands worked like magic.
 
It never occurred to me that Dad and Mom didn’t have the money to buy a new pair of socks for me. So I wore five-year-old socks, all soggy, grayish, and garter less. And yet amazingly, I never complained. I believe it was because Dad was always home when I needed him. Every night, after coming from work, we’d jog together, sit around, and talk about Tarzan, Farrah Fawcett Majors,God, and what I wanted to be when I grew up (a stockholder) . On Saturdays, we’d walk to Cubao, eat a hotdog-on-a- stick,and buy new rubber bands before going home.
 
I’ve learned that in truth, we don’t want our loved ones to show their love for us in big ways. Swimming the widest oceans,crossing the deepest rivers, and climbing the highest mountains seem spectacular – but that’s not what we really want. Deep in our hearts, we just want them h ome. With us.
 
Sometimes, God will operate that way. Suddenly, He decides not to answer our prayers, or fill our need, or heal our sickness, or give us the miracle we’re asking for. (He’s got reasons why He won’t, and believe me – they’re pretty good ones.) So He’ll just be there beside you, holding you in a hug. Sharing your pain. Weeping as you weep. Oh, He might give you some rubber bands. And that small comfort from Him will be more than enough to sustain you. Because the most essential truth you already know.
 
..home.
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
THE GIFT
 
 A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awai ted signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study.
 
His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him.

He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man’s name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible? and stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.
 
Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He need ed to come home immediately and take care of things.
 
When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father’s important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse: Matt 7:11, “And if ye, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly father which is in heaven, give to those who ask Him?” As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer’s name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words… PAID IN FULL. 
How many times do we miss God’s blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? I trust you enjoyed this.
Pass it on to others. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but re member that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for…
IF YOUR GIFT IS NOT PACKED THE WAY YOU WANT IT, IT’S BECAUSE IT IS BETTER PACKED THAT WAY! ALWAYS APPRECIATE LITTLE THINGS; THEY USUALLY LEAD YOU TO ATTACHMENTS!

Who is Jesus?

Who is Jesus?

 

 

 

 

IN CHEMISTRY, HE TURNED WATER TO WINE.  

 

 

 

 

IN BIOLOGY, HE WAS BORN WITHOUT THE

NORMAL CONCEPTION;  

 

 

 

 

 

IN PHYSICS, HE DISPROVED THE LAW OF

GRAVITY WHEN HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IN HISTORY, HE IS THE BEGINNING AND THE END;

 

 

 

 

 

 

IN GOVERNMENT, HE SAID THAT HE SHALL BE CALLED

WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, PRINCE OF PEACE  

 

 

 

 

IN RELIGION, HE SAID NO ONE COMES TO

THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH HIM;

 

 

 

SO, WHO IS HE? HE IS JESUS!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IN ECONOMICS, HE DISPROVED THE LAW

OF DIMINISHING RETURN BY FEEDING 5000 MEN WITH

  
TWO FISHES & 5 LOAVES OF BREAD;

 

 

 

 

 

IN MEDICINE, HE CURED THE SICK AND THE

BLIND WITHOUT ADMINISTERING A SINGLE DOSE OF

DRUGS,

Lenten Practices

Wash yourselves; Make yourself clean;  remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do good. (Isaiah 1:16-17)

(from the pink sisters of Holy Spirit Adoration Convent)

Lent is a pilgrimage and partnership we embark on with God. He takes the initiative; we follow. The pilgrimage begins when we hear God’s urgent invitation: “Return to me with all your heart now. Today, if you hear my voice, do not harden your heart.” Our turning to him cannot wait until tomorrow. It must begin today. Throughout the centuries, the Church tradition, and in particular the monastic tradition, have encouraged certain practices to help us along the Lenten journey. These practices have been time-tested and retain their relevance today as much as they did in the past:

 

1. Attendance at Lenten services. Both the Eucharist and the daily Liturgy of the Hours are powerful aids to help us assimilate the spirit of Lent. Through participating in the Eucharist, we relive the mystery of the Lord’s Passover, from his death to his glorious Ressurection.

 

2. Making sufficient time for private prayer. This meant the sort of prayer that, in words of St. John Chrysostom, is “a conversation and partnership with God“. This kind of prayer he adds, “is a longing for God, a love too deep for words, a gift not given by man but by God’s grace.”

