MEDICINAL POWER OF LAUGHTER

Smile, laugh, be cheerful is a no-money paid prescription of doctors. It is said; "that if people only knew the medicinal power of laughter, of good cheer, of constant expression of joy and gladness, half of the doctors the world over would be out of work."

But many contend that life now is so serious that many people would seem to lose the power to laugh but grumbling gloom and depression take much out of life and deny the fallen victims to get a glimpse of joyful living.

Too many of us dry up because of lack of cheerful habit. Being cheerful will flood our heart with gladness that would contribute to our physical, emotional and mental well-being.

It is said that "laughter is one of nature's greatest tonics." People who keep themselves in joyful laughter are said to be likely to live longer than those who take life to seriously. Remember cheerfulness costs nothing.

BE CHEERFUL AND LIVE LONG!!!

WHAT DO YOU TREASURE MOST?

Everyone has its own most-cherished possessions. Beauty, honor, wealth, power and talent are some of the most sought-after treasures of man.

But life as humans is full of mystery. We witness people known for their beauty, wealth, power and talent to be living in misery because of sickness and lack of wellness in body, heart, mind and spirit.

We live in an era when more are being said and written about health and nutrition. Medical advances are God-given blessings to us that we should be grateful about.

The adequate rest, proper nutrition and nourishment, emotional contentment and cheerful outlook on life have therapeutic value that provide wellness to everyone.

The Bible is rich in verses that promote good health and its abounding grace and blessing to everyone who seeks physical, emotional and mental well-being. Let us not doubt God's all-sufficient enablement. He will carry us though life's darkest hour of misfortune and sorrow.

Proverbs 17:22 ably proclaims that "a merry heart does good, like medicine." So cheerfulness in mind, heart and spirit is a known panacea to illness.

SO BE HAPPY - IT'S GOOD MEDICINE!!!

MONEY MATTERS

The pursuit of material possession and worldly comforts continue to be the most powerful motivations of man.

Ask anyone what he continuously pursues in life, and almost always the answer is ------- money. Yes, money has so many definitions depending upon how a person views it. For general consumers of economic goods and services, money is "medium of exchange." You can exchange money with anything that will satisfy human wants. But for those who are already mature in spiritual life, they define money to be a "passport to everything on earth except fare tickets going to heaven."

Money is not an evil parse. It is the love for money that leads to many temptations. We know of men and women known for great riches but whose life has been thrown to despondency, died sad and frustrated because of wrong obsession for money.

Yes, life must always be more than just an inventory of things we own. Trusting money instead of God makes us victims that highlights money's common snare to endless temptations. Let us not be dominated by worry over material things but be ruled by God's spiritual riches to enable us to experience that rare contentment and peace money can't buy.

A writer aptly describes contentment this way "the contented is never poor; the discontented is never rich." So we are rich when we are satisfied with what we have.

PEACE BE WITH YOU!!!

NATURE'S WONDERS

God gave us an incredible gift ------- the beautiful world in which we live. Yes, looking around and appreciating what God has given us prove one's more how much He loves us.

But God wants us to be steward of all his wealth and blessing. Although we are given the right to use the resources He placed in and on earth, we need to recognize our responsibility to respect His creation and preserve them.

As recipients of all these wonderful creation, preserving them and being loving stewards are our ways of honoring and thanking God.

God created a world and placed it in our care. We can work together to do our tasks ----- planting, tending, simplifying, repairing instead of replacing, reusing, and recycling are all good steward practices.

God in His loving kindness created nature with its wellness and beauty for all of us. We owe Him our loving thanks and praises.

THANK YOU LORD!!!

MARKS OF A MILLIONAIRE

Life's journey to be a millionaire is like a busy highway where each traveler has his own way of beating the odds to be able to arrive at his desired destination. For a few, becoming a millionaire is like taking instant food formula like coffee and other food products. Examples are winning in lotto and other games of chance.

