I Don't Want To Retire!

What If Covid-19 Is God's Mercy In Disguise?

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Sat, 21 Mar 2020 13:36:00 +0000

Through this blogpost, Almighty God, I give my all for Your glory. I accept Your gift of eternal life and I'm waiting for the return of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior....

Six months ago, we discussed with the doctor of our adopted special child the possibility for her to stop taking the prohibited drug phenobarbital, in case we need to leave the country to visit relatives abroad. Her doctor agreed and scheduled the tapering of the dosage of the drug, to end first week of March this year. Our special child stopped taking the drug, at the same time the Covid-19 virus has started to affect a few in the Philippines. It is now the third week of March and a total lockdown is now in place in the whole of Luzon, the biggest island in the Philippines, to prevent the spread of the virus that has already affected many during the last two weeks. I was so grateful to our Almighty God because He spared us from a difficult situation, if the prohibited drug taken as maintenance by our special child was not stopped. The drug is not always available in drugstores and not any doctor can prescribe it.

In December of last year, I was looking for a song fit for Invocation to start the program for the 50th Anniversary celebration and reunion of our high school batch. I believed I'm not good in saying prayers but I wanted to glorify God at the start of the program since I've felt how the Holy Spirit helped me and the other organizers of our reunion. I've chosen the song "Blessings" by Laura Story not because it is fit as an Invocation Song but because it fits the audience, all senior citizens at that, who had underwent several trials in their lives. While trying to learn the song, the lyrics were instilled in my mind and pierced my heart.

After finally singing the song which I haven't perfectly learned yet during our 50th celebration, I've wanted to study it more and make a cover in my YouTube channel to thank and praise God. I made two versions, believing the first one was not too good. I integrated the two videos, I knew it is not perfect but I know it will now please God. I shared the video to some friends, and one told me she has a copy of the song's musical piece, and I've thought that if a group of people will sing the piece, God will be more pleased. I'm still looking forward for that to happen.

"What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise", that line of the song I've been talking about is now so appropriate during the Covid-19 situation. The trial was not intended for just one person but for the whole world. Through the song, God has prepared me to accept another trial in life wholeheartedly, I had no idea that would be the Covid-19 that is now causing havoc to the whole world. I had hoped that some if not all of the senior citizens who attended our celebration who had heard the song and read the lyrics were prepared too.

Also for this current situation, I was prepared through our Bible studies of the Book of Acts at BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), which started in September of last year, up to the end of Acts only this week, where the apostle Paul encouraged the passengers of the ship not to be afraid, before the shipwreck happened, and when in Rome shared the Gospel even while inside the prison. I was prepared by God to also share the Gospel boldly, and why I have written this blog post now. What if God prepared me for this difficult situation so I will have the strength to write this?

Why might Covid-19 be one of God's mercies in disguise? In 2017, while studying the New Testament's Book of Romans (by the apostle Paul) at BSF, I made a diagram summarizing the chapters 6 to 10 of Romans. All truths from these chapters struck me, maybe I should write another blog post about those truths. But there is one truth very appropriate at this time, from Romans 9, that God is sovereign in extending mercy to the undeserving. Quoting from Romans 9,

Romans 9:22-24 New International Version (NIV)
"What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath— prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?"

Gentiles refer to non-Jews or the rest of us in present time. The above verses say that to make His glory known to the objects of His mercy, God can prepare for destruction. But He also prepares in advance, the objects of His mercy, for glory, and that includes all of us.

The diagram presents a triangle which intends to show the benefits of a saved man inside the triangle. "Glory" as a benefit stated in the above verses, always starts with suffering, but always outweighs suffering. Outside the diagram at the left side is the path of a saved man resulting to his benefits while at the right, outside the triangle, is the undeserving man who can experience God's mercy so that he can be a saved man too rewarded with the same benefits. The diagram did not have a flow from the undeserving man to saved man so it was implied that the transformation can happen through God's mercy, which can be through sufferings or destruction. Transformation starts when we seek God and repent for our sins, recognizing that we were saved when He sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for the atonement of our sins and rose from the dead after three days to share with us an eternal life at the end of time. Declaring that "Jesus Christ is Lord" highlights the process of a saved man, while being Christlike with perseverance completes the process.

Romans 10:9-10 New International Version (NIV)
"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

Romans 8:18-21 New International Version (NIV)
Present Suffering and Future Glory
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."

Romans 8:28 New International Version (NIV)
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Therefore, Covid-19 can be one of God's mercies in disguise. It doesn't necessarily mean that when you are afflicted with Covid-19, you are an undeserving man. God could have chosen you as an example who trusts God that whatever is happening is not just for your own good but for the good of all.

How God Prepared Me to Study The Bible

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 06:50:00 +0000

Before finally joining a Bible study in September 2017, I believe that God prepared me.

In middle of 2014, I was given the opportunity to participate in an art exhibit where the theme was about “faith”. That was before I started to paint where the theme of my paintings, four in all, should be relevant to the theme “Dance of Faith” . At that time, faith as a subject reminded me about our trip to the Underground River of Palawan in 2013, where my faith was strengthened after the trip. For the longest time, I was very amazed with God’s creations, which were stone formations that looked like artworks inside the cave, so my photographs during the trip became my references.

I had a favorite which looked like an abstract painting, so I painted it first, but while my painting was in progress, my son was in pain because of acid reflux so I was praying hard while painting and later titled the painting “The Prayer” for the exhibit.

Another painting was based on the photograph where we were about to go out the cave and titled it “A New Beginning”, because I knew that after I was amazed with God’s artworks inside the cave, my life will change because of my strengthened faith. But in reality, I was still struggling after that. I didn’t know what was missing or what I did wrong. My faith in God was my main armor, with the support of many other gods I thought God designed to assist Him.

In 2016, I was continuously inspired by my paintings of the Underground River and became interested in calligraphy, but still in the middle of struggles so I added verses on the paintings. I looked for relevant verses from a Jerusalem Bible that I found inside the ancestral home of my in-laws. On the painting titled “The Prayer”, I integrated “The Lord’s Prayer”, and then on the painting where we were about to go out of the cave, I wrote a Psalm of David, Psalm 108. Since it was just plainly written on the painting, I always read the psalm on the painting, the words instilled in my heart every time, until the end of the year 2016, again amidst struggles.

In January of 2017, I had wanted to join the sales force of a friend selling house and lots. I was invited to join their post Christmas party and received “Our Daily Bread”, one of their give-aways. I learned to look for verses from the Bible as instructed in the “Our Daily Bread” book.

