Arlene Manocot's Blog, page 8

This is 33: A Year Older, A Year Wiser

A Year Older
Last April I turned a year older. That is a belated happy birthday to me! Yey! I was not able to post anything on my blog last month. Sigh. I tried to, but it was never posted. I started and was not able to finish those supposed to be blogpost on the month of April. A little disappointing but manageable. 
So, May started. We are now in the beginning of this year's second quarter. Life is hard and never easy, yet we are able to be living and breathing up to this point. I am happy for you and me. We are alive and trying are best to stay grounded and continue thriving. 
I am a year older, but I do not feel old. This must be what 33 is. I feel young, maybe one of the reasons is my daily encounter with my students. They are playful, and sometimes naughty or difficult to deal with, but that is what youngsters do. They are who they are, it is part of growing up. They do what they are supposed to do. It is a phase where adults need to be patient and understanding towards them, to build relationship through communication towards mutual respect. 
Now, I feel like getting older from all the things I have said. I never thought I would have that kind of realization. I had this thought that I am selfish and uncaring towards others. As I grow older, I have come to realize that I can also be selfless and caring to others in my own ways, and there maybe times that my act of selflessness and caring will be misinterpreted by some. I have to improve on that I think, but I no longer burden myself with unnecessary worry or doubt. 
A Year Wiser
Am I a year wiser? I do wonder, yet I feel like I am and I know that I am. There is an improvement that is for sure. With the decisions I made and I am making, I think I am a year wiser. I wise up in terms of my financial and social skills. My spiritual health is improving. My relationship with God has been better, and trusting Him that it will get even more better as I grow wiser. I have come to love teaching and learning with my students. It has been a long journey, twelve (12) years in teaching, thirty three (33) years of sojourning in this life. All I can say is thank You, Lord, in good times and bad times. I still have a long way to go. 
I do not have too much, but I have enough. God is so gracious in providing my needs, my family's, and the people close to me. 
I do not feel good all the time, but I know that my future is in His hands. He takes care of me. 
I maybe doubting sometimes, but He is my assurance. Life can get hard as it is, yet His grace and provisions are here to stay. 
I am expectant and hopeful for the plans He has for my life. I pray to serve my purpose in this life according to His will and I know it is not easy sometimes, and again life can be difficult as it already is. 
Life still has its beauty, even though there are more down times, rather than high time. 
Life can be enjoyed, despite the trials and tribulations. 
Life is not a race, so do not be in a hurry.
A life with Him is a life of joy, peace, love, trials, and tribulations! It is a not a strom free life, but a storm proof life. Storm proof at 33!
P.S. For those who are curious, yes, I am 200% girl, female, from the lineage of Eve, and other names or labels you can think of. I am a queen and a princess. 

Love Chooses, Love Stays

Does love really? Does love choose? Does love stay?

What if people leave, does it mean there is no more love?
What if people stay, does it mean there is still love?

Well, how can I know if there is love in the first place? How do I know what I have is love? How do I know what I feel is love? Is there a structured step-by-step process to know if love exist? Is there any clue that will lead to the right and perfect answers to all these queries inside my head?
Questions after questions only lead to more questions.
Sometimes love can be the most confusing abstract idea we can ever deal with, but there are also times when love, and its power, is the only thing that can provide clarity.

Choose

Living is making choices. We are constantly choosing and choosing, either we are doing it consciously or not. Life is a choice. Cliché as it may sound, it is a fact. Making choices is one of the building blocks of one’s human life. We experience domino effect every time we choose. Consequences are the results of our choices. Good choices may lead to good consequences and bad choices may lead to bad consequences. 
Logically speaking, having the right wisdom is an advantage in making good choices. We made wrong choices and suffered bad consequences. I made ones and I welcomed regret along with the pain attached to it. We made right choices and enjoyed good consequences. I made good ones I guess and I was at ease with joy or sometimes I doubted if I deserve the joy from those good consequences.
Is there any love among the choices we have made in our lives so far? Are we motivated by love every single time we make a choice?  
Know love and choose love, always, and I am aware how hard to choose it always. 

Stay

We have no choice over consequences, but we have control over our choices. Consequences are about to befall upon us even if we try to avoid them or put a barricade around us. They are the results of our choices. Whether we prefer to run away or face the consequence, the end game is that it will only run after us. It will never stop chasing after us. So face and deal with it. Stay, never leave. Once we know the true meaning of love, stay, and stay in love.
Stay. Stay, and accept the consequences of our own choices. Stay, and learn from the consequences of our own choices. Stay, and believe that the wrong choices we made are not that hopeless.  
There is hope, so stay. Please stay. Do not leave.
Are we to stay or leave?
You should stay. We should stay. Never leave. Please.
Everything is unclear if we do not have the knowledge of the certainties. Life itself is full of ambiguity, full of questions. No one can be certain of the future if we put our belief into something that is as temporal as this world that we live in. We make choices every day, and sometimes I think it makes more sense to choose to leave this world, rather than to stay. Sometimes, there is that strong desire within us that engulfs our whole being to no longer want to stay, to choose to leave and never to stay.      
Sounds like running someone wants to badly run away. Do we? Do I? Do I badly want to run away? To choose leaving, rather than staying. But I should stay, we should stay, and never forget that we are chosen. He stays with us in love. Love chooses, love stays. He chooses and He definitely stays.

