Talking and Listening

This story from Kyregma just touched me. This is regarding talking and listening. This always happens in our daily life. We utter thousands of words everyday. Everyday we talk and talk, but my question is??Are we also listening???

I might not be a good listener but I tried my best to listen to somebody who is talking to me, especially if that somebody have some good thoughts, ideas, opinions or informations which I can be used. I admit, I also I argue especially if the things or matter which I believed and knew is true and reliable and worthy of arguing.

I can respect other persons' opinions, ideas or beliefs even if it doesn't confirm with what is right and correct. Besides that's how he/she believed in it. Honestly speaking, the only thing I don't like is when you are sharing or giving the right opinion or advise to a person esp. based on your experience and still that person argued and even don't believe on you. It's really quite frustrating especially if you hear the same story again and the person seems don't want to listen.

Some people can be good talkers but not good listeners. Some can be good listeners but not good talkers. Some can be both. Which one you belong too???

Here is the story below, hope we can get some lessons from it. I already have some. How about you???


IN PROPORTioN

He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you...” – Mark 4:24

I have a friend named Danny. When he talks, people listen. Once he steps up to the podium, people are suddenly silent. He has this presence and personality that makes you want to hear what he’s going to say. He’s also very humble, and I believe He’s truly anointed. He’s a fantastic leader. I believed these were the reasons why people responded to him. But his theory was much simpler.

I told him once, “Bro, when you talk, people listen.” He answered, “I believe it’s because I also listen when people talk. It comes back to you.”

Basic principle. What you give, you receive in the same measure. What I realized then and there was that, too often, I myself do not give my full attention when someone is speaking. I was convicted, especially after recalling all the times when I felt people didn’t listen to me. And that’s happened a lot.

It’s the same with time and effort. What we put into our relationships is what we will receive. I’ve failed occasionally in this area as well. But I know that there’s always hope for improvement.

My resolution? Give more.

sharing by: George Gabriel

REFLECTION:
Are you getting little? How much do you give?

Lord, You gave all of Yourself. Help me to be more generous.

St. John BosCo – Model of a Christian Educator

Every January 31, the Church honors St. John Bosco, the founder of the Salesians, whose good work we also appreciate very much here in our country. His father died when John was only two years old. Because of financial difficulties it was not easy for his mother to bring him up and give him an education that would guarantee a successful future. But she was a pious woman and gave him a good humanistic and Christian education. What mothers can do – even in times of poverty.

John was ordained a priest at the age of 31 years old. Because of his difficult youth, he focused on the education of young men in a time when industrialization caused many problems especially for young people. As a skilled educator, Don Bosco formulated a system of education which today is still very helpful for our younger generation. For his motto was “Reason, Religion, Kindness.” He summarized his program for the youth with a brief sentence: “The young should know that they are loved.”

Unfortunately, many parents and educators today are not always present and so lessen their impact on the young. Don Bosco once told his boys: “Remember, whatever I am, I am all for you, day and night, morning and evening, at every moment.” He advised educators to love the young as they would love their own sons. One of his students became a saint, St. Dominic Savio, who once told a companion, “Here we make holiness consist in being very happy and in performing our duties as perfectly as possible.”

Don Bosco founded the Society of St. Francis de Sales. He sent out missionaries, especially to Latin America. He was known for his humor and inner joy.

We thank God for such a great saint, educator and model for all educators and especially for parents. Fr. Rudy Horst

Reflection Question:
What can I do to spread the ideas of Don Bosco among my relatives and friends?

Lord, today I pray for our educators, especially for all parents. May they realize their great responsibility and privilege to form their children for a better future. May they do it with love and kindness, as St. John Bosco did so well.

Friendly site award from Lily

Thanks a lot Lily for passing me this friendly site award...I'm tagging Carlota, Joy, Lyn, Lolli, all bisdak family and all friends blogger you can grab this but pls don't forget to add my URL...

To all my friends blogger, I might visit you one by one next time if given the chance...sorry my linker is temporary out as of this moment..will try to find another linker so that I can link you up..