Before the school year 2017 started, we were looking for a place to transfer, big enough for my husband and I with our adopted special child. When I unexpectedly saw a peaceful place in Pasig City and felt it was the right place for the three of us, we closed the deal with the landlady who at that very moment invited me to the Bible Study Fellowship International's upcoming lessons on the Book of Romans, to start on August 24. “That will be on my birthday!”, I told the landlady and “We will be in Palawan!”, the place where I always wanted to celebrate my birthday because of my unforgettable experience while inside the Underground River, and which I considered a birthday gift from God, since the changed schedule of our trip there fell on my birthday. One night before we were looking for the best place to move in, I dreamed about a baby, and then another baby appeared who is younger than the first one, probably a newborn, and I told my biological children about that dream.

While studying “Romans” which I started in September, I realized my past mistakes, my countless sins and ignorance, and what was missing, which was the written Word of God that I should have started to apply in my life a long time ago. I accepted and declared Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord, with a witness, on September 28, 2017. On November 3 of that year, I wrote my biological children who were living with their own families, reminding them about my dream about the two babies, that I already knew what it meant, the older baby symbolized a new place, and the newborn was me because the Bible study will make me born again.

On this third year of my studying more books of the Bible, I thank our Lord God in the name of Jesus Christ, because even in the midst of struggles, I have peace now, in my renewed mind and in my cleansed heart! To God be all the glory!

God's Will

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 05:24:00 +0000

The lecture during the Bible study I attended last Thursday enlightened me about God’s will which focuses more on developing a person’s character. The path that a person takes, though decided through a choice made by that person, involves circumstances that develop that person, and those circumstances are God’s will.

The reasons why it was God’s will for my husband and me to adopt a special child, blind and multi-handicapped at that, are now very clear. Caring for the special child from birth, it was God’s will for us to be more patient, persevering, caring, selfless, and to be closer to God-- to constantly ask for God’s mercy, which He always heeded with unexpected graces and we couldn’t help but praise Him and recognize that all these are for His glory!

It was God’s will for us to learn the different ways to care for our special child, limiting the medications to the ones that will address her seizures, to protect her liver and kidneys from more medicines. That led me to learn some of the methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine involving the meridians of the body that may be stimulated through acupuncture or acupressure to alleviate or prevent common illnesses, for example, reducing the heat of the large intestine meridian to bring down high fever. And it was God’s will for me to learn the knowledge of TCM through a giant Chinese company, TIENS, that manufactures gadgets that will make the traditional methods easier. Please click the title of this post, "God's Will" to watch our video about the TCM gadget, after reading this post.

My husband and I are continuously challenged by the changes our now teenage special child is undergoing, and also challenged by learning the gadgets that are now more modernized, but more effective even with a shorter time of use. It is God’s will therefore that as my husband and I get older and our teenage child becoming more aware of the things she like and expressing that through tantrums, we can be helped by tools that also change to make caring more convenient.

Most of all, it was God’s will that we learn more about His character so we can be totally dependent on Him, about Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead to intercede for us, and the Holy Spirit to guide us as we transform and renew our minds to be more pleasing to God.

These Bible verses that were the basis of this post and the lecture that added to my enlightenment need to be learned by everyone:

Romans 12:1-2 New International Version (NIV): Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The Opportunity

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 11:42:00 +0000

This morning while we were eating at McDonald’s, a teenager carrying a big bag went to our table. He politely said, “Good morning, I’m a self-supporting student...”. He was not able to continue what he wanted to say because I frowned and immediately responded with “We just have an exact amount of money now”. I assumed he was going to sell us products priced double their regular prices. The lad apologized for bothering us then went away.

The lad’s story might not be true, saying he is a self-supporting student might be made-up and that might just be his racket, but anyway, I felt I did not treat him right. Less than an hour ago before arriving at Mc Donald’s, I was reading these passages in the Bible:

Colossians 4:5-6 “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

I even repeatedly read those passages, so what have I just done? I could have said, “I’m sorry but our money is just enough. Maybe next time when you see us again.” And maybe if I allowed him to finish what he was about to say, I could have thought of other things to say. At least I was not lying, because the 500-peso bill that I had before going to Mc Donald’s was missing the night before. It was a big sum to lose, I’ve thought, and I was thankful I found it on the floor of the car this morning.

I am now wondering if all that happened was just a test. Just the other day, I read another passage from Matthew 6:24, coming from Jesus Christ:

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

I even told myself that would be good to share, so I shared that to a group in Facebook. Why then did the 500-peso bill became so important?

Perhaps there are a lot like me who couldn’t get over such earthly situations. The “opportunity” mentioned in that passage from the Colossians was talking about our opportunity to be transformed, but we are too wary of people who are “opportunists”. If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells in us and will guide us when opportunists are in front of us. Or will the Holy Spirit even allow opportunists to come near us?

God's Good News

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 11:07:00 +0000

After hibernating as a blogger for more than one year, I am back for another mission, this time a greater one. This is to share the “Gospel” which means “good news”.

How about “God’s Message” through the 143 stones which I easily interpreted as “I love you” and the reason why this blog was created almost 10 years ago? It is now clear to me that what I perceived as a conversation with God and His message through the stones was a sign for me to search deeper for the real meaning of that message. God’s love for mankind is the main reason of His “good news” or Gospel. It was for all nations, regardless of the race and the God a race believed in. The “good news” is the best proof of God’s love, as shown through this verse in the “New Testament” of the Bible:

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

I know that some readers who have read my blog post about “God’s Message” knew what it meant, more than me who wrote about it. Perhaps that shows that the most unlikely person can share the Gospel or part of it, through the most unexpected way, at the most unexpected time and place. Because God loves us, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for the atonement of our sins. God has established peace with us, and imputed in us the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Not all nations recognize Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. That is why sharing the Gospel to the very ends of the earth is very important. God’s graciousness makes the Gospel simple enough for anyone to believe in and confess it to others. Not everyone knew that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was the culmination of the law because Christ was triumphant in His battle for man’s sins. The law of any religion will make the followers conscious of sins, but the basis of man’s salvation is not by following the law. Man’s salvation is obtained by each person confessing that “Jesus is Lord”, and believing in one’s heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, to live in the believers’ hearts and completely save them.

The “Gospel” is so simple, I was able to make a one-page diagram about it. Those who will understand and believe the Gospel should read the Bible because Jesus Christ speaks to us to guide us and follow His path, through the New Testament.

