Forgiveness comes from a humble heart

How many of us understand the meaning of forgiveness? How many of us know how to forgive? How many of us can let go of pain, grudges and revenge? How many of us can love the person who caused us pain, who hurt us, who let us suffer, who disappoints us? How many of us can love our enemies? How many of us can ask for forgiveness?

In today’s Gospel (June 17, 2008 - Mt 5:43-48), Jesus taught us about forgiveness. He speaks of gentleness, of compassion and happiness. When we ask for forgiveness, we should be sincere, real and true to ourselves. When we ask for forgiveness it should come from the heart. A person who asks for forgiveness just for the sake of being forgiven is not far from a devil who hides himself under the mask of an angel. And when we grant forgiveness our hearts should be free from anger and hatred.

We forgive because it is what our hearts say. We do not forgive and afterwards give condition telling him/her “I forgive you but do not do it again.” There is no guarantee that the person will not do it again and again. We forgive because that is what the Lord taught us. And even up to this day, we are still being taught of forgiveness.

It is through forgiving that we can have inner peace and happiness. I know it is not easy to forgive and forget, but a person who knows how to forgive have often experienced how to be forgiven most especially by the Lord.

We are capable of forgiving because the Lord always forgives our sins and wrong doings. There is no other reason why we forgive but the Lord God. He alone is the reason that is why we are called to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

In his homily, Fr. Genie Diwa said, “only a humble heart knows how to forgive.” I always believe that humility is a virtue. A person who humbles himself/herself and is willing to admit that he/she is wrong is a person who symbolize

When Nanay said Goodbye

There are things in our life that we can’t do anything but to accept. Sometimes we have to let go of someone even though it is painful. This is the rule of life and we have to submit ourselves to it in order to live normally.

There are people in our lives that occupy big space in our hearts because they play significant roles. Some became part of our growing up while some became an important ingredient of who we are and what we are now.

Nanay is one big part of me. She has a special place here in my heart. She was close to me. She was close to us. I go to her house once in a while but she is the one who often visits us at home. We live in the same street. My mom takes care of Nanay. She cooks and prepares food for her and attends to every need of Nanay. Nanay will sometimes knock at our door saying, “Minda, Minda kakain na ba?” She would sit on the chair and sings her favorite Ilocano songs and every now and then she gives pieces of advice. She always tells the story of her life, her struggles, her pains, her difficulties, her victories and her joys. She constantly reminds us about our health telling us “basa ang likod mo, magpalit ka ng dami baka ubuhin ka.” “O, ang lalamig ng mga paa mo, halika at hilutin natin ng langis.” “Wag ka masyado malapit sa TV, lalabo ang mata mo.” “Magpagupit ka na nga ang haba haba na ng buhok mo mukha ka ng matanda.” Those were some of Nanay’s reminders to me.

She goes to our house whenever one of us is sick, despite her age, she insists on helping in the household chores. She exercises regularly. She attends Mass at the Sto. Cristo Chapel in Sto. Tomas. She is a fortune teller. I remember what she always tells me every time she holds my hands and sees the lines in my palms. She will say, “Oi, ikaw sumpungin ka pero maya maya wala na. Matipid ka, marunong ka sa buhay. Oi, pataas lahat, paakyat ang pera. Haba ng buhay mo. Matutupad mga pangarap mo. Makakpagpatayo ka ng sarili mong bahay. Yung balak mong mag-abroad matutupad.” Those were the things she constantly tells me. She is brave. She is tough but she is unselfish. She loves to eat vegetable and her all time favorite, Banana!!!

During my college days, I always accompany Nanay in getting her pension at PNB, España and afterwards we will eat at Jollibee. I also accompany her at the UST hospital for eye check up with Dr. Javate. We were walking along Gov. Forbes and exchanged stories while heading for a jeep in España. There are many things Nanay shared to me as well as to my family.

How I wish I could turn back time. As her apo, I know I have my share of shortcomings to her but I know she understands. It is so hard to bid farewell to someone who has become a part of you. It’s so hard to let go of Nanay.

Four weeks ago she was with us. Four weeks ago, she started to be weak. It was sudden. She was brought to the hospital thrice but the doctor refuse to confine her instead offered that Nanay should have home medication. She ate less and refuses to take her medicines. Day after day she gets weak. On June 1, she gets different. She no longer eats, speaks and she barely open her eyes. She was just lying in bed. All of us were there. Her children, my mom, Tita Babes and Tito Boy and all her grandchildren were there up to her last breathe. We were all there by her side.

