Example of Certificate of Attendance - Personality Development Seminar

When unexplainable sadness overtakes you

You're longing for something. You're looking for something you don't have. You miss someone. You think of your past experiences. You begin to ask. What on earth am I here for? You couldn't grasp meaningful thoughts and feelings about yourself but loneliness, shame, and guilt. You don't understand what's going on. You're groping in the dark. Your heart may not be totally numb, but you start to think nothing, feel nothing, do nothing.

People are people - complete with five human senses to comprehend almost everything. You have all the faculties necessary to be able to survive in this world and act rational things. You eat and sleep; you go to school and work; you attend religious obligations; you date with your boyfriend/girlfriend; you talk to your neighbors and friends; you interact with members of your family. Yet you still feel that you lack something - something that even yourself could not understand. You actually don't know what it is but the longing, real as it is, is there. There's a hole inside your heart that needs to be filled in with something. Unexplainable sadness overtakes you. Because of your quest to fill this emptiness in your heart, you begin to dig your wells. At the end of the day, you still feel your life is incomplete. Why? Why? Why? But no one seems to answer.

Looking Beyond the Horizon

Looking Beyond the Horizon*

By Marlon B. Raquel

We are living in this troubled world. Natural disasters left millions of people homeless and starving to death. The Carribean nation of Haiti lost 60% of its total gross domestic product because of the devastation brought about by a 7.0 magnitude of earthquake and thousands of people died. Tsunamis hit Indonesia few years ago and here in the Philippines, typhoons seem to be our 'regular customers' especially during the end of the year. In African countries such as Nigeria, religious violence continues as Christians and Muslims fight against each other. In other parts of the world, separatist groups are struggling to acquire independence from the national governments which only leads to bloodshed. Ships sinking in the seas, fires consuming hundreds of houses, planes crashing, shootouts, kidnappings, vehicular accidents - these are just few of negative news we almost hear everyday in different media outlets. Even among our government officials, there seems to be a chaos. Political bickering is the main ingredient. Corruption eats up the system. Morality is no longer the standard but rather an option. There is an increasing proportion of population who have sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, and AIDS. In some societies, killing an unborn child becomes a social norm, same with homosexuality. Sex is no longer a sacred sexual intercourse after and within marriage, but rather a commodity (parang asukal lang na binibili sa tindahan ni Aleng Nina, P60/kilo, hehehe). Families are breaking up. What is right decades ago is considered wrong today and vice versa. All things are relative they say. Where is our world heading to?

Come to think of it. If we focus ourselves to all these problems, we're heading on the wrong direction. Hopelessness, guilt, and shame will only lead us to become more disappointed and discouraged. Looking beyond what our two eyes can see will open new dimensions. We may never know what lies beyond the horizon but becoming positive will not hurt us. If we consider God as the center of our lives, then we are assured of a bright future awaiting us. God has plans for us - plans to prosper us and not to harm us. Be brave and do not be shaken. He is giving us new hope that even in this fallen world, we are meant to be happy, enjoying every bit this life has to offer. His merciful eyes are upon His beautiful creations like you. Would you rather strive for something of eternal value than be temporarily satisfied with this ephemeral world? You be the judge.


*January 30, 2010
2:30 PM MNL

A POEM OF LOVE

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The waters are overflowing in the desert.

Balls of snow are falling from heaven on summer.

The sun is shining so bright during nighttime

As the moon illuminates on daytime.

Life is as sweet as your kisses

That makes me feel like flying in the air.

Your hugs give me unfathomable comfort

That gives me an enormous feeling of happiness of all sort.

As butterflies are attracted to the nectar of flowers;

As birds of the skies freely roam up high;

As deers rush with panting to the oasis;

So am I as I see your face smiling at me with love.

I may not be a perfect lover

But I am trying to be one as you do the same.

I may not be your ideal partner

But I am doing everything as if I am an actor with fame.

You and I as one full with love;

Love that matters for both of us.

