ON PREDICTIONS, LUCKY CHARMS AND THE CHINESE NEW YEAR

January 31, 2014 falls on a Friday, what normally is collection day for us. The president just declared the chinese new year a non-working holiday so that means our collection for Friday is screwed. Now question: What the fuck do we Filipinos care about the chinese new year? We are not part of the yellow race. We do not have slanted eyes. And for goodness sake, we are living in the Philippines, not China!!!

Which brings me to think about my chinese astrology readings a while ago. I, being a green tiger born in the year of the black rat (whatever that means), is said to have bad luck this coming year of the horse. But then again, some other readings say that I wll have moderate luck, and a few mentioned that it will be a lucky year for me. Lokohin nyo ang lelang nyo. How can I have bad luck, moderate luck and good luck all at the same time? Well, there is some truth that on Friday, January 31, 2014, I will indeed have bad luck simply because it's a fucking legal holiday and we won't get any of our expected collection. Damn!!!

As for the following days, I am calling upon the goodness of the Lord God and proclaiming blessing upon blessing on my life from His bountiful abundance. Good thing I'm not into chinese astrology. I read simply for entertainment. I'm more of a bible junkie. It's God's word that I hold on to as truth.

By the way, if you're thinking of buying one of those lucky charms or pendants from Divisioria, Baclaran or one of those chinese merchants, think again. Authorities found poisonous materials on these charms and pendants. So instead of bringing you luck, it could very well bring you disease and death. So stay away from these.

My take: the Chinese new year, Chinese lucky pendants, Chinese predictions should only affect the Chinese. We should respect them but we should not be so immersed in their culture. We have our own. And that is Filipino Christian.

LOOK AND LEAVE BEHIND... LOOK AND STEP FORWARD

I was listening to the midnight mass when my interest was drawn to the priest's homily on the Roman god, Janus. Ha! Of all places to preach a "god", one would not expect it to be preached from the pulpit of a Catholic congregation. Still, I was intrigued and listened and learned.

JANUS, a Roman mythology god, is said to be the god of doorways and gates, of beginnings and endings and of time. Janus is depicted as having two-faces, one facing forward and the other facing backward. Thus, Janus came to personify the month January which stands at the door of a new year.

On the first day of the year, we commonly list down the things that we want to accomplish for the incoming year. We call them "resolutions".

We start off by listing down unfinished business for the previous year, and writing down objectives we want to do for the incoming year, concentrating on our careers and professions, relationships, health, spiritual well-being and finances.

My resolution for the coming year is very simple. And that is to align myself with the will of GOD. Aligning our plans with the will of God makes it easy for God to bless our intentions and actions, and likewise, makes it easy for God to help us accomplish what we set out to do. With God in our corner, nothing is impossible, save for what God Himself deemed impossible for us.

Align yourself with God, submit to His will and He will surely bless you and make you succeed and prosper.

MY 2011 CALENDAR WITH MY PERSONAL FAITH VERSES FOR THE YEAR

ENVY: THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER

I am a businessman. I make money out of other people's money. That has been my practice for almost a decade now, I borrow money from willing investors and put them in certain projects that yield a monthly interest rate of abotut 2-4% depending on the project.

As a fair person, I give my investors a fair share of returns. But, being the mind and body behind the enterprise that makes money for them, I also have to allocate funds for my efforts, for all the work and perspiration that I put into the projects.

Unfortunately, I've noticed that some of my investors has turned green-eyed. Some are thinking that if they withdraw their investments, I would either fold my business or offer them a higher return (which I guess is what they are really after).

I've been fair with my dealings with them. I really couldn't blame them if they thought that way. But I'm not about to give more. I'd rather pay them back.

Envy, the green eyed monster, has taken hold of some of my investors. They think that the efforts of my mind and all the hard work I've done that has earned all of us money isn't enough... It's a good thing they're just investors for if they were co-owners, Machiavelli would probably be at my door and not this green-eyed monster.

Anyways, God bless them. I'm paying you back this coming year, don't worry.

RESOLUTIONS: REPLAYED SOLUTIONS OR REAL SOLUTIONS?

With the old year about to end, I am occupied with thoughts on writing my new year's resolution. Every year, I write down twelve (12) resolutions: things I want to change in my life in the coming year. I take out a piece of paper, divide it into 4 and write on top of each column the following aspects of my life that are important to me: spiritual, physical, emotional, financial.

Every year, my resolution list would read something like this:

SPIRITUAL
1. Read the Bible in one (1) year
2. Devote daily special time to pray and meditate on the word of God
3. Attend church services faithfully
4. Volunteer for church outreach ministries

PHYSICAL
1. Attain a maximum weight of 135 lbs.
2. Exercise - take daily 30-minute walks
3. Eat healthy
4. No more softdrinks and beer

EMOTIONAL
1. Bond with my partner at least once a week
2. Bond with my family at least once a week
3. Forgive all those who has done me wrong
4. Ask forgiveness from those I may have offended

FINANCIAL
1. Look for ways on how to increase passive income for collection on a daily, weekly, semi-monthly, monthly & quarterly basis.
2. Reduce my debts by at least 25%
3. Save at least 20% and faithfully tithe
4. Invest 10% of my savings in mutual bonds, shares of stocks

The problem with me is that these 75% of these yearly resolutions are neither followed through or never started at all. Which makes me wonder out loud: Are new year resolutions replayed solutions or should I seriously consider these as real solutions to my goals?

Resolutions are nothing but drawing on paper. A mere first step to the actual building or rebuilding of a life. It should be read everyday to remind myself of what I want to accomplish, and prayed for every morning and night to Almighty God. These can be real solutions after all, if I stick to them and ask God to be with me throughout the process. If it were all up to me, it will always be replayed solutons. But since this year, I have God in my corner, coaching and cheering me on, I know these are real solutions now... Life-building changes that GOD will surely bless.

REFELCTIONS FOR 2010... LOOKING FORWARD TO 2011...

It's amazing how time flies. A couple of months ago, we were just starting off 2010 and now, in a couple of days, 2010 will come to an end. 2010 has been a good year for me. God opened up a new opportunity for me to earn and this has made life easier for me. 2010 is also the year when I got to reconnect with long lost relatives and friends. People who mattered to me and whom, somehow, throughout the years, lost in touch with. It is also the year that my mother has finally recognized that I am a grown adult, respecting my lifestyle choice, as well as accepting my partner, whom I have been living together with for the past two (2) years. Throughout the entire year, God has blessed us with seasons of abundance, and in lean times, provided us with the wisdom to deal with our situation and accept our situation gracefully, with full trust in the Lord that better times and better days are ahead.

There were times when like all of God's children, we were brought through times of testing. Poor health, stress at work and at home visited us several times this year. But God is good and He takes care of His children. The more difficult the test, the harder Anne and I fell to our knees to pray. And God always responded on time.

At this point in my life, with everything I've been through, I'm ready to take on more responsibilities and take on new opportunities with the hope and prayer that God will guide and bless the work of my hands, with the knowledge that through everything, God is with me, God lives in me.