I want to say thank you to all my friends online for keeping me company in this blogging world. All the time, your tags and comments are very much appreciated. I will do my bloghopping later when I get a chance. take care everyone and enjoy the beautiful weekend.
God bless us all!!!

To All my Friends!!!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my friends out there. I might not visit you one by one but if given the chance to do so, it would then be a great pleasure for me. Again thank you very much especially for the special friendship we have.. Those are really very great treasure that I can keep and can never be stolen.

I also would like to especially thank a new friend named Carlota whom I met here in the web. Although we still don't see each other in person, but I believed she is a very unique and great person. Thanks a lot for the teachings. I really appreciated everything from the bottom of my heart.

TO ALL MY FRIENDS...MORE POWER TO ALL OF US...GOD BLESS US ALL IN THIS YEAR 2008 AND ALL YEARS TO COME...I wish you all a great Sunday!!!

Why Teenagers, Like, Like 'Like'

"So we were all, like, hanging out. And then this guy comes over and starts, like, hassling us. Then he's all like, 'Get outta here!' And we were all, like, 'This is public property.'"

People write me all the time to complain about teenagers' talking like this. "Why does every other word have to be 'like'?" they ask. "It's a filler," they write, "a verbal tic like 'um' and 'you know.' It's monotonous and mindless."

Monotonous it may be, but it's hardly mindless. In fact, teenagers use "like" to impart subtle nuances and convey the emotional essence of events.

As linguist Geoffrey Nunberg points out in his fascinating book "Going Nucular" (PublicAffairs, $18.95), peppering sentences with "like" emerged in the slang of jazz musicians and beatniks during the 1950s. The word "like," he writes, "didn't actually mean anything so much as it evoked, the way a jazz riff does."

Because "like" implies comparison, it distances speakers from their words, reflecting casualness and even a mistrust of words' ability to fully convey an event or idea. Phrases such as "we were all, like, hanging out" and "starts, like, hassling us" suggest that "hanging out" and "hassling us" don't fully capture the events described, but provide the general idea.

Similarly, Nunberg observes, "like" can be used to finesse a request ("Could I, like, stay at your place?"); express disbelief ("So you're, like, firing me?"); and soft-pedal a suggestion ("We should consider, like, moving.")

----

During the 1980s, teenagers started using "like" in a new way: to introduce quotations, as an apparent synonym for "said," as in, "We were all, like, 'This is public property.''

But here's the catch: "Like" doesn't really mean "said."

For when teenagers say, "He was all, like, 'Get outta' here!'" they don't necessarily mean those were the speaker's exact words. They mean that what follows is an approximation of the tone of what he said. In fact, he may not have said anything but simply grunted and chased them away.

In this context, "like" is being used to introduce a brief imitation of the person's behavior. That's why the words following "like" are often accompanied by a physical gesture such as waving arms or a clenched fist.

But will all these fancy explanations stop adults from waving their arms and clenching their fists when they hear teenagers sprinkle their sentences with "like"?

I wouldn't, like, count on it.

========

this words are from Rob Kyff....

A Friendly Tag

I got this tag from my blogger friend Gen, thank you for forwarding this to me, it is such a pleasure receiving this tag, it is very cute! Now, I am tagging Lolli, Carlota, Lily, Joy and all bloggers friends out there and pls. do not forget my URL also when you pass this tag. Thank you guys!



A real friends must be cherished beyond all worldly measures and shine brighter than gold and last longer than diamonds.

All of Us Are in Debt

I want to thank all the emails I received everyday especially those that are very informative and useful in my daily living. Below is one example of it. Hope you guys will also get a lesson from it. Enjoy reading to this beautiful essay.

All of Us Are in Debt

Albert Einstein said, "A hundred times every day, I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received." As you think about what Einstein said, you will come to realize the completely unselfish wisdom of those words. First, we're indebted to our parents because they were responsible for bringing us into the world. Next, we are indebted to the doctors, nurses, aides, orderlies and other hospital personnel for the part they played in making our arrivals safe and healthy ones.