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Ephesians 1:4 ESV

Congratulations Lacey Williams! Thank you for joining the giveaway. I will send a message to your email about how to claim your prize, please look forward to it. Thank you again.  

Love Listens, Love Obeys

I have nothing concrete to share on this blog as of this moment, I am going with the flow of my thoughts right now, though, I have a concrete title for this blogpost and that is Love Listens, Love Obeys. I keep on talking about love and love on this season of love in the month of February. Love Scars, Love Heals is my first entry and Love Hurts, Love Waits is the second one.
I ask myself: Do I have the slightest authority or even the right to write a post about something under the context of Love Listens, Love Obeys?
I do listen. I do obey. But to what extent? Am I doing enough for love? Love in all its forms: Agape, Storge, Philia, and (never mind) Eros.

Love listens

Geb.tv explains these four (4) types of love found in the Bible as: Eros (never mind) is romantic love. Storge is love between family members. Philia is brotherly or sisterly love, or love in friendship. Agape is the unconditional love or the love that God has for us.

It is nice to know these kinds of love, but what to do with this knowledge. What can change knowing there are different kind of love? First, Eros is not the only kind of love to be pursued in this world. It is never the end goal of life’s purpose. Romantic love is good but it should never pressure anyone to be in a romantic relationship that supposed to lead the involved persons into marriage. Second, Storge and Philia are related and shared the same context to the second commandment: to love your neighbor as yourself, and it is succeeded by the first and greatest commandment: to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Lastly, God’s love for us or Agape serves as a reminder of the greatest blessing He has given to mankind and that is grace, the gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ.

Love obeys

Love is not just a good feel. Love is an act. Love is active, proactive. Love endures in good and bad times. Love is difficult and painful, but there is still beauty and kindness in love.

Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4‭-‬7 NASB2020

It is easy to describe love, but the hard part is manifesting the fruit of love, the byproduct of love. Saying I love you Lord is as easy as A-B-C or 1-2-3. Not listening and obeying sometimes or most of the times makes me feel like I am not enough to love or be loved at all.
I wonder if I am listening and obeying enough to prove my love. Am I enough or am I putting too much pressure on myself and doubting my worth? I am caught up with the idea of not being and not doing enough for love: my love for God, for my family, my friends, and my work.

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:15 NASB2020

To love is to listen and to obey. Love is not deaf, it listens. Love is not passive, it obeys.

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Love Hurts, Love Waits

A growing restlessness pesters me these past few days, if I may say, since February, the love month on planet Earth. The atmosphere around me screams love month. During our In-Service Training at school, one of the speakers never missed integrating the idea of his singleness in some parts of his talk, which hit a mark on my part. I am reminded of my own singleness, until now I have never been in a relationship with an earthling, which now is not an issue in my life. I have learned to understand the joy in singleness. I have learned to accept the possibility of growing old alone. This may sound miserable to others and they are never wrong. I respect their opinion because once or many times in my life I thought I would be miserable growing old, alone, with no one to share.
It must have been nice to experience going on a date, receiving fresh flowers, watching movies, walking in a park, feeling the warmth of a hug, having that deep connection with another earthling, and a whole bunch of things to do together on an ordinary or extraordinary day. But I know, we know, that relationships are not a bed of roses. Instead, a relationship is a roller coaster ride full of ups and downs, a maze that leads to confusion and being lost. It has good and bad sides. There is pain and joy.
Love hurts. Sometimes it hurts so bad I do not even want to think about it. I am turning two threes this year and yet the existence of unrequited love still permeates my vocabulary. How easy it would be if the earthling I like likes me back and actually pursue me. Voila! Happiness overload, in my dreams. Not in a million years it will happen. It did not happen and it will never. Not in this lifetime. Am I being hopeless by saying that? Yes, or maybe no. Time like this love stings a little bit, knowing that I am someone who is never pursued. Recently, there were times I was asked when I would have a boyfriend or get married, jokingly I got back at them by saying in the next lifetime.    
The future is still a mystery and I am glad to enjoy the gift of the present. I may be longing sometimes for a companion, an Adam in my life, but the longing shall soon pass every time. It goes by. The hurt goes by. God never let it stay. He listens to my afflictions, to my cries. He knows my needs. His timing is perfect. Most of all, He gives the best for me. It may take a lifetime or someone may never come along the way, and I am sure it may be hard to understand His plans with my feeble human mind, but He is the only one to trust. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man (Psalm 118:8). If He wills him, he is on the way.  Love waits, when the time is right, the Lord will make it happen (Isaiah 60:22).  