I am encouraging everyone to share the Gospel, even to the children if possible. Sharing the Gospel will plant the seeds of salvation to the people, then God will do the rest.

God's Better Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 15:59:00 +0000

On this 15th anniversary of God's Message to mankind through the mineral stones I was cleaning, I planned to talk about how God continuously showed His endless love to me despite my endless expression of disappointments.

I cried like a child when I, together with my husband and special needs child were denied of U.S. tourist visas early this year. Maybe because my husband and I were just retired employees without any business who wanted to tour some parts of the United States and visit our close relatives, like our eldest daughter who will be giving birth to her second child this July.

A Plan B was already in my mind in case we will be denied of the tourist visa, so I could recover fast from such disappointment. Plan B was to visit places in the Philippines I have never been to, like Dumaguete City and El Nido. God's plan is always different, as usual, and it is always the best plan. When I went to Dumaguete just to take a peek of the city so I can bring my family there in the future, God also showed me the beautiful island of Siquijor through several "angels" that included a couple who are both pastors.

It took me more than a month to research and plan our trip to El Nido, what tourist spots there to visit and what hotels would be best for us to stay and still take photos in case it rains hard. I would also like to go to the place with the best sunset, I've researched that would be in Merimegmeg Beach but it seemed going there would be difficult if we would be carrying our special needs child on a wheelchair.

Among the island hopping tours, my priority was "Tour A" because I'd like to see the Big Lagoon and Small Lagoon around Miniloc Island but I also would like to see the "Paradise Beach" which is part of another tour as far as I know. On my way to Art Café to book the tours, a tricycle driver approached me to offer the same tours but when I insisted I'd like to book at Art Café, he offered me to also see a nice long beach called Nacpan Beach where the view of the sunset is great, according to him. My special needs child will surely enjoy a long beach, so I accepted his offer. The road to Nacpan Beach was not yet completely concrete and would be hard to travel at night so the driver offered an alternative to Nacpan's sunset view which was at Merimegmeg Beach near Las Cabanas. Getting there was really one of my wishes so it was a better offer. The Nacpan Beach schedule would take the place of the tour that would include "Paradise Beach", for lack of time.

When I went to Art Café to book for "Tour A", I was told that they are replacing the "7 Commando Beach" with "Paradise Beach" because the former was always crowded the past days. "What a blessing" I thought, "it seems like the change was made for me!"

Nacpan Beach was really beautiful, it was the clearest beach I've ever seen so far, just fine white sand and clear sea water. As expected, our special needs child enjoyed the beach, playing with us and the waves.

After Nacpan Beach, we were brought to Merimegmeg Beach near "Beach Shack" to view the sunset while taking refreshments. It was indeed a great view but I thought maybe it would be more beautiful if dark clouds alternately covering the bright yellow color of the sun were not present. To my surprise, I saw at least 2 hearts formed by the dark clouds, one at a time. The formation and disappearance of the hearts were too fast for my camera to capture but looking at the photos, there was one where I could see two hearts, one overlapping one third of another, though it required the help of my imagination.

God never fails to show signs of His love, I'm sure some of the tourists saw the hearts also. The tricycle driver who came near me to tell me it was time to go because it was getting dark, also saw one when I told him about the hearts. He pointed to a heart-shaped space inside a square-shaped dark cloud.

This unusual view of the sunset with alternating dark gray color of the clouds and the bright color of the sun showed that beauty is not all bright colors, and that even life as a whole need not be all bright colors to be beautiful. And even in those dark moments, one can still see and feel the love of God.

During the "Tour A" island hopping the day before the trip to Nacpan Beach and Merimegmeg Beach, the boatman brought me to the Small Lagoon through a "kayak". It was showering, but when we were already inside the Small Lagoon, it really rained. I was still able to take photos of the lagoon by covering the top of my camera with plastic. I told the boatman it was totally alright because the rain could just be a sign of God's blessings pouring on us. The other tourists on their "kayaks" were happy and laughing while it was raining.

So many signs and symbolism in the whole travel to El Nido reminded me about life and God's blessings. I am now back to reality, continuously advocating to leave a legacy of orderliness to my children. This is the kind of advocacy that one is often misunderstood. I don't want to leave unsettled issues or problems to my children. Even the responsibility to take care of our adopted special needs child, I wouldn't want to pass to my two biological children believing my husband and I will always be capable of caring for her, maybe in our later years with a helper. That is why it is very important for me that my husband and are always strong and healthy. Any small sign of abnormality, even considered normal in old age like memory loss should immediately be addressed with coconut oil and techniques for memory retention. I have no choice but to be very strict with our food, practices, and lifestyle in general. I know this is another very difficult role that can make me indifferent even to relatives who want to enjoy life to the fullest. As far as my and my husband's lifestyles are concerned, I can be as strict or even stricter than Rody Duterte, the newly elected President of the Philippines. I continuously pray for him by the way, for God to always guide his thoughts, words and actions, and I hope every Filipino will do that, so that all our dreams for changes will be implemented peacefully.

I also hope every Filipino will always remember that God loves us and will always intervene with a better plan, but Divine Intervention happens when one has exerted an effort to move to achieve his goals or needs, not while one is sleeping.

One of those ways God said "I Love You"

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 00:33:00 +0000

Writing this post was unexpected because I have wanted to write and post in another blog instead. Until I remembered that today is June 12, it's the 14th anniversary of my conversation with God, the main reason why I created this blog.

Once again, let this be a reminder of God's love for us, I myself needs to be reminded of that too. God can talk to us anytime, anywhere, regardless of our religions and personalities, but we still forget He did that, sometimes we don't even believe He really conversed with us, and other people won't believe too. The only reason why I believed He had actually conversed with me is because I can write about my experience and share it to people.

Whether you will believe in this story or not, I felt tasked to share it again. Please click here to go to my short original story of my conversation with God and read how God said "I Love You" to mankind in my story.

God Keeps Saying "I Love You!"

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 13:21:00 +0000

Last weekend, after a week of being too busy watching on the television to listen to Pope Francis’ messages while in our country, we discovered that the banana trees in our backyard have a total of 3 bundles of banana fruits.

The third bundle that we discovered was hidden by the “calamansi” tree's trunk and leaves, and we didn’t notice that the heart of this bundle of bananas dried up but the fruits are now very healthy. Upon discovering that there were three bundles, not just two, the first thing that entered my mind was “maybe God wanted to say “I love you” again". Not just to me, but the whole of mankind, like He said during my conversation with Him on June 12, 2001. The photo at the left shows the three bundles though not so clear because they were hidden by leaves. The first that we saw was the one in line with the window on the photo (lower right), the second almost right above me while taking the photo (top right of photo) and the third slightly covered by the banana leaf at the middle left of the photo.

