Standing Firm

Standing Firm

You see it all the time. People achieve success, and then their personal lives seem to fall apart. As someone once said, success has made failures of many men. But does that have to happen?

The September 1996 issue of Standing Firm magazine contains a great story about Bobby Bowden. Bowden is head football coach for Florida State University. His team's winning record places him near the top in wins among active coaches at the Division I level. Bowden's record of successes in bowl games is the highest winning percentage in NCAA history. So he is successful in his chosen career. Whether you are a fan of F.S.U. or not, you have to admit that Bowden is a successful coach.

But there is more to Bowden than the statistics you read in the sports pages. He is a man of faith, and makes no apologies for that. During hi steam's Friday evening meetings before their Saturday games, Bowden uses valuable time for team devotionals, which he leads. As for his ongoing leadership of the team's staff, each day he meets with his staff for devotions and prayer prior to their regular staff meetings.

Each year, Bowden takes his entire team to a predominantly black church for worship. The following Sunday, he takes the team to a predominantly white church. There is no deception involved--he writes a letter to each athlete's parents or guardian to tell them about the church visits and obtain their approval. "I'm trying to show these kids that they are accepted in church whether they are white or black," Bowden said.

So what is the point of this and the many other ways Bowden walks his walk of faith? Bowden says, "I want to show these kids that you can be a Christian, you can be a God-fearing man, you can abide by the rules, and you can still be successful."

How Does This Apply to Our Lives?

A number of social commentators have asked the questions, "Where are our heroes?" and "Where are the role models for today's youth?" That is because we constantly read about people who were considered heroes, but turned out to be villains who compromised their values and broke the rules. Is it necessary to compromise your values to make it in life? Bowden's story shows that it is not. No, Bowden is not perfect. But there is a core to his life. Bowden stands firm in his beliefs--and is successful. What is the difference between the Bobby Bowden's of the world, and others? Simply put, some people are like onions. They have no core, just layers. And when you peel away all the layers, nothing is left. Don't glorify the "onions" of the world. Instead, lift up people like Bowden--men and women with a core to their lives, who exhibit integrity and faith. Help them touch others. Encourage them. Pray for them. Finally, build and strengthen your own core. Start by placing your trust and confidence totally in God. Trusting in God does not guarantee you worldly success or great riches, but the Bible teaches that something far more important will result, blessings from God.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him." Job 17:9

Contributed by Rich McLawhorn email:REM@mail01.scdps.state.sc.us

That Paradise Feeling at Kawayan Cove

The blessings in between the free rides to and fro Nasugbu, Batangas were far greater than we have expected. Everything's so overwhelming because I really never thought such things still happen but they do! And I am so glad. So grateful.

Extending our waking hours to be a part of this Nasugbu visit never really mattered because that feeling of excitement was larger than anything. The skies were really cloudy and Marce's winds were still slapping the trees outside the Intercon Lobby, which was broad-casted as our meeting place at 6 AM of 9-11.

Around 10 AM, rains welcomed us as the bus trekked the hilly surfaces towards Nasugbu's edge. Despite the weather, Joey Puyat, one of the proud owners of the exclusive place, accepted us with a beaming face, thereby balancing the windy weather with his warmth.

As the little droplets continued to pour, we were first brought to their famous beige-colored Bamboo Beach Club via smaller vehicles. They let us wander around like kids to enjoy the beautiful sight and to play with our toys, never minding the drizzle. We met some friends, too.

Edward, my Godchild's father and officemate, came to know about this event through an online forum and Anton's blog (http://anton.blogs.com/) and invited me to join in and we were ecstatic about it when we were finally enlisted to become a part such great opportunity. Anton is a famous blogger who loves to travel especially going to beach areas.

While US was commemorating the WTC incident, Anton was giving us tips on how he records his travels through his full-of-life photos. Composition mattered more to him than the technical aspects. He is more into the story that the photo tells.

After flipping a few slide samples of luscious food pictures he had taken during his previous trips, he finally decided that we do it for real. Good follow-through! However, instead of us sweeping off the veggie viands from the pots and murdering the grilled fishes and chicken, we gathered patience and suppressed our hunger so as to take snapshots of the tasteful dishes just as Anton had taught us.

And then the party ultimately began. Green mango strips with bagoong appetized us. Delectable crabs were served per table and then the crispy lechon came in a little late but it didn't matter. Pots were filled with ginataang kangkong (which I loved), somehow marinated-in-sweet-vinegar turnip strips (don't know how it's called and made but it was very delicious), atchara, red egg with tomatoes, and sweet potato leaves. Crews were continuously grilling those juicy shrimps and healthy squids. Chicken parts were barbecued earlier as well as the grilled big tanguiges and they tasted so yummy. The soup of pesang manok completed the meal to serve as warmers. And to top it all, rice was wrapped in banana leaves, making us enjoy our food more.

