fun trekking.

The "magic stays with you" seems not an EK-exclusive banner. This surreally wonderful experience happened 9 months ago and i still feel the horror and fun. I am not an outdoorsy-type and climbs are never really my brand of fun

I got several invites before but i always said no. This time i finally said yes, on the premise that the activity would be easy - something that we, beginners, can do. A friend even assured us we'd be fun trekking only- no difficult trails. So off we went to Cassava-Kalaha trails.

But it terrified the heaven out of me wading through those difficult (i mean deadly) trails. I could have really died if i didn't take extra care... where you need to hold on those rocks for your life. I knew i whined a lot that time...i couldn't even count my shrieks of horror. Ha-ha But hey, i wasn't the same person after that.

It was exhausting and relaxing at the same time, fulfilling and rewarding at the end of it all. And I thank God for the beauty in the randomness of nature!

The Tennis Party (40 Love)

Every time I have my usual malling, I never failed to catch a quick stopover at a bookstore (National Bookstore or BOOKSALE). I would browse books from my favourite authors. And one day, while having an aimless look at the books, I was lucky in Booksale. That I almost flapped in delight. I bumped in to this super sale, hard bound book from my Madeleine Wickham aka Sophie Kinsella - the 40 Love. (I've been rooting for Sophie Kinsella since I read her Shopaholic series). Get this, I bought the book for Php40. Pretty much a catch!

Fast forward to the actual leafing through the pages (I did not mean to insinuate I did not enjoy it, Haha). I find it surprising I was actually dragging myself finishing the book. Maybe, it was the story I was never excited about… it was full of negativity. There's too much drama surrounding the characters and all were unravelled in their two-day stint in the house of the Chances. I was shell-shocked with so many clashes between Cressida and her husband, who still has the hots for his ex, Ella. Patrick, to get his bonus, tricks Stephen into buying his investment funds. Stephen, later on, developed a rift with his wife, Annie for not telling her about the investment fund.

Moreover, the tennis party (or tennis per se) did not interest me so much. I think I just had enormous expectation from the book knowing the usual chick lit from Sophie Kinsella.

Here's is the summary from goodreads:
Everyone wins this game of literary tennis, a comedy of manners about envy in which Wickham skewers the nouveau riche. At their country estate, Patrick Chance and his wife host a weekend tennis party. As four couples gather on the sunny terrace, it seems obvious who among them is succeeding, and who is falling behind. But by the end of the party, nothing will be quite as certain. While the couples’ children amuse themselves with pony rides and rehearsals for a play, the adults suffer a series of personal revelations and crises. Wickham’s nonstop action reveals at every turn that matters may not be as they seem, and in the end one thing is crystal clear: the weekend is about anything but tennis

Let's Have a Break.

"Break sa ta!" is this year's theme for Crossroads Retreat sponsored by ALNP. Along with the service, the retreat is a perfect breather from the hustle and bustle of work and home. And amidst all the chaos and hectic schedules we hold everyday, a pause from all these is a much-needed.

I've been attending this retreat for about 4 years already. Each retreat has been an enriching experience. The modules may have not changed but the experiences are equally enriching and moving...as we are confronted with endless decisions. The duration of the retreat tackled 4 inspiring talks:

1.) Where am I?
This talk was prepared by Aga and he prepared an Evolution Game to kick off. It was a fun game where everyone gets to play jack-en-poy, We were all given an egg mask and whoever wins in the jack-en-poy becomes a chicken. All chicken who win in the next round become human and eventually become a superhero. One must be so lucky to become the superhero. Haha Others remained an egg, a chicken and human. The talk stressed that we must anchor our decisions with the ancient wisdom or eternal principles - which are the law of love, law of forgiveness and law of faithfulness.

2.) Choices of the Heart
This may sound cliche but life is all about choices. Indeed, talk two tackled "Choices of the Heart". You may wonder whose heart? The choice we make is based on God's and our heart. Sometimes, we dwell on something we really want and do not seek what God wants. And wham, we fall into sin, we feel empty and alone. Thus, this talk tells us that we must seek God's heart.

Here are the tidbits from this talk:
*God's loving decision is when He chose to create and be our Father
*God's greatest gamble and gift is when He give us freedom to either love Him or reject Him
*True love is impossible without freedom
*God chose to win our hearts, to take the initiative to reach out to us.



Sir Guy, the Branch Leader, doing the introduction





The attentive participants, a little chit-chat is totally okay. Ha-Ha




Retreats are never complete without much goofing around...the camera.

 

Let me end with a quote very fitting for this course...
"Life has cross-roads in it. It may move along smoothly and then suddenly it changes, that's why we need God's involvement in everything." I couldn't agree more!