We may never know what the future holds for us.

But one thing is sure: You and I love each other much.

Copyright 2009. Marlon B. Raquel

December 20, 2009/1:50 P.M.

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INDAY JOKES PART 6

ARE YOU UNLOVABLE?

Some people are lovable
while others are not.
And one possibility exists:
I may not be a lovable person to you.

--The King's Rebel--

When can we say that a particular person is unlovable, and when can say that s/he is not? Is there any standard in which we could base our measurement? Or is there such a thing as measuring the extent of "un/lovable-ness" of a person? These are just some questions many of us would want to ponder especially by those people who are emotionally charged at almost all times.

It is my personal perception that some people are simply not lovable in relation to the people around them. Sometimes, we just wander why we don't feel good towards other people even if they haven't done wrong against us. We may be selective in friends whom we want to hang out with. I am saying this because I have experienced it and sometimes, you know, history repeats itself.

Perhaps, this is just a matter of self-perception. From the viewpoint of person who sees himself/herself as 'unlovable', focusing on other things and making ourselves busy will somehow shift his/her way of thinking from the issue. This may be temporary but it can be of help.

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HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF?

How do you see yourself? This is a question many of us would not want to answer. How we see ourself affects the whole aspect of our life, thus, our self-image is very vital in our development as a person. It is the portrait that we carry around in our heart and in our head. Many times I went around thinking that God was not pleased with me. The thought that I would never overcome my past stick to my mind. I often felt like I am a losser, a failure, unlovable, and not as good as other persons around me. I always compared myself to others. Hurtful words that were thrown at me by people always seemed to create paragraphs on my mind and if written on a piece of paper, it could fill the whole sheet of paper making up a short story of how ugly I am, how weak I am, how "unholy" I am, how foolish I am. In short, I had a very poor self-image.


I want to share with you the story of David and Mephibosheth recorded in 2 Samuel 9. Jonathan, son of King Saul, loved David very much and was probably one of his closest friends. After Jonathan and Saul were killed in the battle, God promoted David to be the king over all Israel. Deeply moved with sorrow at the loss of Saul and Jonathan, David asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"


David soon discovered that Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who had become crippled as a child but was still alive. So King David had him brought before him, David said to him, "Don't be afraid, for I will surely show kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table." And Mephibosheth bowed down and said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?" In other words, Mephibosheth was saying, "Why do you want to help me? All I deserve is to crawl around on the floor and lick up the crumbs that fall to the ground. " Mephibosheth compared himself to a dead dog!


Obviously, Mephibosheth had a very poor self-image because he was crippled. As a result, he didn't feel worthy of King David's kindness. For many times, I am like Mephibosheth. I think like Mephibosheth. I act like Mephibosheth. I am not physically crippled but because of my own weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings, I see myself as crippled (or perhaps I am just a foolish person). Because of this condition, I am afraid to start new relationships and venture on new opportunities. I am contained in a box - stagnant and not progressing.


It is so much an encouragement to me that God would want to bless me just as He has blessed for others. But just as David was good to Mephibosheth for Jonathan's sake, God is good to us for Jesus' sake. I realize that God doesn't want us to look everything that is wrong with us or the sins of our past. The more we focus on our failures, the more likely are we to repeat them. I often failed in this area. I just pray to God that He will help me focus unto Jesus Who is the Author and the Finisher of my faith, and not to my past which only hinders my relationship with Him.
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THE FOURSQUARE CHURCH: THE FLAG

ISOLATION OR NOT?

We can't understand ourselves in isolation;
we must relate ourselves to the totality of things.
It is only in this setting of total relationship
that the true significance and meaning
of your own life can be found.