The next thing I knew, I couldn't breathe. But the party has not ended yet for there are succulent, artistically-sliced fruits on another table. You name it: pineapple, apple, watermelon, and orange. Super perfect meal!

A little while after, Arbee, the organizer, began roaming around asking the sizes of our feet. Trailing behind her was one of the crews carrying a box of Havaianas flip-flops. Ohh lala!

Siesta was not an option after that hearty meal but there was a better alternative to that. Meditation. As Joey opened the gates of Meditation Point, the sight took our breaths away and all we could say was "Wow!" The view was incredible. Very refreshing, relaxing, and peaceful. Perfect for quiet times when it's not raining. The only sound you'd hear are the flapping waves that would want to cause you to sleep. According to Isabel, the grandmother, the place was at its worst so we better come back during its best and that would be summer time.

Mango Grove was our last stop before heading back to where there are sands and huts. It is a picnic ground perfect for family outings. It has a tree house, Spiderman's giant web, swimming pool, an amphitheater, grilling stations, a hammock, and kids' playground. An outstanding spot for total quality time and de-stressing moments. By 15:45, we were offered more fruits and cool water back in the clubhouse. Anton announced earlier that we could choose two of our shots and have them printed on a postcard-sized photo paper while taking a break.

And you think that's all? We thought so, too. Yet the Grace of God never stopped pouring. Before we hopped off to our tour vans that will send us to the bus for our ride home, the Puyat family distributed only-baked-at-Christmas round buttercakes housed in rattan-made boxes to everyone with some, getting two boxes because of the overflowing supply. I was one of them! I brought one box to Baguio for my family to take part in my delight. Edward and I went home that day, still with that floating feeling.

The best things in life are, indeed, free! I am so much grateful to the Puyat family's warm accommodation.

For more of Kawayan Cove's history and information, you can check out http://www.kawayancove.com/ and see the impressive aerial views.

P.S.

The factors that distinctively identifies Kawayan Cove were, sadly, none in my photos. I guess I was not creative enough to take a shot of the bamboos nor the cove. Well, I was able to get near the cove but concentrated on the waters and forgot about that inlet which Kawayan Cove is known of. I should never miss it next time. =)

More Kawayan Cove pictures can be viewed at http://elyt.multiply.com/

How Do You Perceive Sunsets?

Sunsets could tell us or remind us of a few things:

- That even if the day has ended, we don't have to likewise end things on our side. It could serve as our rest or break before we continue battling over our trials when the sun rises again. That is, battle trials with strength and gratefulness - grateful that these trials make us stronger, probably without us realizing it yet.

- That we evaluate and reflect how our day has transpired and try our best to count the graces of God, and maybe this way, we will go to bed hugging our loved ones, instead of stress. After all, life is balanced by pain and struggle so fretting about them is just a waste of time, energy, and most of all, happiness that we could not gain back when time has already passed.

- That no matter how frustrating, stressful, sad, and disappointing things could be, the sun reminds us that life goes on and we can flush these emotions that badly affect our decisions down along with the sun so we can always start anew.

- That since we cannot control its setting everyday, there are also things in our lives that we do not have control over. And even if we pour all our efforts to disagree, argue, or rage over uncontrollable things, nothing good will come out of it if the change won't be coming from the source. Thus, we go back to the second point above, waste of time. Since God has control over all things, the one thing we have control over is prayer.

I know things are easier said than done and I have been in these bad situations, too, but reminding us of great things definitely lightens up the mood, don't you think?

So how about you, how do you perceive sunsets?

Can you pronounce Wat Pho's official name?

We were made to be flexible. Though we were not able to follow our itinerary due to schedule conflicts and the limited time we had, we could say we have gone to the most visited sites of Thailand.

We promised on our first day that we were coming back to Wat Pho or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha no matter what, so that was our ultimate goal the very first part of our last day. This reclining buddha used to be un-sheltered and exposed. I don't know when Thais started to be concerned of the Buddha's "health" so they built a roof over it with thick pillars as support. This is, by far, the largest and oldest Buddha in Bangkok, measuring 46 meters long and 15 meters high dating back 200 years ago. Thai massage also originated here. Oh by the way, can you pronounce to me its official full name? It's Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn.

