December is the Christmas Party season and I recently attended one. The truth is I was really nervous. It was a face-to-face gathering and most of the attendees were people I first met via Zoom.
Kale, Mitch, and I tagged along on a ride with Kuya Jan and Ate Cha. Instead of taking the busy main road to Tagaytay, Casile Road is a shortcut and a good alternative to reach the venue in minutes. I don't know the name of the place but I remember it has a few golden yellow Bahay-Kubo.
The food was good and my favorites are Bulalo and Pork Sisig. When lunch was over the exchange gift and games liven up the mood more than it already was. The people I encountered beamed with energy, they are positive energy. As for me, I am on the calmer side of the planet or I have an intermittent connection with the world, or maybe, it is the 'tita' in me that is gradually emerging. Seems like tita moments are here to stay. haha
I realize I do not have the energy I used to have in my early 20s. Now, I allot my time and energy to things that really matter.
The Coffee Project at Crosswinds was supposed to be our next stop for another round of fellowship and games, but there was no more space for parking. There were a lot of Pine trees which I don't have any pictures of. The place gives off Baguio vibes. Around the area of Crosswinds, Windmill Lausanne is a new restaurant that attracts tourists for a Tagaytay experience, so we went there instead.
Matcha Latte at Windmill Lausanne is pricey at P240 for 12 oz. The restaurant offers Italian cuisine based on its menu, or probably Swiss (visit the place, you judge). The place looks expensive so as the price of the food. I doubt if I ever return and order anything from there, the prices just do not fit in my budget honestly. But for those who can afford and love to visit places like Windmill Lausanne, please do visit, the place is nice and you'll love it definitely. Just be careful not to disturb the residents of the subdivision where the restaurant is located, some are really private persons.
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| Photo Credit to Mitch E. |
The ride back home was a fun and purposeful conversation. Life or more like spiritual lessons blessed my heart and mind. "Feeling blessed like I should" was a lyric of a song that bugged me after that Christmas party. I really should.
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| The Windmill Lausanne, Tagaytay Photo Credit to Mitch E. |
Sunset signals the end of the day. It is breathtaking scenery when the sun bids goodbye to the naked eye of every human being. The sun seems to never get tired of showing up in the morning and bidding goodbye in the afternoon. Is it contented with what it does every single day? Does it ever get bored with its routine?
The sun only rises and sets.
Some people may have wanted to say goodbye permanently, unlike the sun who keeps on showing up to everyone every morning. These people want to permanently stop showing up to people who may have cared for them or not.
No one, not even a single human being, asks the sun to rise and set. It is just simply doing its purpose that is embedded in the deepest part of its core. It knows its purpose and it does what needs to be done.
The sun does not care about the complaints of human beings when it is too hot or too bright as long as it does its job. It focuses on its work and emits the light that is delivered to planet earth for the living things. It is doing exactly what it is made to do.
There might be less drama if humans work their purpose the way the sun does. Rise. Set. But it is fact that a human being is a very complex kind of creature. The human race is a complicated being.
It cannot be denied that they are made in the perfect image of the Creator, the masterpiece of His powerful and wonderful hands. He spoke life and the first human was created. He saw the sadness in the human so He gave him a partner. The first human, Adam, is in charge of everything that was created on earth before him. The Creator may have also witnessed tiredness on his face that is why He created a co-steward for all His creations. The second human, Eve, is a partner to co-manage all of the things entrusted to them.
The complexity inflated when the monumental and wretched encounter occurred in the garden of Eden. A great separation complicates the situation, specifically the relationship, connection, and fellowship humans have with the Creator. The purpose got blurry and confusion was engraved in every human heart. Human's will versus God's will has been going on since immemorial time. The birth of sinful human nature brought destruction to the alignment of will between the Creator and creation.
The existence of a relationship in the face of the earth began between the first human and God. Though the relationship is currently severed which is a big problem for everyone, He extended His grace and gave everyone the only solution, the only One: the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
Patch up things with God only through Jesus! Find the purpose in Him.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Hey! It's Not About Us is a new book I want to share with all of you. I have posted a blog entry about it already and you can know more about it here.