For still lucky one's, they become millionaire by inheritance. For them the trip to their dream voyage of owning millions and living a life of luxury is a paved road where no sweat and dust marred their physical body, heart and mind. How lucky they are!

But there were those whose journey to life of riches and power takes the route characterized by exposing their life to hazardous and perilous situations that might even cause the loss of their life. They become millionaire by employing dirty tactics like robbery, bribery and other evil schemes that happen in most governments and private life whenever and wherever the urge to get rich overshadows the long and tedious life of goodness and godliness that God sanctions.

However, there is one sure mark to becoming a millionaire. Industry, frugality and economy are the three surefire ingredients to becoming a man of affluence and power.

But this way to becoming wealthy is not offered in a silver platter. It is a product of enriching and developing oneself in terms of virtues that propel him to dream and make that dream come true. Developing personal habit of thrift, spending time wisely and love of work when mixed together will surely produce a life of wealth and prosperity.

HAPPY TRIP!!!

WHAT STUFF ARE YOU MADE OF?

Ask anyone what greatly differentiates one person from another and almost always he would answer ------ it is character.

Yes, character is what makes a person unique and marks his difference from the rest.

What is character by the way? According to J. Hawes "character is power; is influence; it makes friends; creates funds; draws patronage and support; it opens a sure way to wealth, honor and happiness." Yes, character is what makes a man either noble or destitute in the aspect of human standards.

Very often, we likened character to reputation, but it is not. Character is that endearing qualities that attract people toward him. Character is what a man is while reputation is what he thought and what others thought him to be. Character resides within and the product of his inner thoughts as expressed in his words and actions.

But character could be either good or bad. As Christians, we must aspire for a well-rounded wholeness of character that God and goodness approve. In life's battle for daily existence where trials often wreck and crumble man in thoughts, heart and spirit, good character is our strong and sure stuff of support when everything else fails.

In the field of business, the character of the people behind it plays a very important role in its success or failure. The same is true in every field of human endeavor and as W.M. Evarts aptly said, "as there is nothing in the world as great as man, there is nothing truly great in man but character."

In prayer, let us seek God's divine grace to strengthen, enlighten and assists us in our daily walk in life to be able to develop in us a godly and noble character that is pleasing to Him and our fellowmen.

THIS WE PRAY!!!

THE ESSENCE OF LOVE

Love is the most spoken word in any language, the most written subject of literary works and the most sought after emotion of man. Why is this so? Maybe because love is a need, an urgent requirement for man's happy and wellness existence.

Love has many kind and intensity of feelings. Love in one form or another can aptly give a vivid description of who a man is and what the future has in store for him. Love of power, money, fame, knowledge, self and anyone or anything that human mind and heart crave for either propel anyone to give his best or to catapult himself to the lowest level of his station in life.

The Bible says: "He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love." Love is the best weapon to conquer the savage of man when everything failed. Yes, it is said that neither a man nor a woman is complete until its has known or experience love. Love between a man or a woman in any circumstances is so powerful that it defies indescribable barriers and dwarfs the desire for fame, fortune and endless promise of good life. Yes love is said to be a great healer of all life's ills ------- the great strengthenier and beautifier. Ah! How kind and loving God is in giving us this feeling of love.

I Love You!!!

TAMING THE TONGUE

An easy and effective oral expression of ideas is one manifestation of a pleasing and effective personality. Each of us has our own way of expressing ourselves: either right or wrong. Writing, speaking, gesture and many other means of imparting messages are the media but the most widely use is oral communication.

To be able to speak effectively and flawlessly, one must be equipped with the idea or thought to be convey. Anyone who wishes to convey his idea in whatever medium he thinks appropriate must endeavor to express them clearly and effectively. We are duty-bound to express our ideas in a clear, correct, concise and effective manner. But the process does not end here in the use of our tongue.

The Holy Scriptures is replete with God's command on how we can tame our tongue. In James 3:4-6, the tongue is likened to a fire that can set a forest a blaze or to a very small rather that can turn a mighty ship upside down.