A few months ago, the calamansi tree nearest to the house bore extra large fruits, around 5 times the normal size. It used to bore several small fruits until it began to bore an extra large one along with the regular ones, then another extra large fruit still with the regular ones (shown in a photo here), until there were no more regular fruits, just 3 extra large fruits. Maybe that was September of last year, 2014, and in my thoughts was “maybe God wanted to say “I love you” again!”. The juice of the giant fruit tasted like a mixed juice, so that there was no need to mix it with sugar and water to make a juice! In the video below, we were giving our special child the juice direct from the fruit (the left and right head movement is a mannerism of this blind child with cerebral palsy and had no meaning).

The photo at the left was the calamansi tree whose last fruits were three extra large ones, an example of these fruits is shown bigger than the egg and the regular calamansi fruits in the above photos They were taken around September of last year, and during that time the banana trees were still few and low.

Next to the point where I shot this photo of the calamansi tree was the laundering sink where I was cleaning mineral stones while conversing with God in 2001. There were just a few plants on the soil where these trees grew, during that time. When God said in my thoughts on that day that the cure to all diseases are abundant and are just around us, I looked at the exact place where these trees grew and thought that He meant the plants, but also realized later that He could also be referring to the sunlight (at the right times of the day) and the magnetic fields of the earth.

After God said “I love you” when I asked what message He would like to tell mankind through the number of small mineral stones I was cleaning which turned out to be 143 stones in all, so many extraordinary events happened, like the birth of a special child inside our house, whom we later adopted. I realized that through this child, God proved His love for all of us in the small compound where we live consisting of two households. I requested for a child during my conversation with Him to help me forget about disappointments, but when I realized that the child could only come from my daughter who was still too young at that time, I told God “I was just joking”. But after a year, on July 24, 2002, a child was born inside our house by our housekeeper. This child was expected to be a special one since she was not even expected to live during birth because of her size which was just one pound!

Years after, circumstances led me to be very much involved in health and wellness and gradually learned how to stimulate the natural healing process of the body. It seemed that I was being prepared to be a therapist of our special child, and also be able to take care of my own health and my husband’s for the child’s welfare. We need to remain strong and healthy to be able to take care of this child whose mission or missions only God knows, all I know is God keeps saying “I love you!” to mankind.

Year Ending 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 05:39:00 +0000

It's now New Year's Day in the Philippines. I'm glad that my last blog post was about health and wellness in my "Amusing Tips" blog, titled Meridian Therapy. It was a public service post though it also advertises a particular gadget used for the therapy.

I'm also glad that on New Year's Eve, my most read blog post was also in the same blog, "Amusing Tips", about a recipe of a fish steak, titled Quick Gindara Steak. That only shows that fish as part of the menu of "Media Noche" or New Year's Day is a must. I had planned to include it as part of our "Noche Buena" or "Media Noche" but found the fish too expensive for our present budget.

I hope to be able to post in this blog, which was my first, more posts that will help mankind this 2015. But I'm also hoping that more people will be able to read the post which was the main reason why I created a blog. It is now in two versions, an updated version titled My Conversation with God on June 12, 2001, and the original version, God's Message. I know that in God's time, these two posts will be read by the right people.

An "Agent of Change"

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Tue, 25 Nov 2014 15:05:00 +0000

I wasn’t capable of writing a post last month because my mind was preoccupied with options for changes in my family, triggered by several signs, strengthened later by a letter from the National Visa Center of US.

Most of those changes it turned out, would require other changes affecting some members of my clan and my husband’s clan, so it was indeed hard to think about them, much more to talk about them. But once again, I’m the only person who could open up a topic about changes that directly affect my family, and it was hard because I’m not a sweet talker, I was a Systems Analyst for thirty years writing and giving instructions about specifications, and I had to choose the most specific words in sentences that were direct to the point. I did the best I could, but as usual, some if not most of those affected were not pleased with my “requirements” or requests to go about some changes. That was understandable and the main reason why there is such a short course for change management. Maybe I need to undergo that course first.

Sometimes it is disappointing to consult a life coach or a counselor because you will be told to go back to your past so that with their help you will be able to understand your present difficulties. I tried to do it on my own and it was hard at first because I couldn’t find any connection. Until I looked at myself at a different perspective, a more positive perspective with the premise that God placed me in this situation because He loves me. Thank God, I found the answer!

I now understand that I am an “agent of change”. Understanding that did not happen instantly. My recent activities like looking for an online job helped me understand that. There was this job that I liked a lot I felt it was for me until it was awarded to another applicant. I studied this applicant’s credentials and I was amazed because she was a Russian but had masters in English and English Literature and had several job experiences related to writing in English. I just told myself, they chose the right person.

I realize now that I can be an agent of change because of my experiences since I was a child. The earliest I could remember was playing a lot with my brother and cousins in an airstrip of an airport where we had a family restaurant, and for a 4 year-old child like me it was an endless playground. I was surrounded by relatives, there were my cousins, grandma, uncle and aunts. I could understand only English at that time.

Suddenly, we were in a city, some of the relatives I used to be with were no longer around, my brother and I had many playmates and our playground were the streets. These playmates said we were rich because we had two buildings though the highest was just a four-story building. I couldn’t believe that because we were staying at the ground floor of the other building, it really looked like a basement because it had a low ceiling but the floor was always very clean. There were other people at home whom I felt were our relatives but they said we were not related at all. After a while, I believed we were rich because my grandma was referred to as “Donia” or a rich woman by the lady at the ticket booth of a theater who let me and my brother enter the movie house for free. On Christmas Day, I saw my grandma giving away big paper bags of goods to the street children. Once in a while, I could see some new dresses and bags in my closet. Whenever my brother and I got sick, we would be given a new toy to cheer us up. I could understand a mixture of Tagalog and Ilonggo at that time.

When I was 8, we were in another city. My playmates were speaking in Cebuano so I learned to speak and understand the language. A year before that, my grandmother passed away. The next thing I knew was we were already in Manila, reunited with my aunt at her apartment in Caloocan City. My brother and I were transferred to St. Joseph Academy, a private school there. My mother and aunt thought of having a beauty parlor and dress shop so they looked for a place to make that possible and they found one in Manila also, somewhere in Sampaloc. My brother and I were transferred to a public school. Before we graduated from elementary, we were at another place where my mother revived the restaurant they had in Mindanao. It was near the Manila International and domestic airports.

