Marie

Dear Efren,

You don't know me.  But I would like to say Congratulations and Well Done!
Thank you for being a Christian inspiration and doing your service to fellowman
without fanfare or self-promotion.

Thank you for loving others as yourself and giving honor to the God that you serve.
Thank you that your faith in God has brought and continues to bring Hope and a POSITIVE CHANGE to the people around you.

In your words "You are the change that you dream,
                         As I am the change that I dream,
                         And collectively, we are the change that this world needs..."

I pray for God's wisdom and favor to continue to guide you
and may your example give birth
to many more Efren Penafloridas in our nation.

(another episode in the continuous saga of the "Anonymous Family".
again to protect the innocent and the guilty, no real names will be used.)

"TO THE END" : A Real Life "real Life" story


It is midnight, Tuesday.

ANONYWIFE collapses in bed after 1 conference, 2 countries and 4 plane rides.

She turns to ANONYHUSBAND:
"Boy, Am I TIRED!!! We still have that Real Life Run on Saturday.
Oh man! I haven't really prepared for this run."

ANONYHUBBY turns lovingly to wife and says these memorable words:
"Don't worry, I'll stay with you. I'll do whatever you want, honey.
If you run 15, I'll run 15K. If you run 10, I'll run 10.
If you run 5, I'll run 5. If you run 3, I'll run 3. I'll stay with you.

Oh what a gallant man, this ANONYHUBBY is!
Especially since I (oops)
I mean, ANONYWIFE knows he can run endlessly and tirelessly.
They decide to run 5k together.
How blessed is ANONYWIFE!!!

Saturday, 6 am. Real Life 5K is about to begin..
ANONYWIFE is at starting line together with Lynn Nawata and Therese G.
ANONYHUBBY appears.

ANONYHUBBY turns to wife and says loudly:
"Where were you? I was looking for you!"

ANONYWIFE (surprised): "Wow! You're really staying with me?!?"
ANONYWIFE's friends are impressed!!!
ANONYHUBBY declares out loud these memorable words :
"I WILL BE WITH YOU TO THE VERY END !!!!" TO THE VERY END!!!"
Wow! How blessed is ANONYMOUS wife!

So there they stand,the 4 of them. 3 female friends & 1 devoted hubby.
UNTIL...the gun goes off. And BAM!!! ANONYHUBBY is nowhere to be found.
All that's seen is a cloud of smoke.

I don't know what it is about men and the starting line gunshot.
There seems to be some Pavlovian instinct embedded in the brain of men that wires them to compete. One gushot and WHOOOF!!!! off they go like the proverbial rabbit chasing that elusive carrot.

So ANONYWIFE runs
and loving ANONYHUBBY is nowhere to be found
in the entire length of the 5k.

Finally, ANONYWIFE crawls into the FINISH LINE,
red face, muscles quivering,
sweaty and tired.
Lo and behold, guess who appears?
Ah yes, a familiar face...
it is loving ANONYHUBBY, freshly changed, smiling. Long done.

ANONYHUBBY (big smile): "Yay, you made it!"
ANONYWIFE: "And where were you?!?"
ANONYHUBBY (big, innocent grin on face): "I was running and finished early."

ANONYWIFE (one eyebrow up);
"And whatever happened to that famous line..."I'll BE WITH YOU...TO THE END' ?"

ANONYWIFE's FRIENDS: "Yeah, whatever happened to '...TO the end???'"
ANONYHUBBY is flustered. "Uh,Uh...did I say that???"
3 Females eye him: "Uhuh."

ANONYHUBBY replies; "Uh, Uh, I meant...AT the end. AT the end!
"I'll BE WITH YOU...AT THE END!!!"

Yeah right!!!
And that is why from the time of Adam,
women have had a hard time believing men.

And after 27 yrs of marriage, married couples still go to Couples Retreats.

Monday morning, I am going to have my very near-sighted eyes lasered.
Joey will be my Official Companion and Joshua will be the Companion of the Companion in case the Official Companion faints.

From what I gather, they put drops on your eyes to make your pupils dilate and encase each of your eyeballs in some round metal clamp to make them bulge out.