On June 2, at around 2 in the morning, we surrounded her. We’re crying for we know she will leave any time. She was running after her breathe. I was holding her hand and felt that she was already cold. Her heart stops beating. We cried hard. We all held her and kissed her for the last time.

Nanay was 92. She lived long and had a wonderful life. It’s time for her to rest for she already accomplished her mission here on earth. Yes, I am still holding on to her memories but I (we) have to let her go so that she can journey well with her new life with God in heaven.

She was buried at the Nacional Funerary in Araneta, Avenue and was laid to rest at Loyola Memorial park in Marikina on June 7, 2008 at 10 a.m. We also would like to express our deepest gratitude to those people who were with us during our grieve. Thank you very much.

"Nay, your body will soon perish but the wisdom you shared with us will be cherished forever here in our hearts. We love you and 

Joan won the Yummy Cook-Off at Shangrila

Joan Manalang, the Art Director and the Artist Chef won the first ever Yummy Cooking Competition in the Blogger Category on September 30, 2007, at Shangrila Mall at 3 p.m.

 The competition was divided into three categories namely: Moms, Blogger and Chef division.

It was presented by Summit Media and Yummy Magazine. The YUMMY is a modern food magazine for anyone who loves to cook and eat. The YUMMY magazine gives inspiration readers to be creative about their home menus even with time and budget constraints. The magazine is also packed with useful and practical content for only P95.00.

Every issue of the magazine has more than 40 doable and delicious recipes, with ingredients available in the supermarket. It also has beautiful food images, styling and overall layout. It is useful for cooking and food shopping tips, instructionals, and of course, exciting food features and dining-out articles.

The show was hosted by Ruby Rodriguez and Chef Jun.



Here are some of the photos.

The ARTIST CHEF at CONDO CENTRAL Magazine

My sister JOAN who is an ART DIRECTOR on weekdays and an ARTIST CHEF on weekends is featured in the JULY issue of the CONDO CENTRAL Magazine. The article is entitled JUST FOR TWO. Discover how she came up with a business like this one - a romantic dinner date for two with an affordable prize of P1,800.00. Here she narrates how she blends her ideas in the arts and her passion for food.


The Artist Chef




The Work Place




The Ambiance




The Arrangements

JOAN MANALANG...the Artist Chef

JOAN MANALANG, a name known to the advertising industry, is a name attached to the word ART. That is how exactly I would describe this lady. A woman who exemplifies not just beauty but a woman holding tight to determination, perseverance, wisdom, goal and dreams.

This is how she wants her future to be. Since our childhood days, she never loses hope of being somebody someday. She has a vision and she works hard toward that vision. At 28, being an ART DIRECTOR, I believe she is halfway through her dreams. She harvests the fruits of her labors. A proud woman whose head is up high when she walks down the streets in Makati and as she mingles with the society's high profiles.

A Fine Arts graduate majoring in Advertising at the University of Santo Tomas, Joan has done many print ads for Smart (SMART Buddy and SMART Gold) and TV commercials like SKIN WHITE, ANLENE, UCARE 1,2,3, (Biyenan and Balae), STRESSTABS (with Tuesday Vargas), LEWIS AND PEARL powder, GREEN CROSS SOAP (with Maricel Soriano), CHOWKING nai cha, black gulaman and mongo pao, and the recent is the DUTCHMILL Yoghurt drink. Apart from these, she has also been into modeling, photography and painting, and most of her works became finalists in some prestigious art contests.

She has also done various posters, brochures, flyers, etc. relevant to her field. But her inclination toward the arts never hinders her passion for cooking. As a matter of fact, cooking has become an added income for her. She is branded as the ARTIST CHEF of the people who know her and of course, those people who have been acquainted with her. To her family, she is the kitchen queen. She has a condo unit in Makati which serves as the place for a romantic and cozy dinner for two. The place is simply decorated with white curtains, white tables and chairs, and white plates. The walls are also painted white and Joan's works of Art are spread throughout the place. You can tell her beforehand if you want to have your personal style during the dinner. A menu will also be given to you beforehand to allow you which food you want to be served.

You may also request her to have the food you like if it is not on the menu. Aside from the white atmosphere that brings a positive aura, a selection of amorous songs from Jazz Cappuccino CD will light up and stir the romance in the place.

For the amount of P1,800, a unique and heartwarming experience will be added to your library of memories of course, with the special person in your life.

By the way, Joan Manalang is my sister and I am very proud!

Lessons on Friendship

These past few days, I’ve been so confused with the people and with the things that are happening around me. I do not know who are real, those with a sincere heart, those whom I can trust and those who wear different masks to cover the person in them. Fate has twists and turns. They say things happen for a reason and I definitely believe it is God's will.

