The internet connection here is crazy! I never know when I can get to go online. Since I’m online now, I might as well give you an update on my stay here in CDO.

I’ve only been here a couple of days but I am missing Dennis so much already. I really wish he would SURPRISE me and come here even for just a few days! hehe (Now, in this part, I am wishing he gets to read this post and that his eyes would get glued to this particular paragraph! )

I wanted to write on my second day here, but I didn’t get the chance to. Well, the only reason I wanted to write was to let my guilt out. On my first full day here (meaning, the day after we arrived), I just sat in front of food the whole day, chatting with my sister. I left the kids with the yaya I grew up with (and so, I trust)… and I really didn’t do any work that day, mainly because there was no housework to be done and the kids were out enjoying the plants and the sun.

By mid-afternoon, I was itching for something to do. I needed to feel like I was doing something productive. That’s when I tried going online to blog (See? I consider communicating with all of you productive! *big grin*). That didn’t work because the connection wasn’t working. I tried to start reading the book I brought with me, but that required too much thinking and focus— something my brain didn’t want to do. I thought about running around the compound since I haven’t done that this year, and thought it would be nice to get to run before June strikes (which would mean we’d be well into the second half of the year already)— thought being the operative word in all this. I thought it would be nice to exercise  and get sweaty (thus, shedding off the calories and the guilt from all the food intake)…but I then thought it was too hot and I might get too sweaty. So, I erased that thought. Next, I wanted to clean the room we were staying in, but there really wasn’t much to clean since there’s just a bed, a table and chair, and another bed.

Aaaah!!! The guilt!!!!

“You are being so unproductive Thammie! You’re not working! You’re not busy with anything! You’re not tiring yourself out! Something’s wrong in this picture!!!”

…And then BAM! It hit me: I AM ON VACATION.

Oh… so that’s why I’m not working! That’s why I’m not busy with anything! That’s why I’m not tiring myself out!

Aaahh… I AM ON VACATION!

All too often we mistakenly associate being busy with being productive. We automatically think that as long as we are busy, we are okay because it means we are being productive. And once we take a breather and clear our schedules, we feel guilty because we feel we are not accomplishing anything.

Wrong. Just because we are busy doing things does NOT at all mean that we are being productive. We can be doing a million things yet still not achieve the very things that we are supposed to. Our schedules can look so full and we can appear to be so busy yet miss out on the important things in our lives. We can be preoccupied with too many things yet miss out on the one thing that God has called us to do. Being busy does NOT mean we are being productive.

In this result-oriented society, it is also easy for us to take rest for granted. We live such hurried lives that once we slow down and relax even just for a full day, we get restless before sundown. We act as if the world will fall apart once we stop working. Once we do get that much-needed rest, however, we realize that the world does in fact allow for us to take occasional breaks. Rest recharges us and prepares us to be all the more productive for the next leg of work that we’d be tackling up ahead. The right amount of rest actually helps us become more productive.

Now, am I speaking truth or am I just trying to justify myself and my schedule here??? hehe

I’m back in my hometown Cagayan de Oro! Our family has been looking forward to this break since the beginning of this year.

It was quite a hectic first day though. First of all, I was not really in the right condition for flying. I’ve had this horrible cough for two weeks now, which has been giving me a hard time to breathe, and just this week my sinuses have been super congested that my head throbs so much and my ears keep on popping! I managed just fine with the help of some meds, but just when we were about to land, we found out that it was raining so hard here so we had to divert to Cebu. We were supposed to arrive here in Cagayan by 2:30 pm. Instead, we got here almost 6. By this time I really wasn’t feeling well–kind of feverish, maybe also because we weren’t able to have a proper lunch. On the way home, our car’s battery died! We had to wait for my dad to pick us up and for the driver to finish working his magic, which took quite some time because it was still raining hard.

*sigh*… really not quite the way one would like to kick-off her vacation, right? … The weird thing though, is that I still had a great day! I still didn’t feel like my day was wasted since I was with my family, and the two girls were so cheerful and playful the whole time. They had no idea that we had a stressful day! The whole time they were laughing and making up their own games to keep themselves amused. Maybe for them, it didn’t really matter what agenda we had as long as we were together.

Today I was reminded that I always have a choice on how my days would turn out. I could let unpredictable “stress factors” dampen my spirits and whine (which would also dampen my family’s spirits and they too would start to whine), or I could choose to maintain good conversation and bond with my family instead. Today, I chose NOT to let the unpredictable stresses  keep me from enjoying time with my family.

I shall CHOOSE not  to let temporary discomfort steal my joy– they are, after all, temporary– nothing compared to the lasting impact wonderful memories would have.

My family went to Baguio with the rest of my in-laws for the weekend and well, well, well….wouldn’t you know it, I survived a whole long weekend of being completely disconnected from the world!