I can’t remember when was the time we transferred to 20^th Ave. in Cubao, Quezon City because I was already studying in Manila as a first year high school student. My brother and I had to be transferred to another school in the vicinity, it was called Quirino High School. As usual, my favorite subject was Math, and my favorite teacher was my Math teacher who told me I was indeed intelligent, Ms. Aurora Venida. We didn’t learn to know more about each other because I had to stop studying for a while to be able to take care of my youngest brother who was 3 years old. I knew how it was like to be rich, and our situation at that time was quite different. Sometimes there was not enough food to eat. But the apartment we were renting was big so who would say that?

This house where I am now was the longest I have stayed, even as a single woman. It used to be occupied by Ms. Venida, my favorite Math teacher I mentioned earlier but it was not from her where we learned about this house because she migrated to US long before my family transferred here. But even when I was already married to her nephew, the son of our landlord whose house was right beside ours, I preferred to stay in another house, until my in-laws requested us to watch over this house meaning for us to transfer to this house while they were at the US, as immigrants. Our eldest daughter was 10 years old at that time.

There were six companies I worked for, from the time I started working. Two of those companies were worth staying until retirement, but one closed, while the other one was a private agency under Marcos that was why it had to close after the “People Power”. To implement changes, companies usually hire consultants who are not familiar with the employees of the company. The recommended changes can be “brutal” to most of the employees especially when cost cutting is the objective. These companies have no choice but to implement those changes, just like the company I worked for which closed down. We were suddenly called to a general meeting at the canteen where the General Manager, after explaining the status of the company, announced that it was our last day in that company, we could get our separation pay then pack our things. We were all crying, including the General Manager.

As the “House Manager”, I usually implement changes fast. My husband got used to follow those changes that were new learnings to his children, not really changes. I have no tolerance for dilly-dallying, my husband knew that. I mellowed down when we started to bring our adopted special child to school where we practically became pupils also, supporting our special child. But also because of this child, I realize there is no time to procrastinate because we her adoptive parents are not getting any younger and are not getting any richer.

We have to grab every opportunity that will help us sustain our health, increase our meager income and our special child’s development so that the people who will take care of her when we are gone will not be burdened too much nor for too long. I have no choice but to ignore the people who would still be skeptical or resistant to the changes we need after allowing some time for awareness. One of the most important among the objectives of these changes is to reverence our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. This is also the most important legacy of change I would like my children to remember, since our bodies will continuously require changes in food, habits and activities over time.

The photo shown here was my painting based on a photo I’ve shot during my tour at the Underground River of Palawan. The tour guide told us that we might not see the same stones we have seen when we come back especially if it would take long for us to come back. The title of my painting was “The Prayer” because I was praying hard half of the time I was painting it because my son was sick, though it was just a group of stones undergoing changes. This whole picture of changing stones is so beautiful, isn’t it? It was God’s work!

Thank you God, for all the opportunities, to write this, and to be part of the Dance of Faith art exhibit that started last November 24 at the “Pamanang Bedista” (San Beda Heritage Center) where this painting is on display for one month along with my two other paintings of the Underground River of Palawan and the other Dance of Faith artworks!

Instinctive Compassion

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 02:18:00 +0000

Belonging to the first batch of trainees implementing TCM therapies at San Lazaro Hospital, I was tasked to assess a patient at the TB ward based on TCM and perform the therapy the patient needed at that time.

In front of me was a body that was all skin and bones. After gathering information from the relatives of the patient, I was looking for some flesh where acupressure may be applied with or without a gadget but there was none. I learned that some if not most of these patients go to the hospital when they already have difficulty in breathing. Once they are relieved with an oxygen tank, they're main complaint would be incessant coughing.

I knew what to do to relieve the complaint, but I admit when I saw the body that looked like a living dead, I had a mental block I didn't know what to do. The body reminded me of a corpse of a child that I sew after it was autopsied, when I was a Medical Technology intern at the National Children's Hospital.

But this patient is living, my compassionate nature prevailed and my first instinct was simply to comfort him, regardless of his complaint. I got my comb gadget and combed his scalp because I knew it would comfort him. That made him look relaxed so I came to my senses and thought of the best way that would stop his coughing by scanning that magical comb gadget on the lung meridian of his arm. His coughing stopped and by the time I left he was already sleeping. I did the same to the next two patients who complained of incessant coughing and I was glad the same result was achieved: incessant coughing stopped and they became sleepy. Only one out of the three was awake when I left, but that was because she won't stop telling me her stories. She told me though that what I did made her feel relaxed and sleepy.

A New Beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Mon, 01 Sep 2014 02:08:00 +0000

I'm getting ready for a new beginning. It was unexpected, I mean to seriously pursue a new career as a Doctor of Naturopathy which can be realized two years from now if I will remain persevering.

Last June, I painted "A New Beginning" showing the transition from the darkness of the Underground River to the green color of nature. The sights I've seen inside the Underground River were just amazing but the transition to the green color of nature was so refreshing so I thought that could be a very good symbol of a new beginning, I didn't know it was an exact symbol of what I will be starting two months later.

Starting on Thursday, I will be attending 50 hours of orientation at Green Life Center for Alternative Medicine with preceptorship at San Lazaro Hospital where it is also located. This educational institution was integrated to the Department of Health and is now the education partner of Tianshi Philippines, the Philippine branch of Tiens Biotech Group which manufactures state-of-the-art health gadgets and supplements based on the principles of TCM.

I have started the week preparing for this new undertaking. The remaining days and hours might not be enough but I have enough passion to share whatever I've learned to help some people in pain. I will be bringing the gadgets I know that can help in pain management which is the focus of the training and practice for three days starting Thursday.

My painting, "A New Beginning" is for sale and I hope it will finally be sold so I can buy the latest Tiens gadget, the Acupoints Treasure Multifunctional Apparatus, an electroacupuncture for green acupuncture since it is needleless, and that will surely help me in this new career. For pain management though, I hope to prove that the Tiens Multifunctional Head Care Apparatus can relieve any pain even in other parts of the body aside from its versatility in managing illnesses involving the head.

God's Birthday Gift to Lyca

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 14:51:00 +0000

Even before Lyca's 12th birthday last July 24, God's birthday gift for her was already waiting to be picked-up in a warehouse. It was a wheelchair custom made for her special needs.

Lyca's stroller doesn't fit her anymore, a pillow has to be placed on the seat to lessen its "C" curve that caused her scoliosis, and the strap of her bag serves as its head rest.