With a special opthalmic instrument, the  Lasik surgeon opens a circular flap on your cornea, zaps then closes it. The laser zapping smells like hair burning.
(Now my palms are cold.)

The result I'm expecting is beautiful, crystal vision for the first time in my life.
Ever ever.

 I will finally lay clear eyes on my handsome Hubby and Sons without contact lenses or glasses.  I wonder how they'll look.  Come to think of it, I wonder how I really look!

Imagine a very worn, plastic Ziploc Sandwich Bag and putting it on your head. That's how the world  has appeared to me from the time I wake up.
3 ft. from the mirror and I can't see my face.
 Now try putting on your make-up.

So as I say GOODBYE  to my Super Blurry 750/550 vision,
 I leave gratefully.

 Here are Some Things that
Living with my "Disadvantage” has taught me:

1) It Increased My Adversity Quotient:

I survived Grade School.  Especially Math and Flash Cards.
  I hated Flash Cards. Still do!

 28 x 6 = ___
 54 / 9 = ___

I got a lot of the answers wrong because I couldn't see the numbers.  Heck, I couldn't even see the teacher!  It didn't help that she was tiny either.

2)  It Made Me Creative:
Because I couldn't see the numbers, I'd try to imagine what those lines and squiggles could mean.  Was that a    3???  Or an  8????   
Maybe it’s really a  drawing of a snowman and this is a trick question?!?

I guess that's why I love art and suck at Math.  


3) It Increased My Sense of Humor:

Here I was, a Scrawny, Gawky Teenager on  vacation wearing my thick glasses.
Ditching the eyeglasses, I walk to a friend's place a couple of houses away.
Some tall person waves at me.  I try to ignore him.  Waving continues.

A thought dawns…”Ooo, could that be CUTE BROTHER of Friend???”
Putting on my best smile, I wave right back and walked to his direction.

 As I got nearer,  I realized "Cute Waving Brother of Friend" was actually a
FLOWER POT On top of Wall with Branches moving in the wind.
I was saying hello to a Bouganvilla.

4) It  Gave My Friends “A Cause”:

“Marie, what do you see in him ?!?”  My High School friends would ask perplexedly.
That’s the point.  I couldn’t see.   So selecting guys for their “cuteness” factor wasn’t on top of my list.  Old or young, Pogi or Pangit, I was nice to them equally.

Besides I wasn’t allowed to date yet and who can see a face on a phone call anyway?
As long as they were decent, great communicators with a lot of Grey Matter in their head..

One time, tall, dark and handsome model came along.  
He was so good-looking even I could see that.
My friends gave a thumbs up.  Finally, someone they approved of.
Alas, it was short-lived.  He was too busy being cute.

5) It Taught Me Miracles can Happen:

Despite my poor eyes, I love reading and I devour the written word.
I also made writing and editing my career for a time.  I love color , paint and art and fiddling with my Adobe Illustrator.

And I realized just how strong God is. 
You can experience Him despite your limitations.

And so on the eve of my Lasik Surgery, I thank God for big and small miracles. For old colored contact lenses and brand new eyes.
 I also thank Him for giving me  my Official Chaperone :
 Someone smart, great to converse with and good-looking, both inside and outside. The Total Package.

And tomorrow, I’ll get to really, really see him.  Finally.

Valentine Scene: FEB 14 around 11 pm:
To protect the guilty and the innocent we shall not mention names):

Anonymous Son comes to the bedroom of his Anonymous Parents just as they were falling asleep:

Anonymous Son:  "Mom, I think Anonymous Girl is mad at me."
Anonymous Mom: "Really?  How come?"
A.S.: "I guess it's because I didn't get her something for Valentine's."
A.M: "Why didn't you?"
A.S.: "Because I stuck to the agreement. 
          We said we weren't going to give each other anything
          so I stuck to the agreement."

Anonymous Mom sighs and looks  at Son :  "Even if she said that,
                               it would have been nice, if you surprised her even with a little card or something."

Anonymous Son looks confused.
 His Anonymous Dad looks just as confused.

Anonymous Dad pipes up.:  "How come...I didn't give you anything today...
                                                and you didn't mind? "

Anonymous Mom looks long  at clueless Anonymous Dad and says:
 "Humphhh!!!! "Like father, like son!"
Then turns to face the other side of the bed.