Again, my apologies for disappearing just like that, without warning. You see, my “disconnection” wasn’t really intentional. To start with, I left my phone in my daughters’ room, where we have been sleeping for the past week (ah, another story!). As they say, out of sight, out of mind, right? I’m not used to the thought of my phone being in their room so when I didn’t see it  as I scanned our room prior to leaving the house, I just assumed that I had already put it in my bag.

Secondly, I didn’t expect our cottage to not have an internet connection, since most of the hotels now have wifi. I even brought my laptop with me, hoping to be able to stay connected with friends and all of you, but God had other plans. He wanted me to connect and spend quality, UNINTERRUPTED time with Him and my family instead.

Thank you Lord, for loving me so much and for interrupting my agenda with your plans.

I really hope I can write more in the coming days, but I think I better give you the heads up— my trusted helper is leaving tomorrow. There hasn’t really been any change in the level of pain she’s been experiencing, so she and her mother requested for her to go home and be treated in the province. The CT-scan results revealed nothing, but obviously more tests need to be done in order to diagnose correctly and treat accordingly. If it were up to me, I’d want her to stay and get treated here, but then again, who am I to keep her here? So I’m just praying they find out what’s wrong soon. Aside from that, Dennis will also be gone for five days. (sniff…sniff…)

Anyway, we’ll see. I might also just have more things to write about as I learn more things in the coming days.

*fingers crossed*

I’m back!!!

…Literally. I just came back from a very, very short trip to Davao for a conference with some of the wives from our Mindanao churches. It was a very refreshing time! Three of us from Metro Manila went there to help facilitate, and I am so glad I was given the opportunity to be a part of it. It’s always great to meet other wives and moms who have such a great heart for the Lord. I admire all of them in many ways.

I actually wanted to write a short “note” prior to leaving, just to inform everyone that I’d be out of touch for a couple of days. That was last Sunday. Obviously, I never got to and I really don’t have an excuse. *grin* I know I was going to write about something too, but I totally do not remember what it was!

*thinking*  *….Now retrieving data from Thammie’s brain….*

Nothing.

Bitin.

Anyway, let’s move on. Allow me to tell you about my short Davao trip instead.

I’m not sure if all of you know this, but I actually grew up in Mindanao. To be more specific, I grew up in the “City of Golden Friendship”– Cagayan de Oro City. Hehe it sounds a little bit cheesy, now that I’m saying it after years of not hearing that phrase. Why am I including this as part of my Davao trip story? Maybe because one of the main reasons why I got excited when they asked me if I could join the Mindanao conference is the fact that I am from there. I believe it is not an accident that I grew up in that place and know their culture, and then got equipped here in Manila. There’s so much I want to share, and so much more I want to learn from the people there.

The conference was mainly about the five foundations of productive teams. It was really intended for the pastors and church staff, but the wives were invited to join as well. We then had a separate break-out session for the wives, where we got to talk about our concerns and just get to know each other more, so we could all be more connected with one another. I kept thinking to myself how truly important relationships are in our lives. It really makes a remarkable difference if we have other wives and moms who can empathize with us and encourage us as we go through the many different seasons in our lives. Are you connected with other women? I highly encourage you to find someone you can pour out your heart and soul to, and who will share her life with you, too.

Pastor Ado talking about the necessary kind of conflict in teams

Beautiful women from all over Mindanao.

(I think some of the ladies already left when this group picture was taken)

My prayer partners, Care and Weng

Of course, no trip can ever be complete if you don’t get to enjoy the local food. From the time I set foot in Davao, I was craving for their Durian. I was surprised that of the six of us (three women, three men) who came from Manila, not one of them liked Durian! (oh, except one who had neutral feelings about durian because she hasn’t tried it yet)…Come to think of it, I haven’t met anyone here in Manila, in my more than 10 years of living here, who appreciates it as much as I do. Growing up, my dad always told me (and always with smile and with eyes closed too!) that durian is the fruit that “smells like hell, but tastes like heaven” See how emotionally connected my family is to it? Anyway, the important thing is that I got to buy four kilos and I have it all to myself since I’m the only one here who likes it! *evil laugh*

Clockwise from left: Cathy, Bishop Juray, Ptr. Alvin, Ptr. Ado, Bishop Manny, Me, Riza

NO! It’s not how it looks like! We don’t really love food THAT much….??? hehe

Ooh-la-la!!!

Those poor, innocent things…

Braving the palengke (market)

Durian heaven!!!

With Ate Vicky (our host) and Erika (our Palengke queen!)

Have you heard of the verse “He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed?” This is precisely true about my trip. I’m back home feeling so refreshed by the new people I met, from the topics that were taught, and of course, from all the yummy and cheap food we ate. I’ll probably be writing about some of the things I’ve learned from the conference in my next blogs. For now, I just really wanted to say that “I’m back!”… And I realize I’ve accomplished that goal in my first sentence.

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I’ll be editing this and will be putting in the pictures as soon  as I get them from my friend, Riza. Ah the beauty of that “tagging” system by Facebook!

* Blog updated… pictures uploaded! I noticed I had more pictures of the food than the actual conference. *eep!* lol!