At last, a new wheelchair though large to be brought inside the car, was custom fit to correct Lyca's scoliosis and the thigh position she got used to which is prone to hip dislocation.

The wheelchair has fixed thin pads under the arms
to keep her from leaning on one side..

A foot rest based on the length of Lyca's legs

And a pad at the middle of the seat to
correct the position of Lyca's hips and legs

A head rest measured exactly for Lyca's head...

Dra. Maria Regina Cunanan-Espinosa did all the measuring.

The wheelchair has harness and table top too

How we wish we can bring this wheelchair with Lyca
wherever she goes !

Thank you Dra. Espinosa and UCP Wheels for Humanity!

Thank you Latter-Day Saint Charities! Thank you Lord!!

"Dance of Faith"

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 16:25:00 +0000

"Dance of Faith" is an art exhibit celebrating women, art and spirituality. It is participated by 6 women artists from different age groups, the youngest 9 years old. I was one of the artists and my artworks, which are oil paintings, were inspired by the Underground River of Palawan except the portrait of my special child Lyca who was my inspiration to join the exhibit. Featured here are my paintings in the exhibit where I "walked my faith", my "dance of faith".

"The Challenge"
Size: 15" x 20"
Medium: Oil Paint

Instead of heeding to my request to paint this piece from my shots of the Underground River of Palawan, my professional artist brother Gabriego challenged me to do it. This year, 2014, I accepted the challenge when I had the opportunity because I believed that challenges are what life is all about. We face some amount of challenges, some big, some small, but all of them to make us grow into better persons each day of our lives.

"The Prayer"
Size: 18" x 12"
Medium: Oil Paint

The most truthful title for this piece is “The Prayer”. This was a copy of an artwork of God found at the Underground River of Palawan. Every attempt to copy a detail of His artwork from a photo I shot was coupled with praises and adoration for His creation. Every attempt to highlight a detail was coupled with a prayer for a miracle.

"Mama's Angel"
Size: 12" x 14"
Medium: Oil Paint

Who else can dream for this blind and multi-handicapped angel than the person she first called “Mama”? That person is Bel Venida (my artist name), her adoptive mother. It was this child, Lyca, who brought me back to painting.

"A New Beginning"
Size: 16" x 20"
Medium: Oil Paint

The Underground River of Palawan is only one of the evidences of God’s existence, and a reminder to people that He can make miracles happen any time, they just need to have faith and believe that He exists even in the darkest places, whether in a person’s thoughts or in the darkest spot of a cave. The journey in the dark always ends and leads to a new beginning.

Aside from my special child Lyca, I have never expected that the artworks I found at The Underground River of Palawan will tremendously inspire me to give my best to paint on canvas some of God's artworks on the walls of this river. It was very awesome to realize that they were all done through stone formations, and that God conversed with me and said "I love you" to mankind through small mineral stones on June 12, 2001.

Dance of Faith

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 01:53:00 +0000

Now ongoing until July 13, 2014 at the Health Hub of SM Center Pasig (beside Tiendesitas in Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines), "Dance of Faith" is an art exhibit celebrating women, art and spirituality. It is participated by 6 women artists from different age groups, the youngest 9 years old. I was one of the artists and my artworks, which are oil paintings, were inspired by the Underground River of Palawan except the portrait of my special child Lyca who was my inspiration to join the exhibit. Featured here are my paintings in the exhibit where I "walked my faith", my "dance of faith".

"The Challenge"
Size: 15" x 20"
Medium: Oil Paint

"The Prayer"
Size: 18" x 12"
Medium: Oil Paint

"Mama's Angel"
Size: 12" x 14"
Medium: Oil Paint

"A New Beginning"
Size: 16" x 20"
Medium: Oil Paint

"Under the bed" spacers

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 01:03:00 +0000

Since the start of the year, we've been preparing our bedroom to accommodate bedspacers for a much needed income. A lot have been done to accomplish this, like renovating an area where we can transfer our big bed, selling the big round table that occupies the area we renovated (looking for the buyer of the round table took too long), and finally buying a double deck bed for the bedspacers. We were planning to get only 2 bedspacers though my son was insistent that the room can occupy more.

By February we were already looking for prospective bedspacers but didn't publish that in a public site other than Facebook, since we preferred friends. By mid-Febr
uary however, our pet cat gave birth to four kittens under the double deck bed! It was good that the cat immediately transferred her kittens to another area then another area again, under a single bed made of wood inside a small room we temporarily converted into a store room. That made me think that maybe we can transfer that bed to the bedroom for bedspacers so we can accommodate 3 bedspacers.

Looking for 3 bedspacers all aspects to be considered is not easy I realized, so we just waited for interested friends and my son found one before the Holy Week. There were preferences to be discussed however which did not happen because of emergencies and one latest event: our pet dog gave birth under the bed made of wood, and kept her six live puppies under the bed all the time. It is only at this time of writing that she allowed her puppies to be more exposed because 3 of those puppies are now lying beside the bedroom door.

I guess those puppies can now be transferred to our temporary store room, I just need to fix it so it will be more conducive for them to stay in.

Only my soul is weeping

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 18:57:00 +0000

My body's eyes couldn't weep, I wonder why
Although my mind says "I want to cry"
To get rid of this feeling of grief
Or at least make it brief

Only my soul is weeping I guessed
Hoping that I will soon be blessed
Reaching my Lord with all my might
Until my soul sees His Light

"Heal my mind, my body and spirit Oh God!"
"Shower my soul with Your Light my God!"
That I may touch my daughters with Your Light
That I may touch my son with Your Light

What is "CRM"

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 00:49:00 +0000

In a retail store, customers come and go. The store owner recognizes an old customer by seeing a familiar face, but never knowing any other information about that customer, not even his name. That scenario should be in the past, no longer at present.

Today, an application on managing information about customers can be found from different developers around the world. This application is called CRM or Customer Relationship Management. Here is a definition of CRM that I found in Webopedia:

"CRM entails all aspects of interaction that a company has with its customer, whether it is sales or service-related. While the phrase customer relationship management is most commonly used to describe a business-customer relationship, CRM systems are used in the same way to manage business contacts, clients, contract wins and sales leads."

Leads originate from several sources like seminars, trade shows, or even a simple chat in Facebook or other social networking sites. It would be good to record not only the information about a lead but also the source for statistical analysis later.

