The Champ's "Little" Secret

"Just trust me,

I will not leave you,
I will not abandon you."

A news article in the front page of the Philippine Daily Inquirer caught my eye today. It surely made me smile and warmed my heart.

Everyone knows who Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao is. He is the WORLD's pound-for-pound boxing king and has been recently named as "Boxer of the Decade" by Reuters News Agency (easily easing out Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s name from the title).

For the first time, he revealed the secret of his success -- he had a conversation with God who promised him "strength and power." He said that God once told him: "Just trust me, I will not leave you, I will not abandon you."

That promise was made to him long before he became a world champion. Yet he trusted, he believed, he held on to his faith.

A world champion attesting to God's goodness is something that is not common. Normally, a man of his stature would force on our throats his own greatness and the power that he wields. But this man of humble beginnings continue to acknowledge where all his blessings come from. Since the first time I saw him fight until the last title he won, he always offered to God his own little corner on the ring where he knelt before and after each bout to pray and thank Him.

People laughed at him when he was just starting, finding his behavior odd or too fanatical. Now people see it as a symbol of his unwavering faith- a reminder to everyone that God should be first in everything.

This is one man who has never forgotten where his success came from.... a man who continues to count his abundant blessings and not allowing them to get in his head... a man who acknowledges a greater power over and above his... a man whose unwavering faith should be emulated...

It all starts with gratitude... a grateful heart that counts every little positive thing that comes our way instead of dwelling on our frustrations.

Think of what we have and NOT of what we don't have...

Have a Great Christmas!

You Are The Sunshine Of My Life

YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE
by Stevie Wonder (1973)

You are the sunshine of my life

That's why I'll always be around,

You are the apple of my eye,

Forever you'll stay in my heart



I feel like this is the beginning,

Though I've loved you for a million years,

And if I thought our love was ending,

I'd find myself drowning in my own tears



You are the sunshine of my life,

That's why I'll always stay around,

You are the apple of my eye,

Forever you'll stay in my heart



You must have known that I was lonely,

Because you came to my rescue,

And I know that this must be heaven,

How could so much love be inside of you?



You are the sunshine of my life, yeah,

That's why I'll always stay around,

You are the apple of my eye,

Forever you'll stay in my heart



Love has joined us,

Love has joined us,

Let's think sweet love

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Think of what we have and NOT of what we don't have...

Have a Great Christmas!

I Am Letting Go Of Worries

"There is nothing that wastes the body like worry,

and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed
to worry about anything whatsoever."
-Mahatma Gandhi-

I have wasted too many hours of too many days worrying about bills and bank account balances, time and deadlines, teenage kids, sleep, stress, work... about the future and life itself. But then I realized that worrying about whatever difficulty I faced never got me anywhere.

And so, I decided to unwind the nerves in my mind, took a deep breath and let it all go. I quietly reminded myself that everything will be okay. I also resolved that--

If I catch myself worrying again about something that doesn't matter, I will just STOP worrying about it.

If I catch myself worrying about something that DOES matter, I will stop worrying about it -- and START TRYING to fix it.

After all, I deserve a life where, even if some people are insensitive and unkind, I am not going to mind because the blessings in my life far, far outweigh the burdens.

I will never again let a single thing rain on my parade.

Think of what we have and NOT of what we don't have...

Have a Great Christmas!

Life's Magical Moments

The truly magical moments in life
are those special times that seem to happen
when we least expect them, but need them the most.
If you are willing to let positive things
randomly occur in your life,
unique situations will happen
precisely when the time is right.

Call it destiny... or fate...
or anything else you want to name it --
that's the magic I am talking about.
It's those "out of the blue" moments,
like falling helplessly in love
when you vowed never to again,
getting a second chance
when you've already had three,
or finding out someone cares about you
the way you care about them.

Life's magic is everywhere.
You just have to open your eyes a little wider
and take a closer look at the world around you.
Don't worry about where you have been.
Give your smile away to the people you meet
and watch your future unfold
filled with dreams of where you are going.


By: Deanna Beisser,
Author of "What Tomorrow Will Bring"

Think of what we have and NOT of what we don't have...

Have a Great Christmas!

Embracing Sunshine's Warmth This Christmas

It used to be that there were 5 periods in a year (after January 25, 2005) when I fell into deep depression... no matter how I tried to fight it, it just sent me spiraling down without warning. Fortunately, I have learned how to bounce back easily through the years. Awareness has made me more conscious of and in touch with my emotions. I don't allow myself to go through dark periods anymore if and when I can help it.

Christmas was one of those periods.

Not this time though. Christmas this year will be bright and sunny for me.

The sun that's shining in my life now is brighter than anything I have known. Its warm rays touched my life like no other... So warm and so bright that I can hear the Christmas carols and appreciate the little light bulbs that adorn the trees AGAIN.

As one song goes, "endings are beginnings of beautiful things." But life never really stopped being beautiful, did it? I am so glad I can see its beauty once more... and that's because the sun's glow proved too bright to ignore.

Sunshine on Christmas... I can't wait.

Think of what we have and NOT of what we don't have...

Have a Great Christmas!