Top 5 Sweet Flicks for Valentine's Day

If only my website had a way of speaking directly to me, I would have ended heartbroken. I left it for a bit long while to juggle three other jobs. I knew I screw for having that said as a reason but I am definitely on to making a good start to recompense for the damage.

It's Valentine's day and it's always nicer to spread love than bad vibes. 

I saw fair ladies and gents carrying roses and chocolates with them down town. And while a romantic dinner set by the beach makes for a perfect activity, I suggest taking the rather less expensive but thoughtful way of spicing up the evening with your loved ones.

I have picked 5 romantic movies singles, couples, and families can take joy in watching at home:

1. Valentine's Day

Don't you think the title is very high time? It's a 2010 romantic comedy movie about couples and singles in Los Angeles breaking-up and making-up based on the pressures and everyday anticipation of Valentine's Day.

The movie depicts relationships in different stages and points of view, from childhood crushes and puppy loves, to hormone-driven teen-playing-adult relationships, to mature and stable adult relationships. 

The downside is that there are few scenes and lewd conversations that couples, especially parents need to get ready for in explaining and guiding their children.

Watch Valentine's Day here.

2. Serendipity

This movie aired in 2001. It's about a couple who reunited years after they first met and opted to trust in fate, chance, or destiny to decide whether they are truly meant for each other or not.

You might somehow find a predictable script but the actors, music, and the plot will give you a light heart. 

Watch Serendipity here.

3. 50 First Dates

It's a 2004 romantic comedy movie about a man who used to have no interest in having a serious relationship but met a local pretty young woman in Hukilau Cafe'.

The good part was that the man untiringly loved and cared for the woman even if she had Goldfield Syndrome, a kind of anterograde amnesia that makes her memory last for only a day. 

On another note, you'll love to see walruses flying a kiss.

Watch 50 First Dates here.

4. Letters to Juliet

It's a romantic film in 2010. It's mainly about a couple who separated for many years but suddenly found each other in Italy through the help of an aspiring writer who replied back to a love letter sent in Juliet's House in Verona, Italy. 

The place exists in real life and the movie clearly shows that true love doesn't age.

Watch Letters to Juliet here.

5. A Walk to Remember

This movie is a tear-jerker, but the story is love. It's a 2002 romantic drama film based from the novel of the very good Nicholas Sparks. 

It's about two teens who have shown important elements in love-- sincerity, care, trust, forgiveness, hope, and sacrifice along their relationship. 

Personally, it's a movie grown-ups and growing ups need to see.

Watch A Walk to Remember here.

Some of you might prefer watching Editors' picks romantic classics like Pride and Prejudice, Breakfast at Tiffany's or the famous When Harry Met Sally. But the above choices will spur you with cheerfulness, resilience, and hope about love. 

You might have or have not watched them yet but another suggestion is for you to read the more elaborate book version of the movie (if any). It's as if you need telling twice, only that it's fulfilling to know the story without its other significant parts cut.

You can also look for more romantic comedy sweet flicks here. The list actually goes on.

More importantly, let me remind you what the Bible says about love:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud or rude. It is not self-seeking.  It is not easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrongs. It does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. ~ 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! God bless your heart! 

Drop your comments below.

Photo & Video Credits:

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References:

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A Gift from a Stranger

Strange things happen for some unexpected reasons. 

An old man in his 50's went towards me at the National Bookstore two days ago. He smiled coyly and asked me if I have ever read this book before [True Life in God]. 

He was unassuming. He looked professional in striped beige polo shirt tucked under a prim dungarees that most senior men wear. His ashen hair was far from empty though wrinkles turn up as he tried to open his mouth and explained to me how the book had amazingly "converted" his faith. That was the exact word he used. 

Those folds in his face however hinted me a contented man whose wisdom matured in the last 10 years. He gives me a quick look through the pages, which had me reassured is an action of a man who really knows what he is talking about. 

"To which Church do you belong sir, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I am a Roman Catholic" he said.

"I first came across this book in 1997 from a friend. It only stockpiled in my desk until six months later when I read it for the first time. Lord, why have I not read this book before? I muttered. This is a very good book. It is the type that will get you teary eyed-- perhaps out of guilt, or joy, or thankfulness. It feels like Jesus speaking straight to you. A real account".

"I can give this to you as a gift" he continues.