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PRINCIPLES IN LOVING
--The King's Rebel--

BAD TRIP DAYS

Subic Beach

First Bad Trip Day:

January 16, Tuesday night--I lost my Starbucks planner somewhere in UP Diliman.. I had just claimed it in Starbucks SM Fairview with Marc Sunday evening that week.. Too bad for me.. I had put on its hard-bound covers Dragon Ball Z stickers (my favorite anime).. Hope someone will return it to me, hehehe.. I have my contact numbers and my dorm address there.. Kung hindi man ito isuli sa akin ng nakapulot, well, ayos NA DIN LANG sa akin, hehehe.. wala naman akong magagawa.. Sana lang hindi mangati ang pwet ng nakakuha nito.. Wehehehehe...

Second Bad Trip Day:

January 17, Wednesday night--The most bad trip day of all.. I have two assignments to be submitted the following day in my SPSS subject.. I planned to make them at a friend's house because I have already installed the software in his computer.. I thought I had the data I need saved on the computer but too good for me, hehehe, that when I went there, I found out that the data was not saved in the PC.. Grrr!! What I did was I did not attend my lecture class from 1-3pm.. I rushed to the computer lab to make my assignments and hey, I did it! Hahahaha.. But i'm a bit sad because my output is wala lang... Hehehehe.. You know... :-)

How I wish I have my own computer..... (Sabay ganun..)

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IN THE MIDST OF THE MOTHER OCEAN

ANG DRAMA NG BUHAY KO

Ang lamig ng aircon dito sa classroom!!!! Hay, nahihirapan talaga ako sa SPSS class na 'to.. Huhuhuhu!! I don't have my own computer.. Buti pa ung mga classmates ko, may software sila ng SPSS.. Haay, life is life.. Kaya ko 'to.. because God is with me.. hehehe...

Recently, medio naging madrama ang buhay ko (as usual, since the beginning of time, LOL).. hehehe... but im happy because JB came into my life.. I just hope na maging mabuti akong Kuya sa kanya.. I appreciate this man a lot..

anyway, sa mga mahal kong mambabasa, salamat at binibigyan niyo ng pansin ang mga pinagsusulat ko dito.. at least, nararamdaman ko ang inyong pagmamahal.. wahahahaha! pano, uuwi na ako.. tapos na class ko ngayon.. oy, september na pala.. kaya pala ang lamig-lamig dito sa classroom.. e 'ber' na pala next time.. ang lamig ng simoy ng hangin..

hay, rose and gina are waiting outside the room.. rose will treat me for a dinner tonight.. salamat rose! hehehe.. God bless you more!
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SPECIAL THANKS TO ROSE

SADNESS

I received the test paper today for our first examination in Statistics for Social Sciences 201 subject. I was sad of the result :-( I got a score of 78 out of 100 items. The passing is 60, so I made it. Fellows like me have to get 80 of all the three 100-item exams throughout the semester to maintain my fellowship grant (in this subject). And I only got 78, two points plus to make it 80. We were all actually worrying that we will not pass the exam. But fortunately, none of us failed. However, I do not feel okay since I got my test paper and until now, my heart is worrying and I am not at ease. I approached my professor and she told me about that. She tried to re-check my paper hoping that she could find possible correct answers. She might escape some items or what. But sad to say, there's no additional point for me. She then told me that I need to get 82 in the second exam to make the average 80, which is equal to 2.0 grade. I have studied my lessons. When I examined my test paper, there was a 3-point item there that the answer was so easy. But because of my carelessness, I wrote the answer mistakenly. Instead of 0.3857, I wrote it as 38.57%! Well, these two figures have the same value, but proportion is asked in the test and not the percentage. :-( I if answered it correctly, I should get a score of 81.

Lesson learned: look at the questions carefully. Well, I have nothing to do now to change the actual score for this particular test. But I can still improve my performance in the second exam. May the good Lord help me. God is teaching me not to worry too much. You know, I am not comfortable when I get score below of what is required even when I was still in elementary. Sometimes, I cry :-) Hehehe...

But yes, I can do this, with God's help.. :-) Please pray for me.
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IT'S A HAPPY SUNDAY