A blogger’s prayer

Thank you God for…

…the people I “meet” every day and for every friendship that blooms.  Because of these, I feel that my writing has a deeper purpose. 

…the encouraging comments I get from them. They are like messages brought down from heaven. They lift me up and give me wings to fly.

…allowing me to show the whole world whatever talent and skill you have given me.  I am grateful. 

…giving me the courage to face the risk of exposing my blunders, ignorance, and vulnerable self and in the process, inviting criticisms, both constructive and hurtful.  I know these are tests of will, strength, and maturity. Lord, make me a victor over these tests.

My best ever pizza dough

Just a few minutes ago, my family and I shared a mouth-watering pizza, fresh from my oven!  This is the best pizza I have ever made and I’m sharing my pizza dough recipe here you so can share the same joy with your family and friends. 

You can put anything you like on your pizza but I suggest, keep it simple. For this pizza, I used salami, tomato sauce (I’ll probably make my own next time!), cherry tomatoes, cheese (colonial, mozzarella, and parmesan), dried oregano, and fresh basil.  I sprinkled a little grated parmesan cheese (optional) and tossed the basil leaves only after the pizza was done.

A daily dose of surprises

“Today, there’s going to be another interesting discovery,” says my husband after drinking his second cup of coffee one early morning. 

The sun was just beginning to rise, revealing a cloudless sky.  Glancing at the sky through the glass door, he knew it was going to be a hot day. 

By this time, the rice plants in the experiment station where he works have started to flower.  This is the stage where breeding works are done and in the process, they create new varieties that contain desirable traits.

Like the heat of the summer sun, his passion for this kind of work, knowledge, and discovery burns constantly.

After sending him off to work, I thought I’d like to practice that attitude of looking forward to discovering something and more importantly, having an expectant heart knowing that each day has its own surprises. 

Last year’s battle

My family’s recent vacation in the Philippines presents itself like a reward for “surviving” last year’s battle called adjustment. 

While the very long journey going to our home country kept us under the weather for few days, our spirits were comforted by the warm hugs and kisses and stories we shared with our relatives and friends back home. 

At this point though, I still can’t tell how well I have fought the battle.  Nevertheless, I feel good to have gone through the tough times without losing my sense of purpose in coming here, although the much deeper purpose (I believe there is) I have yet to discover. 

My adjustment to my new physical environment was just as difficult as that to my new “career” as a full-time homemaker.