With so much suffering around in the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy, those who were spared from what others are going through utter a sigh of relief and thanksgiving prayer.

How do we say “Thank You, Lord” during these times?

I find it ironic but sometimes I do this myself: compare what I am going through with others.

“Thank you, Lord for you have spared us from suffering whereas other people are going through very rough times.”

“Thank you, Lord for protecting my family from harm. I pray for those who are in danger, may Your loving Hands protect them and keep them from harm. May the rescuers find them and be able to help them.”

Is this how we should pray? How I should pray?

Not only prayers. Even with the small things that we are thankful for we tend to compare ourselves with others.

“Pasalamat ka nakakapasyal ka, yung ibang bata hindi nakakapunta sa mga ganitong lugar”

“Pasalamat tayo sa Diyos at mabuti nga may nakakakain tayo kahit yan lang, yung iba walang silang makain.”

Unfair.

We find comfort and thank God with our situation because others are suffering?

So, how should we thank God then in times like this?

Maybe just plain, “Thank you, Lord.”

Typhoon Ondoy or Tropical Ketsana battered this country yesterday.

Who would have thought massive flooding will happen in a span of a few hours. As of this writing, there are people still waiting to be rescued.

At first I was lightly joking about the rains. I even had second thoughts about canceling my students schedule. But towards noon when the rains did not stop, I got scared.

I saw people (informal settlers mostly) walking outside lugging big bags, basins, plastic cabinets even, I knew then that the river on the other street has risen. But I still was not convinced there was danger because so many storms has passed and we still felt safe for that river is wide and deep.

But when hubby went out and came back, he had bad news. The other corner (we are on the other corner of that block) has swirling water reaching knee-high. Cars have been swept away. An SUV was submerged. Water has reached critical level.

We started packing important papers, CDs and gadgets. We packed some clothes too. Hubby hoped to get out of the place should there be danger. But where do we go? We can’t be sure how the roads are when we go to their house, a mere 10 minutes away. We decided to stay put.

We managed to cook rice before the power was cut. Hubby bought canned food since we don’t stock on these (we rarely eat canned food except for tuna and sardines)

[Where the person was standing on? That was where the water reached around 8pm. Galvanized roofs, water containers, and gates can be seen floating with the water.]

The running water was very fast now and rising faster. One would think we hear heavy rains although there were NO rains falling on the roof. We hear running water. Soon, people put up ropes for those who want to get to the other side to hold on to to be able to cross the front of our house. We are situated between two streets where the water was flowing and rising fast.

Those waves rose even higher as the water continued to flow. Around 11pm, water has subsided and we were able to relax.

We still don’t have electricity when we left home. We are in hubby’s home for the son to use the nebulizer.

Thank God the rains stopped at night. I also thank God for giving me family and friends who prayed for our safety.

We are off to mass in a while, to thank God for keeping us safe. And to pray for those who are still going through a lot.

Last year we practiced frugal Christmas by doing handmade gift tags, baking home made goodies as gifts and using inexpensive gift wrappers. We did this to save on some expenses but at the same time not sacrificing value.

How did it we do it? By doing arts and crafts.

What did we do then? A lot.

Handmade tree decorations including paper stocking tree ornaments.

We gave away bargain books wrapped in Japanese paper with personalized gift tags attached. The gifts looked nice, if I may say so

In a few days time, we will be starting to do our arts and crafts again. This time, I hope to include personalized photo holiday cards to give away so we can visit the post office and mail these personally.

Email me your home addresses so we can send you one

Here is another entry for twisted, permit me to say that this is a bit mind-boggling for the uninitiated.

Twisted pasta hurriedly cooked with vegetables: eggplant, tomatoes, onion, garlic and bits of basil.

Not the usual recipe to prepare for children but my kids finished off the pasta on their plates. I guess it was good after all

I have two more twisted photo hunt entries here and here which were posted last year.

Have a great weekend y’all!

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“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.’ I disagree. Wholeheartedly.

There are hurtful words and there are hurtful words.

Even the Bible acknowledges the dangers an untamed tongue can cause.

James 3:8-10

^“8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

Hurtful words do not just come from the mouth of those who are supposed to be old and wise.

Hurtful words can also come from the mouth of the babes. And yes, we can’t even question why they know these words since we know they mostly hear these from older people around them.

Stupid. Fat. Tub o’ lard. Stinky. Nerd. Moon crater-face in need of salicylic acid. Retard. Worthless. Irresponsible. The face only his/her own mother can love. J3rk.

Perhaps every hurtful word feels like a knife being plunged deep in the heart of the person being told as such. And when the heart has hardened and became unfeeling, what then?

Yes, hurtful words can leave lifetime scars.

Upside-down. Can you spot the upside-down Minnie Mouse and SpongeBob Squarepants character balloons?

When my eldest daughter was a young child, I remember that she loves having these balloons especially Disney characters especially Minnie Mouse.

Whenever we go to a mall, we always go home with one character balloon for her.

Now she is in her early teen years, she doesn’t like character balloons that much anymore. We talk about her school, friends, music, family matters and even acne treatment!

Goes to show she is growing up fast and to tell the truth, this is scary for me.

September 19 is WordCamp Philippines 2009 so I will probably do my rounds after the event. Happy weekend!

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