Yes, it is the will of God because I’ve come to realized a few things in life and had learned some lessons from one of the most valuable gift from God, friendship.

Friends can be classified as friends for good times, friends for bad times and friends for life. To which do you belong?

When you enter the wondrous gift of friendship, be sure that you know its meaning, its value, its importance and its essence. You enter that kind of relationship not only because you want someone you can have good time with and to laugh with. Girl, if that is what you want, you merely want to have fun and not happiness. Friendship paves way to happiness - the happiness of discovering the real person that she/he is and happiness of revealing or opening the kind of person that you are. Friendship is the happiness of realizing and appreciating what is in your hearts.

Friendship is attached to the word commitment. It is a reciprocal kind of relationship. You benefit from each other. You help each other grow. You help each other to reach out. Do not appreciate what is only good in her/him. For that is not real friendship. Friendship accepts even the most disastrous attitude or behavior one has. Friendship embraces not just the strength your friends possess but you also have to learn to cuddle its weakness.

Friendship goes hand in hand with sincerity and trust. When one enters friendship, he/she should be sincere with his words and deeds. If you promise to keep a word, be sure to keep as it is and never ever use it against him/her when the time comes you both decide to end it. Friendship develops the meaning of trust. If trust dwells in the heart of friends, doubts and worries will have no room in it. If you trust, you know how to love and if you love you will also be loved.

Don’t love your friends because you need something from them. Don’t love your friends because they meet your expectations. Don’t love your friends because you share a drink of beer or a cup of coffee. Don’t love your friends because you have the same units of cellular phone or the same brand of shoes. Don’t love your friends because you always eat and chat in a cozy restaurant. Please don’t, don’t love your friends because you benefit from them. Love them no matter who they are and not for what they have. Love them because you have accepted them without any hesitations and simply because you want them to be part of your life.

Friendship involves maturity (in mind and in deeds). Always see the scenario. Always listen and then speak. Keep an open mind. Don’t jump into conclusion. Widen your understanding and learn from your mistakes. Do not judge others if you don’t want them to judge you, too. Remember the golden rule? Keep the lines of communication always open. If there is something that is bothering you, always voice it out. Directly confront your friends if you want to clarify things and never believe in hearsays.

Sad to say but I was surrounded by a very deceiving people, or friends should I say who wear different faces everyday. It is painful to say that once I thought I found a lifetime friendship. A friend I considered a family. A friendship I treasured and valued a lot. A friendship I fought from beginning to the end over a lot of people who have false judgment. But now it is a friendship ruined by false allegations of a rigid level of understanding.

Friendship is tested by time. It will be attacked by a range of dilemmas, problems and challenges. Remember, the weather of friendship is not always a sunny day. But, if genuine friendship prevails, no matter how heavy the storm is, it will always stand firm and strong.

I lost one friendship but the door was opened and a new one came. I won’t say that it’s for life now, but I will always give the best to make it grow in maturity and love.

I lost one, I gained another but there are still a few friends left. Learning from the past mistakes, I will start a new with them with new hopes and new dreams.

I lost one, I gained one, a few others are left, and most of all, I’ll make stronger the foundation of a friendship to someone who has long been there, long been kept and long been treasured. God make His way, He permits things to happen. I am thankful and grateful for making me closer to a special friend who is always a part of my life.

Friendship no matter how far the distance, how busy the lines of communications are and how complicated life may be, when founded and rooted in hearts that is always willing to sacrifice and to love, remains friends till the end.

Painful and difficult it may sound, in life, sometimes we have to learn the art of letting go. To free our minds and our hearts, we simply have to let go of the things that once had meaning in our lives. Don’t hold on to a thing that is unworthy of your time. Life is journeyed forward and not backward.

I only have a few friends. I have two best friends, a number of special friends and some close friends. I can count them in my fingers but I am happy and glad having them because I believe we have shared various things that helped us make a better person and moments that strengthen our friendship. Life is beautiful and God is good, remember that!

In Silence...

There are things that are meant to happen and they don’t just happen. They happen for a reason.

There are words that are better left unsaid. Because if you voice it out, you might got hurt.

There are feelings and emotions that are better unexpressed. Because if you show it, you lose in the end.

There are stories need not to be told. They are better kept.

The only one who knows it well and you trusted the most is Him.

For someone who cannot voice out the love inside his heart,
for the one who keeps quiet and watches his love grows,
for you who loves in silence,
this is for you!