God in His all-seeing, all-knowing, all-caring and all-loving goodness warns us about the need to guard our speech. Proverbs 21:23 candidly proclaims: who ever guards his mouth and tongue keep his soul from trouble. With this God-sent message, let it be our earnest prayer to seek His guidance to tame our tongue and control our spirit.

What's in your mouth!!!

POSITIVE OUTLOOK

Much have been said and written about global economic crisis that the whole world is experiencing today. Prediction after prediction, effect after effect and one thousand and one way to deal with grace endless channels of communication until what are said and written leave everyone in a quandary as to how we can as a nation withstand its reeling effects in our economy.

But looking around and scanning our business horizon, amazingly, we might be awe-struck by what we find happening in our business environment. A growing number of new businesses are being put up as evidenced by a growing number of SEC, BIR and local government units registrants that line-up up enable their business pursuits secure legal existence.

Yes, our home-breed Filipino businessman and entrepreneurs are undaunted and arm with innate resourcefulness, hardworking, faith in God, they brace themselves to successfully weather the economic crisis. And with that strong determination, they cannot fail.

Good Luck!!!

POSITIVE CHANGES

In Life, only one thing is constant, and that is C H A N G E.

Yes, we must change and it must be for the better. It is never too late to change. Change takes place in us from pre-natal conception until death. To stop changing is to invite stagnation and when life stagnates. . . death is not distant.

Look around and the evidence of change is always present. Each day, every thing around us changes. Plants and trees grow. Even lifeless things are not exempted from changing. They grow old and deteriorate.

As changes in our whole being continue, there is one kind of change that must be the main focus of our daily existence. . . A change in attitude.

If we refuse to change, we're in trouble. A mind set to innovative, creative and positive changes in our whole being will be open to God's inflow of love, wellness and wholeness in us. As we change in our attitudes and outlook in life, God will be able to release. His never-ending promises of peace and joy in our life.

God has divine purposes in creating us, and we're got to believe Him. A change in attitude will spell so much positive results in our way of seeing and feeling what God has in store for us.

I remember what our college professor told us in our Taxation class "Only two (2) things are inevitable in our life in this modern world. . . death and taxation. "Yes we will all die and in life and death, we pay taxes. Knowing & believing in the existence of change. . . . I add another thing to life's inevitables: C H A N G E.

I like to compare our life to a ship being tossed in the sea of life where storms and big waves are our daily comparisons. Our attitude towards life's adversities will serve as the rudder of the ship that will steer our life to our desired destination. The choice is ours.

V O N V O Y A G E !!!!!
Happy Attitude Change

AGEING CREATIVELY

A person with a mind set that accepts being old means the end of everything that makes life joyful, useful and purposeful will surely make his life monotonous, gloomy, and unhappy. With this outlook in life, he will lose excitements, expectations, and everything will be a part of life routine that will eventually hasten aging and shorten his life span. How sad.

But it should not be the case. Instead, we must stay open to new and varied interest to prepare ourselves to lasting enjoyment in our twilight years. Let us not stop learning something new or continue doing what we love doing before but because of busyness and/or raising our family, we were not able to do so. Now is the time for us to continue doing them. There are vast arrays of physical activities that we can engage in like gardening, cooking, crocheting, cross-stitching and many others. These activities might even give us not only personal satisfaction but business opportunities to make it big our seed ideas into some profitable business undertaking.

At the same time, let us not forget to cultivate our mind and feed it with inexhaustible riches through reading and other mental exercises to keep our brain functioning. Reading is one past time that will open and enlighten us to a vast array of ideas. Our mind must always be feed with good thoughts lest it stagnates.

I hope you will agree, that as we grow older, our whole being seems to focus on spiritual matters. These change is very fruitful and beneficial to us. Daily bible reading, joining Parish-based religious activities, reading inspirational books are only a few in the long list of worthwhile activities that will help nourish our spirit.