 

3. Daily reading of and meditation on the Sacred Scriptures. An ancient Father of the Church once said: “Whoever meditates on the law of the Lord will bring forth much fruit at harvest.” One should spend extra time on the reading of the Scriptures, even a chapter or a page daily from a spiritual book.

 

4. Examination of conscience. It is extremely helpful for our spiritual progress to examine our consciences in the light of the Scriptures especially the words of the Gospel as they are heard daily, The word of God is not just for hearing or reading; it must find a concrete application in our lives.

 

5. Works of mercy and almsgiving. From the earliest times, the Church has encouraged its members to give special attention during Lent to the corporal works of mercy and almsgiving. St. Leo the Great says: “The works of mercy are innumerable. Their variety brings this advantage to those who are true Christians: that in matter of almsgiving, not only the rich and the affluent, but also the poor are able to play their part. Those who are unequal in their capacity to give can be equal in the love within their hearts.”

 

6. Self-control. Lent encourages us to practice control over our sensual appetites according to our individual possibilities. Fasting and abstinence from meat are traditional Lenten observances. In our modern era, we can also discover new ways of fasting, such as abstaining from popular entertainment and other worldly distractions. We can cultivate instead more time for God and for helping our neighbor.

 

7. Silence. To move into silence and refrain from unnecessary speech, especially gossip, is an absolute necessity for those wishing to undertake their Lenten journey seriously.

 

8. Inspiration. Choose an inspiring religious object: a cross, a crucifix, or an icon that depicts the mystery of the Passion, and place it in the dining room or other prominent place in the home. Use it as the focus for your Lenten prayers and devotions, and for prayers before and after meals.

-Brother Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette, Blessings of the Daily

My Blog Prayer Brigade

I copied this from bluepanjeet’s blog even if I wasn’t tagged. I want to share my prayer too because I too hope, pray and wish so hard that one day our country’s leaders would precede accordingly:

 

Heavenly Father,

You are the Fountain of our lives forever and ever!

We humbly ask for Your Holy Spirit to be our guide in choosing the right leader for our country.

Let Your Holy Spirit be our wisdom in our tainted minds

Be our hope in this cynical society that this country still deserves a great leader who will choose selflesness amongst selfishness

Be our strength amidst the fragile recollection of our history

Be our light so we may see crystal clear the leader You will to lead your people.

In Jesus Christ our savior we humbly surrender, Amen!

Mama Mary, embrace us with your veil of love and prayers!

 

Copy these rules including the logo above and paste in on your blog as is:

1. Write a short, sincere and meaningful prayer, (in your own words and according to the customs of your religious affiliation) about asking God in guiding our country and fellowmen in choosing the right candidate to vote for in the coming 2010 Philippine Presidential Elections. It can be in your own vernacular, and can be short and long as you please. Remember, the goal of the prayer is not only for Peaceful Election but most of all “for the guidance of choosing the right Presidential candidate to vote in the election”

2, Publish the prayer for everyone to Read in your blog.

3. Go to the Blog Prayer Brigade Main Page which is located here in Bluepanjeet’s blog, and get one of the badges or banners for the brigade. Place the badge or banner in your Sidebar until the 2010 Presidential Elections commence.

4. Make an oath by filling the blank below with your handle/or name

I, _____________________(name) support the cause of the Blog Prayer Brigade for the election of the Future President of the Republic of the Philippines and I do solemnly promise to recite the prayer, which I wrote, in my own convenient time and regularly as possible until the 2010 Presidential Election commences. Let it be written, let it be done.

5. Tag at least 7 Pinoy bloggers you know who haven’t done this before so that the prayer will spread wherever there is a pinoy blogger present.

6. Keep you promise of praying for the Presidential Election so that God may guide us in choosing the right leader for our country.

7. in January 2010, we will gather all the names and prayers of each participants and publish all their prayers in one Blog. We will also feature in the blog the most beautiful prayer ever composed in this project.

I am tagging:

 eNocH

Melskiens (my brother, Rev. Fr. Hernan, told me about this Carmelite Seminarian’s blog he met and knew from his CPE in Makati Med years ago.)

Light

Kat Carneo

Ida/… (Yellow Ida!)

Elinia

Kuya Rommel