oo mababaw lang kaligayahan ko! =)

We work hard to achieve earthly riches. I was recently told that there was a man who held 2 full-time jobs for about 20 years hoping to retire before he was 50. He had bought land and owned a farm and still kept his two jobs. Recently, he was rushed to the hospital, both his kidneys had failed and needs regular dialysis treatment in order to stay alive. Who knows if he will be healthy enough to enjoy all the riches he amassed? It makes you stop and think, was it worth it?
Solomon says no. the wisdom that the Lord had given him did not completely disappear while he lived his life away from the counsel of the Lord. he lived his life the way he wanted to, he was the richest and most popular king of his time. kings from distant lands paid homage to him and gave him gifts. he had many, many, many wives...many of whom served and worshiped pagan gods. he did everything he wanted and got everything he wanted. yet when he reexamined his life, and all that he worked hard to achieve, he realized that it was meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
the Lord Jesus Christ sums everything up in Matthew 16:26 "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can man give in exchange for his soul?" what are the true benefits of gaining wealth, of having everything we want? while the Lord wants us to prosper here on earth, that does not mean we have to sacrifice the things that really matter. when the Lord blesses, He adds no sorrow with it. we obey Him, we follow Him, we develop that personal relationship with Him. we call Him our personal Lord and Savior...not just the One who died for all, but the God who in His infinite love, lowered Himself and allowed Himself to go through the pain and death that you and i deserved...He thought about each and everyone of us when He died on that cross. when we make Him Lord of our lives, He becomes our true friend...our only source and resource...we seek first His kingdom, we delight ourselves in Him and then He gives us the desires of our heart. He blesses us because we are faithful and we are obedient.
what is it that a man wants? man seems insatiable in his appetite for wealth and power. howard hughes and the other man i wrote about earlier gained the wealth they sought at the price of their sanity and health. they overlooked their relationship with family and friends, they didn't take care of their health, and more importantly, they neglected the relationship they should have developed with the Lord. solomon turned his life around...in the end of Ecclesiastes he wrote "now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. for God will bring every deed into judgement, including everything hidden thing, whether it is good or evil" Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. in the end he acknowledged that it is the life with the Lord that is important - it is the whole duty of man, and all our actions are subject to God's judgement.
the Lord should never be 2nd best. He is to take priority in our lives...otherwise, life would be truly meaningless.
ramvik side table in black-brown
jall laundry bag (a.k.a. hamper)
lillholmen toohtbrush holder and soap pump
antonius basket insert
jarpen shelf in beech veneer (color matches our bed)
fagelbo corner sofa-bed with storage, right
karby rug
aaaaarrrrrrrrrrhhhhh! we saw pirates of the caribbean on sunday. the first one was still better and this second movie was 'masyadong bitin' because it was preparing the way for the third installment of the movie. it was long, over 2 hours. the special effects were great but it lacked the excitement that the first movie was so full of. but still, the movie did extremely well in the box office. it had its funny moments and johnny depp's acting as captain jack sparrow is always entertaining. keira knightley is waaaaaay too skinny, a sight i'm trying to avoid these days. orlando bloom is still his charming, pretty boy, self...in a rugged, parang-hindi-naliligo kind of way! hahaha! nobody in the movie looked like they were fond of taking a shower anyway. =)
conflict, i get anxious because it involves God's chosen people and it makes me wonder about the greater spiritual significance of everything that's happening. the united states is being very cautious in its stand because from what i read, it was israel who shot the first rocket and since israel is a very close ally of the u.s., president bush is watching his words and being careful about the things he says regarding the matter. had it been lebanon to have fired first, i believe that u.s. forces will be all over the area within half an hour of the first strike. let's wait and see and keep the region in our prayers.

first, north korea and kim jong il. north korea has tested 7 missiles over the last two days in a blatant display of aggression. it is said that the missiles are capable of reaching the western united states but according to the news, the missiles have failed and blew up shortly after the launch. this is something the global community should be concerned about. north korea has the 4th largest army in the world and obviously has nuclear capabilities. north korea is no iraq or afghanistan...the armies are trained well and trained to kill. who knows what kim jong il will be up to next.
attack. when i first saw it in the news this morning, i thought to myself, 'oh! he decided to take the easy way out!' the love of money is the root of all evil and because of his greed, he scammed and took millions of dollars away from hard-working americans. i'm only speculating that he commited suicide after being found guilty of fraud last month. in my head im thinking the humiliation was too much for him to bear. his sentencing was supposed to be later this year but because of his untimely death, his victims will not see him go to prison.
The month of April was like a blink of an eye. Now, we are in my birth month, this was supposed to be a big deal for me. I am turning 40 i...