Yes, growing old creatively must be our goal and it is possible if we integrate our body, mind and spirit into that purposeful longing to serve God, our love ones and fellow men. At the same time, we will experience that wellness, gladness and savor the beauty and crowning glory of our twilight year of life.

WELCOME SUNSET!!!

AGEING GRACEFULLY

Growing old is the most dreaded phase in one's life. It is a product of time and it affects our whole being. Billions of dollars were spent and still to be spent to stop aging and if it cannot be stopped....just to prolong the time of its coming. Yes, aging is regarded as a great catastrophe that everyone wishes to avoid.

But since aging is inevitable, sanity dictates to us to accept its coming but do something to enable us to cope with the process.

Symptoms of growing old vary from one person to another. Graying, thinning and falling hair, tooth loss, wrinkles, and sagging breast are just some of the most popular and evident signs in the long list of changes that take place as we age.

Billeting ourselves and saying "I'm old, I'm nothing" must not be our acceptance speech. Instead, let us welcome aging with joy and peace in knowing that God is so good to us by giving us long life that many were not blest.

Yes, growing old covers our whole being: body, mind, heart and spirit. We undergo changes and go through the turmoil of either peaceful or bitter acceptance. The choice is ours.

In our choice, part of it is our fears and anxiety, but if we hold on to God's promises embodied in the Holy Scriptures, we can rely with utmost confidence that God will enable us to pass through towards that twilight years of our lives and beyond the sunset, we can enjoy eternal peace and joy.

HAPPY TRIP!!!

UNBREAKABLE SPIRIT

No one is free from life's adversities. Even the most favored saint succumbed to the most horrible testing of faith and love for God. It seems that in allowing difficulties to happen in our life. God in His all-seeing, all-knowing and all-loving presence has all the reasons to let us experience hardships and trials because He has always that divine purposes for our life.

Charles Stanley in his book "Into His Presence" mentioned five (5) reasons why difficulties in our life happen for the good of us:

1. Spiritual Cleansing - Pain and suffering are the after-math of sin. When we seek forgiveness, because we sin, our fellowship with God is restored and we find peace.
2. Companionship - When we sin, we block the flow of God's love in us. Therefore, when we experience pain and suffering, we once more seek companionship with Him and once restored, we find peace and joy.
3. Conformity - When we experience pain and suffering, we go to God in prayer that draws us closer to Him and find ourselves in close relationship to Him. What a feeling of joy and peace.
4. Conviction - After all the pain and suffering, we come to fully realize that only God could give us that wellness of mind and spirit brought about by being in harmony with His divine purpose.
5. Comfort - Once pain and suffering where gone, we come to know that only God is the only source of comfort that brings inner peace.

With this knowledge of God's divine purposes, let us maintain that unbreakable spirit that defies storm of life to enable us to bear human adversity knowing that after those pain and sufferings, we will be more closer to Him, and closer to Him, we will be reaping internal joy and peace.

COME TO ME!!!

THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTMAS

The cool breeze of December, the multi-colored lanterns and the singing of Christmas carols are only a few in the short list of things that remind us of Christmas.

Yes, it is Christmas again in homes, schools and everywhere and the Christ who was born on the once more the hearts of men.

What really is the real meaning of Christmas? For some, Christmas is the season for sharing and forgiveness and love. It's the day when you feel you are rich because you are sharing whatever you have in terms of gifts and other material blessings. Broken relationship are often mended and reunited during this season because people feel Christmas is a day of love and forgiveness.

But there are those who regard Christmas as a season when they can display what they have in terms of material wealth. During this season, these people put on display what they have in terms of material wealth and richness that showcase their material and financial affluence. Worst still is their contention that this gesture is their own way of sharing to the people and under privileged the spirit of Christmas.

Yes, the meaning of Christmas varies in countless ways depending upon one's personal feelings and prerogatives. But whatever it may be let us always be reminded that Christ, the son of God and our Savior, was born on this day bringing to us the good tidings that spells the real essence of Christmas..... LOVE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!