When a negotiation with a lead is made, such as sending a quotation to a lead, the lead should be converted to an account if it is a company, or a contact if it is a person. This conversion process can be automated by a CRM application. The nature of the negotiation made with the account or contact, like the quotation sent, should be recorded as a “Potential”.

As long as a “Potential” is not categorized as a “closed sale”, the expected revenue is not final and the “Potential” will be in the “Pipeline”. A good CRM application can show these types of transactions so that they can be monitored and followed-up.

The essence of a CRM I believe, is not only knowing what a customer will need based on information that was recorded about him, but also making each time spent on a customer valuable and can be a possible source of a potential revenue or customer experience.

Enjoying new computer applications

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 16:44:00 +0000

I didn't know what post to write for this blog because I've been focusing on encoding data in the sales application of Tiens since the cut-off is every 24th day of the month. After that I also encode a summary of the same data in a CRM application for a different objective.

Perhaps it was not just obligation that forced me to focus on completing these encoding tasks which are coupled by checking and monitoring, I simply enjoyed doing them because both applications are user friendly. I never liked encoding, it is such a boring task for me. But I easily appreciate computer applications, and I like discovering all their features if I found out they are easy to use. If they're not easy to use, I don't waste my time.

I am relieved that I don't have to think hard what post to write. It feels good to say that I'm enjoying so though those simple feelings will create just a short post, I'm contented to just write about them.

Skyway

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 08:05:00 +0000

I won't be talking about the Skyway in Manila which is a well known highway going to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. To some extent, I will talk about the "Skyway" that I've known when I was still a child decades ago, when I wasn't even studying yet. We lived in a restaurant called "Skyway" which was in front of the Cotabato City airport at that time (no longer the airport now). I had a very good childhood because my first cousins were also there and when our parents were busy attending to the customers at the restaurant at lunch time, they would leave us playing to our hearts' content in the living room. I think it was in the afternoon when they would allow us to play at the runway field for the airplanes. It was such a big playground so I could say I was one of the luckiest children at that time, together with my eldest brother and first cousins.

A decade passed when I again lived in a restaurant called "Skyway II" by my mother since it was near the airport in Paranaque. It was again a very happy place because my youngest brother was only one year old and customers were always entertained by his antics especially his "dancing" while seated on the counter of the restaurant with the jukebox playing. A photo of my brother dancing was taken during one of those moments but I wonder who holds a copy of that photo. My sketch of my brother shown here is what I could remember of that photo.

Life has ups and downs and I think it was after a year when I had experienced the first "downs" in my life as a child. My youngest brother was two years old and he knew nothing about our situation. He remained happy as usual playing in his big playground which was the wide frontage of the line of apartments where we lived in one of the doors. We were in "K" door so you can imagine how long my brother's playground could be. He played and played with his t-shirt full of holes and his face dirty. I was not even a teenager at that time, I thought that was normal for all children his age. I was his caretaker at that time while our mother was earning a living. I would feed him bread and canned pork and beans at lunch and he was always happy and contented with his food.

Although my brothers and I were happiest as children while in a place called "Skyway", I can say we had a very good childhood in general because we saw the differences between hard and easy, happy and sad or more and less at an early age and perhaps realized early also that there was not much difference between them because they would always lead to the other. Our place called "Skyway" always had a lot of people inside, perhaps that was also one reason why we were happy in those places. As far as I can remember, the reason why we left "Skyway II" was because of its risk to our lives since there was always "gun shooting" in the vicinity and during those times our mother would tell us to lie flat on our tummies.

I wonder if we still have the right to use the name "Skyway" since it originated from us. Just in case we will use it, it should be "Skyway III". My youngest brother is no longer young, I think "Skyway" can have a deeper meaning as far as he is concerned because he has helped and prayed for a lot of people as a pastor, and God Has called him to accomplish more.

My Most Read Blog Posts as of Year Ending 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 02:59:00 +0000

Instead of the usual year-end thoughts that can be mixed with fears, I've decided to see which among my posts in my three blogs had the most number of readers.

The top five posts came from only one blog, "Amusing Tips". It is the newest blog among my three blogs so I don't know if I should be happy to see that, but looking at the top five posts, 3 of them are about health and wellness while 2 about beauty tips so I'm glad to see that. Here are those five posts, just click on the title of the post that you want to read:

1. 3089 pageviews - The Five Elements

2. 2081 pageviews - More Glycemic Index Tips

3. 1793 pageviews - Red lips without lipstick

4. 1472 pageviews - A life saving chart

5. 1041 pageviews - Spirulina Mask

For my "Dreams List" blog, I just would like to mention some notable statistics, like it is awesome to see that until this week, there were still people who have landed to a song I have posted with two versions, and the comments were also awesome. The title of the post and the song is "Dreams are my Reality". I wish that those in the younger generations will also learn this beautiful song.

Lastly, for this blog "I Don't Want To Retire", I was glad to see that until this week, my post "Fighting a fever without medicines" had readers. I think I posted this in the wrong blog since it can be considered an amusing tip too.

What I'd really want to see in my main blog "I Don't Want To Retire" are more readers for my post "God's Message" which was the main reason why I started blogging. Definitely one's religion won't matter in this post because it was a simple message of God for mankind, it was a true simple story and not a made up one. As I've said in the post "My Conversation with God on June 12, 2001", which is part of the introduction of this blog, God proved His love for me by giving me what I wanted: a child that will help me forget about disappointments.

God gave me a very special child because she was born blind and had cerebral palsy. Through this child, God shook off my tendency to expect too much from people. That tendency was the real cause of my disappointments. For eleven years now, this special child taught me to be happy with the smallest things people would show me.

For the coming year, 2014, I wish to continue to be happy with the smallest things people would show me, and with the smallest blessings God will give me. That is also my wish for everyone.

Happy New Year!

So Excited!

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 15:53:00 +0000

Yes, I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it! I've just posted the main reason in my Dreams List blog, titled "A Free Brand New Family Car!". Just by the title alone, you'd guess why I'm so excited, though it would take a lot of guts talking to people for me to achieve it. Not only guts of course, but a lot of positive thinking, so help us God!

I changed that last statement which was originally "so help me God", because it is not only me involved here but a lot of my relatives and friends who can also get the free brand new car after or even before I get mine. It is the network marketing plan of Tiens that would make that possible, and thank God it is a very good plan that doesn't have to be "binary" to make it work.

Thank you Lord for these small blessings of excitement and happiness that makes people forget about any problems at hand.