Wat Pho grounds have more than a thousand Buddhas. Our eyes were so full of it that we decided not to visit Wat Traimit anymore since the site also houses more of the same-looking golden Buddhas. We instead went to the Royal Temple, a spot recommended by a Thai we met while we were shopping for durian and jackfruit flakes plus more Thailand souvenirs outside Wat Pho.

Royal Temple was not part of our itinerary because, apart from not being listed, it was kind of limited to visitors since some of the structures were being destroyed during the time that it was still open to all. They wanted to preserve it since the Royal family regularly goes to the temple to worship. We met the architect of the Royal Temple and told us that the story of King and I surrounds the temple.

We visited Wimanmek Palace the last. Sadly, we were not allowed to take pictures, I guess they were afraid that we would imitate their designs. Nah, since it was a museum of the King's personal arts and handicrafts showing the Thai national heritage, everything should be preserved. It was built in 1901.

On our first day, we planned to postpone our visit to the Royal Barges Museum to the 3rd day. However, after the Wimanmek tour, we got so tired that we weighed if the Royal Barges Museum was worth visiting. Well, shopping won over the visit to the museum so we headed straight to where we think we should be to do our last minute chores. Royal Barges Museum was not meant to be a part of our memories. =D

Enough of Wats for now, how about outside Bangkok?

The sound of a floating market gets us all excited even before the trip since that spot has been broad-casted in the world as a Thailand trademark. It is not located within Bangkok but one can find it 106 kms away or 1.5 - 2 hours from the city, which is not bad at all. But whenever you hear the word market, does it always connote cheap goods? Nah, not for this market. The prices are surprisingly at least 100% more costly than the real prices, and the sellers would make this facial expression as if they have the best prices in the market. Since we only had faint ideas of how much the goods really were, we tried to bargain to the best of our ability (with all the reasoning I could think of at that moment accompanied by begging eyes). It would take me at least a minute to negotiate until they'd give me the price that was close, if not exact, to what I want. Sometimes, I would be startled to see them come running after me if I leave when I don't get the price I want. That made me think "Hmm, if they can give my price to me, then they must have enjoyed over-pricing their goods..."

There was even this one time when my kumare Lian was buying the carved floating market souvenir and I was also one seller away from her checking the same thing but in a smaller package (I didn't know she was almost beside me). I was applying my begging ability to the seller and was about to get the 125 or 150-Baht worth of smaller token when Lian came near me, I quickly boasted that I am about to get the token at 125-150 Bt ONLY, emphasizing the ONLY keyword. She almost raised her voice alarming me that hers was only 100 Bt and bigger. I thought I fell off the ledge down to the waters. Uh-oh! My eyes widened and confronted my seller "She got hers at 100 Bt only, what's the difference with yours?!" The seller explained that hers had more vivid colors etc. Alright, I believe I still have near-perfect vision and Lian was wearing her glasses but we CAN'T see ANY difference. Nice try lady. But I bought her smaller token after the argument anyway, with a low price (at 75 Bt) because I was afraid that I might exceed the baggage weight limit. So there it is. The weather was soo hot and things were even hotter with the great EFFORT made just to settle a good deal.

Then I thought I've got the great deal. What really hurt was when we discovered on our LAST shopping day that the same goods we've bought from the market in which we thought were already cheap, were even cheaper in the oldest mall of Bangkok by around 10-20%. Great, just great. But that's okay, we did not know. I'm fine. Really. =D

Anyway, going back to the outskirts of Bangkok, the day-tour also included a visit to the Samphran Elephant Ground and Zoo. I really really enjoyed what happened here. I've already witnessed 2 dolphin shows since I started traveling but trying something new would be refreshing. This is, again, another of Thailand's most famous site. We did not mind paying 500 Bt because we knew that this riding adventure might just be a one-time event for all of us. And yes, it was very memorable. The elephants were adorable. They know how to pose in front of a camera. When we gave our tip to our guide, the elephant used the trunk to get the money and passed it on to his master. Cute.

Oh before I forget, we had our stomachs full before we started our exciting Elephant ride. It was a buffet lunch and we were given the chance to try dishes that almost had a common denominator, spice. Even the pasta that they have prepared for Westerners was even spicy, the sauce almost tasted like curry. What the gang liked best was the sea brass fish fillet with the Jufran-like sauce (sweet and spicy), we kept coming back for that. We tried all the noodles our eyes could set on (and of course, I and Joy saw Pad Thai again and I think 1/3 of our plates were just noodles). I could not remember the names but the dishes were great! I wished I had 4 stomachs like that of a cow during that time.