"No it's okay sir, thank you. I'll have it myself".

"No don't worry, I'll pay for it".

I took a sly smile. He went to the counter and paid for the book. The next thing I know was that I felt surprised. I was not sure if I made a seemly response. Tears (honestly) almost gathered in my bottom lids. It felt unusual but I did not think it was ever doubtful. 

"Why do you have to do this sir?" I asked.

"I just feel happy" he only puts it. 

His assuring smile greeted me for the last time. "Well thank you sir. God bless you" I replied and then he left.

Photo Credits:
google (dot) com (slash) images

3 (Short) Ways to Help Master Your Thoughts

There's one line in the novel turned movie, Eat, Pray, Love that clobbered me when I've heard it speak into my mind, "If you can't master your thoughts you will always be in trouble". It's as if I had no idea that line existed for years in books and in the persuasive mouth of famous speakers and Psychologists.

I believe most if not all of us are radically aware of this principle in life. But by the time we move out of our comfort zone and expand our relationships, stress beleaguers like compulsory.

However, it's not solely material thing or work strain that's responsible for our mental burn out but largely because of people. We relate to others even more than we do over our bed sheets. Thus, there are far more chances that our power over our thoughts gets shaken by the impact of these people in us. 

1. Personal Commercial

Have you ever heard of that before? Listening to motivational speech is by far one of the best ways to build and rebuild our self-assurance. It's seldom however that we get the chance or sometimes even the interest to spare a time for these speeches until we find them badly necessary. 

If the situation really calls for it and you need something to help you rise up from mental and self-esteem troubles, you can listen as fast to such a motivational speech by creating a personal commercial. You may formulate in your mind or write 3-5 lines that tell your strengths and goals. Recite them in front of a mirror or plainly narrate them into your mind like an introvert junior high would Winston Churchill. Or as the monk would Madonna, had it been the way to practice her vocation.

    2.   Your part...

Instead of thinking what the world can do for you, think of what you can do for the world. Taking your part in doing what can benefit the world will add up to your self-belief tank. No matter what you do, no matter where you go, if you won't realize that everything else is merely a response or reflex of what you make your mind believe, everybody you meet will just always become a nightmare. 

    3.  Manual

When a gadget say a tab or a DSLR gets defective, there's no better way or person to approach for some fixing than the one who made it. Or we review the manual. If we get caught up in a bad situation in life and we start to get defective with how we handle it, there's also no better way to approach for some fixing than the one who made us, God. And the bible is our manual. 

Did I sound like a Friday night reveler that dances to almost the same mix of music by saying that line? Maybe. But I am just reminding you that our thoughts can become our worst assassin if we would always think we know better in life than the one who made us. 

If you accept God as your creator and savior then His words will you hit you hard than a knife but will lift you up higher than a crane. 

Don't wait until you hop from one job to another, or move from a place or two. There's no way these external factors can help you. 

Photo Credits:
weheartit (dot) com

Blessed John Paul II: Seeking for His Intercession

The calendar flipped another page and began the first of May yesterday. I am due to take an off from hospital duty so I thought for activities to fill in the hours while I am away from pressure and stress. 

Some of my latest obsessions I looked forward to comforting me include buying the latest collection of clothes from a favorite online store and watching the brand-new episode from a favorite TV show. But none of them of course ensconced that something inside was bothering me.

To my mind co-oped the thought that being a nurse is never at all easy. Unsolicited challenges come that test a nurse's ability to handle every situation well without losing the strength to go ahead no matter how hard life gets.

I ran into a serious challenge on work. I would rather not tell the story except for the truth that it affected me so much. 

I swear have never been this negative since but when a situation hits me hard, it's never easy to stand back up and continue the walking. I know how my spiritual side went downhill since the time I forgot when. 

Enough for the cliffhangers. 

What happened to me recently proves again that no earthly things, tangible or intangible could ever make a peaceful heart. 

I just reached the point where I am so desperate to recollect myself and be whole again. But I am forgetting where exactly to start. 

I never expected to catch the first day of May so bad. My eyes were so fluffy. My heart-felt so heavy. 

I had no immediate person to talk to so I simply reached for the rosary without saying a single prayer and my mind remaining cluttered.