A Better Pomodoro

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 15:59:00 +0000

This post should be a sequel of my post three months ago, titled "A Better Life", which mentioned about my goal to get rid of cancer cells present in my body, and present in everyone's body my age, by the way. I seem to be successful in my goal so far, because the results of my pre-diagnostic tests on the presence of cancer cells showed they are gradually decreasing, though still within the positive range meaning if I don't do something about it and make it negative, then it can be a case of diagnostic cancer later.

The past year, I've been cooking Pomodoro but using a canned marinara sauce, canned mushrooms and canned spicy tuna. I can no longer do that because canned goods are forbidden for a person who'd like to eliminate cancer cells. Until I found bottled alternatives, though seemed more expensive at first. Like the Cadia Marinara Sauce which costs 279 pesos at Healthy Options but may be used for 5 recipes of Pomodoro. Instead of spicy tuna, I used bottled Spanish sardines. For salt, it should be sea salt, not iodized salt which can be synthetic. The oil must be extra virgin olive oil in bottle and the heat should be the lowest heat of the stove. Anyway, here's the recipe of what I call "A Better Pomodoro":

For every 100 grams of uncooked spaghetti pasta:

2 tbsps. chopped white onion (1/4 of a big bulb)
2 tbsps. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (includes 2 tsps. for sauteing)
1/2 cup marinara sauce (bottled or may be prepared beforehand using another recipe)
1 tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves (around 10 leaves)
2 pcs Spanish sardines if bigger than usual, broken into 5 or 6 parts with fork (Milk Fish Spanish Style sardines may be used), or 4 pcs. small sardines, each piece broken into 3 parts (the Young's Town brand has bigger sardines than other brands).

In a pan using low heat, saute the chopped white onion in 2 tsps. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil until soft. Add the 1/2 cup of marinara sauce, 1 tbsp. water, 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1/2 tsp. sea salt, then mix and simmer for about one minute. Add the chopped fresh basil leaves and simmer for half minute. Set aside (this Basic Pomodoro sauce may be used some other day by freezing).

Boil water just enough for the spaghetti to be cooked "al dente". Drain.

Add the prepared sardines to the Basic Pomodoro sauce in the pan and add 1 tsp. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Simmer for half minute and remove from heat.

Pour the drained cooked spaghetti on a platter and pour the Pomodoro sauce with sardines on top. Toss with forks until thoroughly mixed. Best served with green salad which helps digest starches more easily.

The Chemical Intake Timeline

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 05:54:00 +0000

The timeline came from the book "Don't Eat Cancer" by Sean David Cohen. The book is about Modern Day Cancer Prevention and stresses the importance of learning to be a defensive consumer to prevent cancer. This timeline is one of the most important facts from the book I strongly felt I should share:

Age 0 – 10: CHEMICAL INTAKE BEGINS, USUALLY RIGHT FROM BIRTH. More than a third of the foods and drinks the average person consumes contains a chemical agent. Many solutions applied to the skin have chemicals also. The sun damages skin more than ever now due to ozone depletion. Kids unknowingly eat m.s.g. or monosodium glutonate, aspartame, sorbitol, fast food and microwave dinners like they‟re going out of style. And remember, chemical intake is not measured for children regularly.

Age 11-20: AN ACCUMULATION OF TOXINS GETS TOO HIGH IN OUR SYSTEM FOR OUR MAJOR ORGANS TO FILTER OUT ALL OF IT. OVERLOAD!

Age 21-27: OUR OUTER AND INNER SKIN LININGS ARE BECOMING DAMAGED AND VULNERABLE.

Age 27-35: CARCINOGENS BEGIN MUTATING OUR CELLS AS THE NEWLY DAMAGED CELLS DIVIDE AND MULTIPLY IRREGULARLY.

Age 36-50: Mutagens SWIM IN OUR BLOOD STREAMS, and begin their search for damaged tissue to which they can attach themselves. PRE-CANCEROUS SKIN SPOTS AND SMALL TUMORS DEVELOP, noticeably enough for good doctors to treat.

Age 51- 61: Major RESEARCH AND TREATMENT BEGIN HERE!! BILLIONS PER YEAR SPENT ON FINDING A CURE FOR THE AFTER-AFFECT OF CHEMICAL CONSUMPTION, including chemotherapy, freezing off skin, surgery to remove basil cell cancer spots, and sometimes removal of major organs, including colons. These people continue consuming chemicals! Cancer cells are more likely to be traveling in the blood at this point, searching for weakened tissue. Within two to three years you‟re dead. Just like that. No social security for you. No retired living, after all those years of work.

God's birthday gift

noreply@blogger.com (Maria Luisa Taa Venida) — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 01:29:00 +0000

I didn't want to have a party to celebrate a milestone birthday, all I've wished for was to appreciate God's creations and this time I've thought maybe that would be best done in Palawan. Since the start of the year, I've prepared myself to fulfill that birthday wish so I patiently looked and waited for the cheapest promo air fare that I would find.

The first place in Palawan that I've wished to see was of course the Underground River but my special child couldn't possibly go there so I forgot the whole idea and just decided to have a city tour, anyway, there could be rains or typhoon in August, I've thought. Learning about that, my daughter gave me a birthday gift in advance to possibly have a day tour in Dos Palmas and I and my companions were so happy we could at least go there.

A week before the flight to Palawan, I saw my Tiens network marketing upline at the office where we get our family's supplements, and she sat beside me, perhaps because I seldom see her these days. I was looking at the Medical Information Form of PAL for my special child so she learned that we will be going to Palawan the following week. She said her Goddaughter is a manager of Inland Tours in Palawan, called her up and let me talk to her.

After that day, I had several conversations on the phone with Jackie, the manager of Inland Tours who persistently encouraged me to see the Underground River until it was just a few days left before our flight. We discussed possible ways to bring my special child but not inside the cave like me on the first shift and my husband on the next shift inside the cave but I told her the tour to the Underground River would still be impossible since it was just a few days from our flight and I and my two adult companions didn't have permits yet. She said August is not a peak season so we could still get permits.

August 23 was already full, according to Jackie, so the day of our tour to the Underground River fell on my birthday, August 24. The weather was great in Palawan. I've wanted to appreciate nature on this day and God allowed me to see one of His most beautiful creations. It was so clear to me that this was His birthday gift to me. There is a cathedral inside the Underground River, and my wish to at least pass by a cathedral was also fulfilled.

The following day was the Dos Palmas Day Tour. It was a Sunday. I wasn't inside the church but I felt closer to God through the sound of the waves and the wind touching my face. The feeling was so calming and all I could say was "Thank You Lord!".