Love hurts. Love waits. Every 'no' is God's redirection towards His best for me. 

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Love Scars, Love Heals

January has ended yesterday and February has started today which signals the beginning of love month on the face of the planet earth. How about in some other part of universe? Do they also celebrate love month just like earthlings do? I wonder. I really do.
I hope we are happy with the festivity as others celebrate it with their partner, husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend, while you and I bury ourselves in singleness. Or you better join an going book giveaway on my blog this love month which is one of the best things you can do in your singularity. I am giving away copies of my book The Guy with a Tatt on His Leg. You may join the contest by earning raffle entries on the installed Rafflecopter giveaway below. Join now to get a chance of winning free copies of my book and have a glimpse of Lius and Cristina's love story.
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I wrote the story last 2017 as part of an online writing class. Those were the days I could write a short novel in just months. I kind of missed those days I overflowed with ideas, feelings, and uncontrolablle emotions to the point that my only outlet was writing them out. But on second thought, I love how I am right now and what I have become, I am more grounded and at peace with who I am. I am more loving and accepting towards myself, unlike before. I used to self-blame, self-pity, self here and self there, all about myself, my pain, my sorrow. All me. All by myself. I drowned with negative thoughts and the worst feeling of not being enough, of being unworthy right to the core, while pretending that I got it all together.   
I wanted to replace those negativity through pursuing romantic love with the opposite sex. I so wanted to fill in the void that nearly ate me up, that emptiness that slowly but surely almost brought me to the end of my journey. I wanted someone to complete me. I tried to find my worth from others. I was desparate, not far from being miserable.
Then, someone came. 
Good news!
The nightmare stopped. 
He completes me.
Through Him, I am worthy.
Because of Him, I am joyful in good and bad times.
By His grace, I am grounded and at peace with the process and the direction I am heading on.


I may be scarred, but now I am healed, freed from the strongholds and shackles of the past. Love scars, but love beyond any doubt heals. All glory to God who heals broken hearts.
Happy hearts' month! 

Book Giveaway: The Guy with a Tatt on His Leg

Book giveaway!
It has been a while since I had a giveaway on my blog. I decided to be generous this year 2023. The first book to be giveaway is a book by moi entitled The Guy with a Tatt on His Leg. It is a portion of the story about Cristina and Lius. Below is a blurb of the story to give you a perspective of what to expect from the book. 

Cristina always believes that love will find its way to her. But being a teacher who has never been in a romantic relationship instigates panic among her closest family and friends reminding her to get a boyfriend the soonest. Despite the pressure and annoyance, she keeps cool about it, believing that the right guy will come. What she really wants to do right now is to visit all the beautiful beaches one at a time and start an adventure.

That’s what she says so.

When she meets a shirtless hot guy with tattoos, it brings fire to her inexperienced heart. She’s not into bad boy looking type of guys but somehow his tattoos and his long, silky black hair bring second thoughts and shake the standards she sets for herself.

Tattoo artist Lius Gevarra, finally grants himself a Sabbatical leave after years of hard work in establishing his own brand of tattooing. Entrusting his shops to his friends-slash-business partners, he embarks in a journey, and Cagbalete island as his first stop is a feast for the eye as he spends peaceful time at the shore except for the woman who rants non-stop at him for such a petty reason—and what’s the best way to shut the mouth of an untamed woman?

...kiss her, kiss her until she can no longer utter a word.

Here are the mechanics of the giveaway: Rafflecopter Giveaway Link accepts entries starting on January 30, 2023 (12:00AM), and ends on February 28, 2023 (12:00AM). Prizes are one (1) printed copy for the PH winner and one (1) e-book copy for a winner abroad.   The ages of the participants should be eighteen (18) and above since the book contains explicit scenes.  The announcement of winners is on March 4, 2023. Please visit my blog and other social media handles on that day to know if you are one of the winners.  Winners will be contacted with utmost effort and in any way that I can. Prizes can be claimed until December 31, 2023, 11:59PM. 