We're indebted to the educational structure where we learned reading, writing and arithmetic, which are critical to our lives. It's sobering to realize that yes, somebody did have to teach Albert Einstein that two plus two equals four.

We are in debt to all the pastors, priests and rabbis who taught us the essence of life by instructing us in those character qualities that are important to us, regardless of our chosen fields of endeavor -- athletics, medicine, education, business or government.

We certainly owe a debt to those people whose messages have been encouraging and positive, as well as informative and instructional. We are deeply in debt to those public servants who committed their lives to service through appointed or elected offices in this great land of ours. That includes the postal worker who brings the mail, the pressmen and reporters who are responsible for putting these words in print and the workers who build the highways upon which we move from one location to another.

The list is endless -- which brings us back to Einstein and his quote. We do have a heavy debt, and one way to repay that debt is to regularly express thanks and gratitude to the men and women who make our lives worth living. Think about it. Thank a lot of people.

Discipline to Children Starts at Home

Good Morning Everyone!!! I just read this in my email from Mountain Wings. I wanted to share it with you. Perhaps you can help by praying especially to those children who are really stubborn and mind you at the very early stage of life, at the age of three. Sounds really not good.

Children's discipline always starts at home. Parents always have the responsibility to discipline their children. In my own opinion, I believed that children must be discipline at the early stage of life specifically when they start talking. Whether the parents are professional or not, I believed that proper manners, values and discipline must be thought to them.

I am still not a Mother and if ever it is God's will for me to have children I will try my best to give them proper discipline. I know it is not easy to discipline children. I came from a very big family of twelve siblings. I am just very thankful that even my parents don't have time to each one of us, we are still given some discipline which until now is being inculcated in our lives.

I am very thankful to my parents for everything they had thought me before. The values and the teachings that they inculcated in my life are very great treasures which I will carry with me till the end of my time and will be passed on to my future children.

To those parents who have children like this, I am praying for you. I believed it is still not to late to give them proper manners and values at the very early age. Don't wait to give them discipline later. It might be too late.

Remember you can form a branch in a tree while it is still young but when it is old, it is already very difficult to form it the way you wanted it. Parents also have to remember that you are the children's first teachers at home. Whatever examples and actions you show to your children will reflect on you.

Here is the story and the prayer request!! Please help by praying!!! Wish everyone a very Wonderful day!!! Got to go now to run some important errands...


Stubborn
=========

He is stubborn.

He uses abusive words in both private times and in public.
Please pray for him to become a good and kind human being.
Plus, he is a fussy eater.

The above is an excerpt from a prayer request.
The characteristics described are not unusual for a prayer
request. What was unusual was the age of the male who was the
subject of the prayer request.

He was three.

We can relate to the mother from the U.A.E. (United Arab Emirates)

We have a son who is two and a half and when George doesn't get
his way, he sounds just like her son.

Pray for us and anyone else who has a child with the same
characteristics.

Also, there are quite a few adults with identical characteristics.
Pray for those who have to deal with them and pray for us for
the times when we are them.

~A MountainWings Original~

Dust If You Must

How many countless hours have I spent cleaning? I used to spend at least 8 to 12 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect, "in case someone came over." Then one day I realized that no one came over; they were all out living life, having fun!

Now, when people visit, I find no need to explain the"condition" of my home; they are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and enjoying it!

If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice:Life is short - enjoy it while you can!And people don't care if your house is spotless just as long as they're welcome.

Dust if you must but wouldn't it be better,To paint a picture or write a letter,Bake a cake or plant a seed, Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must but there's not much time,With rivers to swim and mountains to climb,Music to hear and books to read,Friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must but the world's out there With the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair,A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must but bear in mind, Old age will come and it's not kind.And when you go and go you must,You, yourself, will make more dust.

Remember, a house becomes a home when you can write "I love you"on the furniture!