Annymous Son laughs, then leaves the room.

Next morning, Feb. 15,
Anonymous Dad, has to preach on Love at the 9 and 11 service.

Before dawn, while reviewing his notes and praying, he realizes the error of his ways.
Excitedly , he bounces back to the bedroom, jumps on the bed and wakes up his sleepy wife:

A.D. ;"Honey, honey....wake up!"
A.M : "(sleepily looks at clock.)  " It's 4:45 am. What is it?"
A.D.: (excitedly ) "Sweetie, I know I'm one day late, and I'm sorry . So let's START OVER!
Let's pretend it's still the 14th of February !!!
       
 So sweetie...



 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! "


(ha ha, he even gave the wrong greeting!!!)
yep, this is a true story and we did end up laughing.
such are relationships...
with all its blessings & bloopers.

and as our theme this week is "LOVE"
let this be a reminder to all spouses:

To all Hubbies, remember you just  have
"1 Wife to Give"...
not give away, but to give little expressions of your affection any time of the year;

and Wives, do be that "1 Wife to Give"...
the wife  that remembers the good:
that same hubby that can't fathom valentines is the same one
that made your birthday extra special;
the wife  that gives mercy and a little sense of humor when male pattern cluelessness sets in.

now that's not too hard, is it?

oh, by the way, I love you Anonymous Dad!

"When I grow up, I want to be  ...  Alive & Healthy."

As children and grownups, we all have our dreams of who we'll be SOMEDAY.
But for these  young people I've met, just staying alive is a goal in itself.

For several Sundays, I was  EXTREMELY FORTUNATE to assist this intrepid young bunch.
All are battling with cancer from a young age. They look just like you and me, perhaps a little thinner...or balder.

During these Art sesssions, they enjoy a riot of bright colors
as they happily and buslly paint away.

I'm so honored  Art Teacher Nick Calma asked me to  be his helper.
Free of charge, Teacher Nick  regularly meets with a group of children who have been diagnosed with some form of cancer.  Some are in remission.  Some are undergoing chemotherapy. Most if not all are financially strapped.  Once a week, he would provide them Free art lessons, complete with Free paints, brushes and materials.  Also Free merienda whenever possible.

Teacher Nick is no millionaire.  He still has his own family to look after.
His dream was to finish Fine Arts but didn't have the funds to finish College.
 Instead of wallowing in self-pity,  Nick spent his young years apprenticing with the late great painter Ibarra de La Rosa, being his "utusan" cleaning his paints, etc.  Little by little, he learned from the master and his own painting skills were honed.

Teacher Nick has his SOMEDAY Dreams for himself and his family.
But I am INSPIRED how he uses his TODAY for children who may have limited SOMEDAYS.
He is a Christian and shares the word of God as he teaches them painting.
Occasionally he mixes his healthy, paying young students with this special group so they all get a perspective of real life.

As an artist volunteer, I have met Justine, 10, who 's accompanied by his lola.
Kim who's 17. And Michelle and Kristel, 2 pretty sisters.
What is so exciting and encouraging is that they are hearing the word of God and seeing it in action in their Teacher Nick.  Some have been in remission for more than a year.

Teacher Nick has taught me to make TODAY count ,not just to build a SOMEDAY for myself.
But to sacrifice a little of my TODAY to make someone's SOMEDAY special as well.





("Jesus" is spelled
in this young artist's painting)

it's 2009 and I was praying and asking God for guidelines on how He wanted me to live my life this year.  Thought I'd share with you what I received:

BORDERLESS.

That word kept repeating in my head...
  To live without barriers  or  limitations. 

Sometimes, these borders are physical. 
But most often they are walls in our minds.  Our own thoughts  shut us in  and prevent us from being all that God made us to be.

Isaiah 54:2 - 4
"ENLARGE the place of your tent,
STRETCH your tent curtains WIDE,
Do not hold back;
LENGTHEN your cords,
STRENGTHEN your stakes.
For you will SPREAD OUT to the right and to the left
Your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.

DO NOT BE AFRAID, you will not suffer shame,
DO NOT FEAR DISGRACE, you will not be humiliated."

