Arabian Nights

Song for today is from Disney's Aladdin movie soundtrack:

believe that somewhere among the stars, i am there..
shining brightly for you...
will u promise to wait for me?

This evening, we had our year-end celebration with the theme, Arabian Nights.

I wasn't sure what to wear...

we were asked to be in an Arabian fashion...

but I didn't have the time to go shopping

so I just went there and put on one of my headscarves...

none of my friends wore anything Arabian-inspired...

with Sir A who looks rather like a Chinese merchant than an Arab man =D

with a guest who serenaded us with a few love songs... ahem 

It was a great night of partying... dancing... eating...
and there was some card-reading too...

It was my first time to try it
and I was amazed with the card reader
who was very accurate about some facts of my life...

About my future, she told me that my soulmate has curly hair...
That's all she can say about his appearance 
She added that he is from another country
and I won't meet him not unless I travel abroad...
oh dear! 

do I see him flying on a carpet? 
did my camera capture a sign from him? 

oh who is he? 
what part of the world is he from?
oh I can't wait to know him! 

Anyway, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone in the world!!!

I wish every person will know what peace is about

and experience true happiness in their lives...

until next year!

Hasta la vista!!!

~ ~ ~

HorseShoe Wishes

Every now and then, I dream of horses ~

of me riding a horse like a cowboy or an equestrienne ~

As a child, my favorite movies include Black Beauty, and Wild Hearts Can't be Broken... 
It was then that I fell in love with horses...
I think they are the most beautiful animals in the world...

I remember my first horse ride when our school's soccer field was made into a horseback riding booth during our school fair...  I couldn't explain the freedom that I felt... with the wind blowing through my hair... the excitement and the rush of adrenaline as the horse started to trot, canter and gallop... and someone had to rush and help me with the harness... 

but I didn't feel scared at all...

Sadly, I never had a chance to go to a horseback riding school...

but I still have hope that someday.. somehow... I will have a horse of my own...

I will ride on it every day until I am old...

A horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves 
- strong, powerful, beautiful - 
and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.  
~ Pam Brown

To me, horses and freedom are synonymous.  ~Veryl Goodnight

A horse can lend its rider the speed and strength he or she lacks  ~Pam Brown

~

God's Love Letter to You

My Child ~

You may not know Me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalm 139:3 

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in My image ~ Genesis 1:27 

In Me you live and move and have your being ~ Acts 17:28

For you are My offspring ~ Acts 17:28 

I knew you even before you were conceived ~ Jeremiah 1:4-5 

I chose you when I planned creation ~ Ephesians 1:11-12

You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalm 139:14 

I knit you together in your mother's womb ~ Psalm 139:13 

And brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalm 71:6

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in My book ~ Psalm 139:15-16

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know Me ~ John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but I am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16 

And it is My desire to lavish My love on you ~ 1 John 3:1

Simply because you are My child and I am your Father ~ 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11 

For I am the Perfect Father ~ Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from My hand ~ James 1:17 

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love ~ Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalm 139:17-18 

And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you ~ Jeremiah 32:40 

For you are My treasured possession ~ Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all My heart and all My soul ~ Jeremiah 32:41 

And I want to show you great and marvelous things ~ Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek Me with all your heart, you will find Me ~ Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart ~ Psalm 37:4 

For it is I who gave you those desires ~ Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine ~ Ephesians 3:20 

For I am your greatest encourager ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you ~ Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to My heart ~ Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes ~ Revelation 21:3-4 

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth ~ Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus ~ John 17:23

For in Jesus, My love for you is revealed ~ John 17:26

He is the exact representation of My being ~ Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31 

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 

His death was the ultimate expression of My love for you ~ 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of My son Jesus, you receive Me ~ 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from My love again ~ Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen ~ Luke 15:7

I have always been your Father...

and will always be your Father ~ Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is ~ 

Will you be My Child? ~ John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you ~ Luke 15:11-32

Love, 

Your Dad, 

Almighty God

~

Eid Mubarak 2006!

Growing up in a place surrounded with Muslims,

I remember feeling ecstatic

every time it is announced that 

we won't have classes the next day

 because of a Muslim holiday...

For us, in our young minds, 

the Ramadan season equates to 

more days off from school ^_^)

which is reason enough to celebrate 

Anyway, to all my fellow Christians 

together with our Muslim brothers and sisters:

May God always be with us

and

fill our lives with happiness...

our hearts with love...

our souls with peace...

our minds with wisdom...

God bless us all ~

عيد مبارك

~

Casa Gorordo Museum Photoshoot

just because I couldn't get enough of the dress I wore last night...

I've decided to have it on again

before I returned it to the dress shop near the Casa Gorordo Museum...

A lady from the past century surely has certain limitations in the society

but oh how I feel very comfortable wearing a dress from the yesteryears...

~ I surely felt nostalgic during the whole photoshoot ~

...it's like being home once more...

If I have lived during the Spanish colonial period, my name might have been

Señorita Josefa Maria Lucia
 

what was my life like...

 if I was indeed alive during those old times?

with my appointed photographer

muchas gracias por todo mi amiga 

Oh if only we could travel back in time ~ ~ ~

but of course, we couldn't do that... 

or could we?

A Filipiniana Party with a Twist

Since the Philippines was a Spanish colony for over 3 centuries, it is undeniable that so much of the Filipino culture and society are remnants of our colonized past.

Wikipedia states that the term Filipiniana derived from the words, Filipinas, which is the Spanish-language version of the name - Philippines, and -ana or -aniana, which means “collected items of information.”

Last night, I attended a party wherein every one was required to wear a Filipiniana-inspired attire. 

Because it's quite expensive to buy a customized gown, I just rented one from a local dress shop. I chose the cheapest one they have, but it's got my favorite color .

It was the first time for me

 to actually wear something close to a traditional Filipino dress.

During the event, somehow, I felt the opulence of rich Spanish-Filipino society in the old times.

I felt like I was transported back in time when my Spanish great-great-grandparents (on both sides) decided to settle down in this country... 

The guest of honor was a Spanish-American couple from Florida.

He was like a celebrity because everyone wanted to have a picture taken with him... 
including me 
It was also his first time to wear the traditional clothing for men - the Barong Tagalog.

Most of us wore long dresses...

Surprisingly, there were some who wore the traditional costumes from some of the regions in the Philippines...

I'm not sure which place/ island though...

The Filipiniana dress comes in different colors, and designs...

This one is a modern version of the Filipiniana outfit...
cool, ey?

This is a modernized traditional clothing for men.

My friends and I really had a blast. 

It was nice to see everyone all decked out in a Filipiniana!