~Author Unknown~ from Mountain Wings

It's Not a Joke

NO JOKE

It is unfortunate that some people take this day as a big joke. On this day, they pull on a trick on some unsuspecting people. They exploit other people's innocence.

Today is not a big joke. It is no joke for parents to lose their children. It is not joke for children to be killed. It is no joke for Mary and Joseph to flee in the middle of the night to save their newborn Son from the sword of Herod. Please do not spend this day making practical jokes on anyone. The day today is written in red, written in blood; it is not a joke-day today.

The Holy Innocents who were massacred thousands of years ago by a mad king continue crying today. They are the aborted infants, the abandoned babies, the children caught in crossfires, the boys and girls who are exploited in many horrific ways. Their cries pierce our hearts. We cannot but be disturbed so as to act on their behalf.

Today's feast is not a day for making practical jokes on each other, as many people think it is. It is a day to stand with those caught in the crossfire between good and evil. Not again should we allow them to suffer. Never again should we remain indifferent to their plight. To save them is to save Jesus. Fr. Bobby T.

REFLECTION QUESTION: The cries of the Holy Innocents can still be heard today.

Forgive me, Jesus, for my indifference to the cries of the innocent. Forgive me, Jesus, for not saving You in the person of the dying children. Show me how I can help them and help me to defend and protect them. Amen.

St. Anthony, hermit, pray for us.

adapted from Kyregma

Bisdak Friends - Blogsites

Special thanks to Carlota for engineering and repairing my blog. Below are the blogsites of some Bisdak Member Family engineered by Carlota. A happy and prosperous New Year to everyone!!

Vickie-BonBon - MahalKaayo
Lily - An Angel’s Journey
Lily - Bavarian-Angel
Glorie - Glorie’s Solitude
Angel - Carlson Clan and Adventure
Frenchie-Amy - Moi et mon univers!
Ruby - Simply the best
Norm - Yesterday Today and Tomorrow
Malou - My Haven’s Corner
Ylan - Ylan’s Refuge
Ivy - La vida es hermosa
Anna - Anna’s Daily Journal
Monica - Blog Princess
JoyDob - Everyday Life

Crisly & Maviev

Bonding with Friends

I'm just happy today having bonding with my close friends here in Germany. I was today in Lily's house, my neighbor friend here in Hohenfels. Maria was there too, the first Filipina whom I met here in Germany. I only don't considered these two ladies as close friends but also as sisters and family already. They are really good people, I met here in Germany. To all of you guys, thanks for always being there in good and bad times. And to Lily, the Pinoy food we cooked and ate today really taste very delicious. I don't even remember the word diet anymore, if we have always eating sessions like this. That was really great having bonding with you guys this afternoon. I am thankful to both of you for being my friends. I hope and pray that our friendship will last forever.

A Visit from a Friend

As I finished my lunch today, my only neighbour (British spelling... American is without u) friend visited me. Her name is Lily and she's of course with her lovely daughter, Jasmine. I was just surprised that at this rainy afternoon, they came to our house. That was good then. I talked with her some things. We got some fun. They stayed for more than one hour and I also enjoyed it especially the smart Jasmine. She is just three years old but sometimes she talks like a big girl already. I showed Lily some photos from the thanksgiving. This is already the second time that she invited us to share the thanksgiving dinner. Thanks a lot Lily..Hopefully next year again. I also showed to her some pictures from the Philippines especially from my home paradise.

Lily was in a hurry to go home since she still have to cook for dinner. Jasmine still don't want to. Until I told her that we go now and she will be left alone in the room...I guess she is afraid being alone so she hurried going with us too. She even don't want to go out to the door without me. So, I told her that I will just get my jacket, since it's really very windy and cold outside and will just follow them. Anyway, that's only an alibi so she will go with her Momma. I also would like to go but I can't since I also have to cook for dinner...Me and Lily agreed to meet on Thursday to cook Filipino food to their house. See you then Lily...Thanks for passing by today!!

..pix above is one of the chapel in my place...