I just finished formatting the book the other week. I don't know if you're aware, but I also write stories, poetry, and prose aside from writing reviews and other entries here on my blog, and I self-published them, my own written books. hehe. For now, this kind of setup is economical for me and my craft, but of course, I also dream of hiring or having professionals to touch my books but now is not yet the time.
I would like to share the process before I release a book. I only came up with three simple and basic steps.
How to Self-Publish Your Book
1. Write your piece
Either you like to write fiction or non-fiction is up to you. You can't publish a book without written works. As for me, writing is an outlet for my emotions and thoughts. It helps me process my feelings most of the time and I also want to write stories that inspire other people. Right now, I haven't written any story like a novel and I have 3 pending series that I must and want to continue, but I haven't, I can't, or maybe I just don't have the right inspiration for those pending works. I've been meaning to finish them, but... just but... I just can't, for now.
And for my draft, I usually put them on my phone and laptop for offline and on Wattpad for online. The pieces included in this book were written from the year 2020 to 2021.
2. Create Book Covers and Illustrations
I use the Canva app and website for book covers and illustrations. Most of the book covers of my books are from Canva, thank you so much Canva! So for my latest book, I got these illustrations and photos from Canva and put a little personal touch, as in super little. haha. On the copyright page of the book is where I put the credits for Canva. Big thanks Canva! Love, love, love!
3. Layout and format your book
Using Microsoft Word, I format my book with the size 5 by 8, use a font style and size that are pleasing to the eye and also readable. I convert the final document to pdf as an e-book format of the book.
And now finally, It's Not About Us is out, today, September 14, and free for all of you to download, just click here and get 3 other books for free. Get them all for free on this special day!
Special shout out Pinunong Pablo! Happy Birthday!
You and the whole SB19 and your story inspire me to pursue my dream. Thank God, for your lives!
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We humans make plans, but the Lord has the final word. We may think we know what is right, but the Lord is the judge of our motives. Share your plans with the Lord, and you will succeed.
One of the many struggles of humans is to surrender to God. As if surrendering shows the weakness and flaws in us we always want to forget and hide in the darkest part of our closet. That giving up our rights and entitlement to God would cause such loss of every right of our own humanity. That accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior would take away our freedom and liberty to experience life to the fullest. And a lot more misconceptions about God. All these may appear to be true to us if we do not know the character of our heavenly Father, our One True God, if we don't have a personal intimate relationship, there is a danger of believing all these lies from the enemy.
But God is gracious and merciful. He let us know what we needed to know and never left the essential wisdom and knowledge unheard of from Him. He uses everything and anything to deliver His will right to our doorstep, yet sometimes we tend to be insensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and most of the time, we are impatient. Yes, we are impatient selfish human beings, and our human nature leads us to compromises, and the worst, causes us to sin. We may have past experiences that hold us back and the trauma is still there, but I assure you based on my encounter with Christ there is nothing more redeeming and liberating than accepting Jesus in our lives, He gives us peace, He is the peace we all need to reconcile us with Father God.
Our existence in this life and in this world is not only for us, not solely for our own selfish gain. There is a greater purpose for everything. It is never just about us. We are designed to cooperate and submit to God's law. We are His workmanship and He already prepared us for good works.
Let me share with you Bible verses from Philippians 3:13-14: Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. These Scriptures always encourage me to continue and be intentional in my walk with Jesus. The Christian life is not easy, I can even imagine my sisters and brothers in Christ right now saying in unison that it is not just hard, it is impossible, and I couldn't agree with them more.
Now that all have been said and done, I would also like to share with you a story through the chapbook I mentioned from one of my vlogs. Yep, you read it right, I'm releasing a new book this year 2021. It's a poetry and prose collection or some might say it is a thought catalog, but I'd prefer to call it a journey of letting go and let God be God.
I present to you the book cover of It's Not About Us (But What If It's About Us).
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