My Tips for 2009:

1. DEVELOP A BORDERLESS MIND.

It doesn't come naturally.  You must develop it.
Get your mind out of the box and stretch it beyond what you're used to.

How often do we think "That's not for me. I can't do that."
God can take you further, higher and deeper than you've ever gone before.

Some people look at their life or look at the news and they're miserable.
Don't worry if your glass is half-full.  It just means that there's more space for God to move!
And more room for you to grow!

2.EMBRACE BORDERLESS POSSIBILITIES.

Moses was an 80 year old has been when God gave him a new career.
He was in a self-imposed rut for 40 years prior to this.
 He thought he blew it.

And rightly so, not only did he waste his royal education, he killed someone, remember?
If God can give an ex-murderer like Moses a second chance at doing something not just decent but actually GREAT, not just a dole out but actually a PIVOTAL  NATIONAL role, how much more can He use any of us?

 BORDERLESS. 
BEYOND your Past.  BEYOND  your Mistakes.  Beyond your Regrets.
But never beyond the grace of God. 

God wants an encounter with us, but maybe we're running away from our Burning Bush.


3.BELIEVE IN A BORDERLESS GOD.

There is no expiration date on God's promises.
 Unless you're dead (then you wouldn't be reading this.)

There's no age requirement.  Only a faith requirement.  Do you really believe that an Absolute God has absolute Power and can move heaven and earth NOW for His promises for your life to be fulfilled? Just as he moved heaven and earth when He sent Jesus to save you?

God is not like my cell phone battery that runs out the longer I use it.
He is chargeless.  Changeless.  Enduring.
It is never too late to believe in Him.
 He can change the seasons of my life to follow His Timetable.
 And make my life more fruitful than before.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Help me be BORDERLESS in 2009.
May every word of my mouth,
may every thought of my heart
be pleasing to You.  In Jesus name. Amen.

I was fiddling around with my Multiply site
when ALL OF A SUDDEN
 ALL my blogs were
TRANSLATED into Tagalog!
 Even the replies!

It's sooo funny!!!  Check out what happened to this BLOG:
 click here pl and SCROLL DOWN. (THE REAL FUNNY ONE IS THE ONE WHERE I HAVE PICTURES OF FOOD) WITH LYNN & THERESE GUTTIEREZ.


It's worth the read if you want a good laugh ; >

November 22  SATURDAY :

Sunday November 16:


Here's how to run with One Million people and one million cars:

Pick a  Rihanna & Chris Brown Concert Nite to go running outdoors.

Great timing. (Goodbye oxygen!)





5 of us (Lynn, Therese, Carla, Mel & I) decided to go
for a Test Run at the actual Fort site.
Will we make it?  Will we survive?

 Aside from Therese, we had zero experience.


So many obstacles  due to the concert that night but it was great fun running together!

We psyched ourselves up by thinking of FOOD...when we passed an eatery...
 "PE-PE-RO-NI ! PIZ_ZA!  "ICE-CREAM!"
"Mc Do!" "Zhu!"


It worked!  Running Tip for Saturday:  Think  Food!
                                                                

SUCCESS!!! We Did It!

 We not only  survived but enjoyed ourselves!

 Here we are back at the Fort after our 5k  run/walk/crawl/hop. (more pics in Photos)

(Those are the Real Life
Tshirts on sale).

To rewards ourselves,
Therese and I had A Delicious Apres-Run Dinner at Lynn's place!

Here's our yummy menu:

Salad:    Baby bib Lettuce, Arugula & Yellow Peppers
 w/ Caramelized Balsamic-Olive Oil Dressing
 Savory Prawn Fettucine w/ Fresh Tomato, Cilantro Sauce   ( chili  and  lemon zest added) Drool worthy!

Dessert: Freshly Baked Mango Shortcake with Chilled Whipped Cream

Oooh scrumptious!
 For a lady with zero body fat, Lynn sure can cook!




My Latest Running Motto:
 Run for Fun & Run for Food!!! (& Lynn's cooking ; >)
 Thanks Lynn!



(Oh by the way: here's a cool runner's website to check out:
Jeff Galloway (click here).