It was last year when the Roman Catholic faithful like me dedicated this same day to Mother Mary. It was also the feast of St.Joseph the Worker, the Divine Mercy Sunday, and the day of Beatification of now Blessed John Paul II. Having all these remembered made me I grasp that prayer is always the last and best weapon left. Regardless of why painful things have to happen and never knowing when and how they get solved, it is important to always hold to our faith to the Lord.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. For he who comes to God must believe He exists, and rewards those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) 

The life of Blessed John Paul II portrayed a good example of faith to God. 

I would like to share this beautiful prayer I used, imploring favor through the divine intercession of Blessed John Paul II:

Marrying a Man with No Limbs

Do you still remember the man I blogged about before?

For those who do not, he is Nick Vujicic, the man born with no arms and legs.

While some unfortunate events come hoaxing at my feet these days, the more that I realize the significance of having to develop the ability to set the mind in responding to series of happenings in our lives especially the unfavorable ones. And if there's another man next to God who  inspires me to lead life in revelry, it's Nick Vujicic.

Junks God Makes

I came across this video while browsing on my Facebook news feed. It broke my heart. I realized how God molded everything exactly as he sees it suitable.

Watch it. Let it break and change you too.

Junks God makes are not actually junks!

Video Credits:

youtube (dot) com

Good-Mood Tips for Busy Bodies

            

With today’s cosmopolitan busyness and technological indulgence, it’s hard to keep up with the time and still be able to maintain positivism. There is no boundary between work and home. I learned a lot of that when I started working up to 12 hours a day in the hospital for the past two months. 

Stresses come in greater amount and out and back again. There is almost never enough time to breathe from the pressure weight and hassle. And I think you have been busy and enfeebled, too with your life because if not, you won’t be here in this post.

When everything around you begins to cut down your space into nothing but work. And if given a choice between courage and desolate, you choose the latter, you surely have gotten your wellness in complete disproportion.  

For a while, you need to pull yourself up a bit and set back a good mood. You cannot just continue life in desolation because we all know it’s unhealthy.

How do you raid off unhappiness then and take little steps back to wellness?

On Losing Hopes and Giving Up

Life is mostly fair, at one point it is great. But that is of course when everything goes well and problems are easily resolved.

Image taken from weheartit.com

It’s hard to warrant life as being good when too much problems hits you in the eye. When you’re laid off at work and your mother gets cancer; or you failed in the board exam five times, and went through a very painful annulment; or when the society attached you stigma simply because you fall short physically for a human eye.

People you know and who knows you in the same way work up to tell you that life can still get better if only you hold on to it. But you know to yourself that no one thing that they said has come up to give you a hasty remedy because the pain is engraved deeply, an unfathomable form of spiritual emptiness and clutter. Nobody in good shape of life can just plainly understand how difficult it is to get imprisoned in that kind emotional whack.

When the only legal thing life’s trials has ever done to you is to make you feel so deserving of misery, don’t you think it’s easier to give up and lose hope?

When God's Answer Doesn't Make Sense

I have been knuckling down myself, volunteering in a hospital for almost eight weeks. That’s nearly two months. And until now I really wonder how I was able to hold down close to months of physical and emotional burnout of working 40 hours every week without pay, and a slight amount of ill-humor from few random people around.

Image taken from weheartit.com

Honestly, that is even far from other people’s experience. But one of the hardest parts of getting through bad situations is when you reach the point where you can no longer balance yourself well. It happened to me in the past few weeks.

I belong to an entire generation of Nurses who after graduating and getting the license hardly gets a paying job in the same profession. Or when we get a chance we have to start from scratch and become a “volunteer”. It’s one of the trending professional misplace these days. Even supposing, I still find it okay. Sometimes we really have to start from the bottom to get to where we want (the top).

There only came a point when I could no longer find my passion in what I was doing. At times I become so ambivalent of whether my motivations for entering into nursing were really right. Or if I ever had a wrong notion about it. 

Going on duty always seemed like a struggle each day. And often times I think of quitting and never coming back to the hospital again.

When my co-trainees ask me what my plans are after the training or if I’d still ever want to work in the hospital, I stutter and trip over my words hoping to find an answer I would not regret. But even I. Even I was racking to find my own answer to the question. 

I didn’t know what to do. I cried each night and found myself always praying that I would never do any harm to my patients despite the inner struggles I was having for weeks.

I’ve never been this negative in the several years past. But adequate enough to say that losing hopes amidst too much negative circumstance shots no one in exemption.