The Elephant Show completed our day when they raced, wiggled, danced, did a "hand-stand", hopped with 3 legs, crossed their front legs, played the drums, and kicked soccer balls. One of them even played an invisible guitar - rock and roll! If only they could sing, then that would be a blast! (Find the videos at http://elyt.multiply.com/).

Getting nearer to Bangkok, we stopped by at Rose Garden to watch Thailand's cultural show featuring their dances, how they conduct a wedding, a Muay Thai fight, long pole-short pole fight, and a sword fight. The fighting scenes were enacted with actual fighting moves so you would really appreciate them. I'd also say one of their dances has a very close resemblance to our former national dance, Tinikling. In our Tinikling, we are already contented with just having a pair of bamboo sticks, one tempo, and a constant series of hops done by a pair of "Tinikling-ers." And for us, it already looks difficult to perform. But the Thais do not think that. If there's an existing contest for the Tinikling-like dance, Thais would have the trophy. Well, we saw 4 pairs of dancers, thus, 4 pairs of bamboo sticks and as the music continued on, the tempo went faster and faster requiring them to perform quicker hops. One pair did not just dance with their own pair of bamboos, instead, they danced passing all 4 bamboo pairs in different styles since the bamboo sticks were positioned adjacent to the others. (Find the video at http://elyt.multiply.com/). So okay, I give up. I'd rather play the rock-paper-scissors game.

Speaking of common denominator earlier, the activity that we never miss doing was the shopping-for-souvenirs activity. Since we stayed one alley away from Khaosan Road where stalls were set up during the later part of the day until late at night or very early morning, we always dropped by to check if there were items worth buying.

That night, I was still sick and dead-tired. So the moment we got into our rooms, I quickly cleaned up and it took me less than 2 minutes to be in dreamland.

Missing the glittering lights at Sunset

First day was reserved for famous temples or Wats such us Wat Arun or The Temple of the Dawn. This is because the structure glitters during sunset or sunrise. Unfortunately, our timing was off. We went there around 4:30 PM, the sun was still so high and our feet were aching from touring the Grand Palace grounds. Looking at our itinerary, we were supposed to visit this temple at the end of the day after we have gone to the rest of the Wats. Our list during that time says we will visit 3 Wats on day 1 (Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho, and Wat Arun) and Wat Traimit on the last day. I have already crossed off Wat Phra Kaew from the list after someone has explained to us that Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace were built in one compound. We then decided to pursue viewing Wat Pho, which should be located just BEHIND the Grand Palace compound. While walking towards it and dismissing the scorching sun, my friend Edward met a man who told them that Wat Pho closed early that day to accommodate the worshippers or something to that effect. We had no choice but to proceed to Wat Arun earlier than scheduled but we also made sure that Wat Pho should never be missed. We shall return!

Shopping concluded our first day at Khaosan Road, the road just behind our inn. Again, Joy ordered Pad Thai for dinner.

Driver, Wat Phra Kaew please? Oh you don't know?!

We already have the map in our hands but we were not aware that Wat Phra Kaew also stands within the Grand Palace compounds. According to the map, they are located near to each other but not so clear that they are bounded by the same walls. The site opens at 9 AM and we got there by around 10 AM since we had to procure closed shoes due to the dress code they are implementing according to the sites I have visited. But when we got there, we could see so many people in their open-toed footwear (but definitely no shorts!). Right there and then, my friends changed back to their more-comfortable sandals. We spent taking pictures the entire morning (still thinking that we have been touring only the Grand Palace but actually, we consumed the whole time capturing memories at Wat Phra Kaew).

And then our digestive tracts started to growl. We just walked out from the white walls and looked for any restaurant so we could easily go back to visit what we thought we hadn't yet. We landed at a seafood restaurant which stands by the river. They have great food and refreshments and that's when my friend Joy first realized she's starting to like Pad Thai (noodles) very much. Most of all, the blueberry smoothie we ordered was the day's highlight, I forgot what I have ordered for my main course.

After satisfying our buds, we decided to take a cab to what we thought should be our next destination. No wonder the taxi driver could not "find" it and he was also asking people around about where we want to go. And then finally, he drove us around the same white walls we just enjoyed a few hours ago. The next thing we know, we found ourselves standing outside a very familiar entrance. Alright, we were back to where we were. What just happened? Well, it was a great relief to find someone who could understand English. He explained to us that Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace are located in one compound. Okay, 2 down from our itinerary.

Abandoned

No matter how grand the place is if no one is there to listen, eloquent speech would be useless.

Pathway

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable." ~Joseph Addison