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More entries, more chances of winning!
How to earn entries on the Rafflecopter giveaway? Visit and like my Facebook page. Follow my Twitter and Instagram handles. Leave a comment on this post. Subscribe to my Youtube channel.
You can earn up to twenty-five (25) raffle entries. Make sure you are logged in first on the Rafflecopter Giveaway installed at the bottom of this post so your entries are credited to your account. You may use your Facebook or e-mail to log in. 
Let the giveaway begin!
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New Book Alert: Undeserved Grace by Moi

In case you missed it. 
I have a new book. For those who know me and wonder if I still do this kind of thing, the answer is yes, aside from teaching, I still write and try my best to come up with a collection or story every year. My prayer is to continue doing this for years to come since it is one of my dreams to be a writer. I am not a famous writer or one who receives royalties every month, I am not. Now, I write hoping it can help or inspire someone to keep moving forward all by His grace. My objective in writing evolved as I moved on with God in life before I wanted to write because I had a lot in my mind, heart, and soul; I must let them all out, I needed to, or else it would be the end of me. But that was before. I am beyond grateful and thankful to God for giving and blessing me with this medium to empower and encourage individuals, especially the young ones. 
Here we are, another book from me all through His grace, the Undeserved Grace, my thirteenth (13th) published book. I offer it in digital format. Interested individuals may avail of a copy from this website, in the FreedomJoyFaithShop section. For only 100 Philippine pesos you will have an e-book copy of my latest work. I published it last December 2022. It is in the English language and only has 21 pages. 

I still wonder did you ever feel sorry when you said you are sorry.You appeared on and off in my space and time.I knew there was something odd but I brushed it off.Told myself, to be content at least he replied or sent you letters.Settle for that because you've got nothing else.I even forgot for a moment I have everything I need, everything I love, of course, minus you in my life.I was blinded for a moment.Pained and hurt for a moment.But God shed the light once again like he always did.He showed me the truth.My prayers were never in vain.He answered them faithfully.I was kept in the darkness for a moment thinking about why I wasn't enough.He revealed the truth and freed me from your lies.You tried to cancel me. Were you scared? I wonder.I still forgive you even if you don't ask for it.And I'm still glad I met you even if the feelings were never mutual.Wander

Undeserved Grace is about a girl who pursued a guy who ended up hating her, and how she found God's grace again in that experience as she wondered what went wrong. Written in verses and stanzas, I tried to arrange the poems coherently, all by myself. I hope this book will inspire you to keep on holding on and never give up in life. Whenever you are tired, you can always rest in His presence. There is assurance in His presence. There is clarity in His presence. Even though there are uncertainties that surround us, our God is the assurance and clarity that we all need. God is overflowing with grace. He abounds in grace for we are saved by grace alone. 

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"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" Ephesians 2:8

Suki Day Book 2023: Moving Forward To A Better Tomorrow

We're just in the second week of 2023. 

How are you keeping up with what life has been giving you?
Are you still pursuing that dream of yours or do you have a new dream now that we are in the new year? Have you made any plans? Have you listed down your goals? Have you made up your mind to be better? Are you overwhelmed or underwhelmed? 
These are the same questions I ask myself. By now, I have decided to make an affirmation that this year is God's year in my life. He'd be magnified more and more in my life, His glory and majesty alone. That is how flawless my plan is. But the reality is there will always be a constant battle, and you have got to be a warrior. A warrior who never backs down. A warrior whose eyes focus on the cross. A warrior who keeps on moving forward.  
Life is a battlefield, so make sure you and I put on the full armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-18:The Belt of truthBreastplate of righteousnessShoes with the readiness of the Gospel of peaceShield of faithHelmet of salvationSword of the Spirit, the Word of God.Be on guard against unseen enemies. 
And in the battlefield called life, maybe a lot of things have already been happening to you, or probably, you feel like it seems dull or uneventful. Are you tired of waiting for someone or something, chasing your dreams, making plans, and trying to change for the better just to end up feeling disappointed again and again with yourself at the end of the day?
Well, I hope you never stop waiting, chasing, making, and trying. The same hope I have for myself. I pray that you and I will always look and move forward, all through His grace.

Suki Day Book 2023

The planner year-end giveaway of Mercury Drug Store is one of the many things I look forward to at the end and beginning of a new year. It is one of the simple things that completes the start of a brand new year. If I remember correctly, I was able to redeem Suki Day Book three (3)  years in a row since I started saving points in 2020 by purchasing essential products from Mercury Drug Store.
By using your Suki Card points, you can redeem one planner for only forty-five (45) points. Such a steal! Warning. It is not for sale, only redeemable. So, if you have Suki points, don't miss this chance to get a high-quality planner for free. I chose the 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅 design from their Better Tomorrow series Suki Book Day 2023. It has three (3) dainty designs and classic colors you can choose from:𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅  (calm, peaceful, and tranquil)𝑹𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒍 (joy, good health, and love)𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒚 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒚 (soothing, cooling, and relaxing)

Just like the meaning of the 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅 design planner I got by redeeming points, I am so looking forward to a calm, peaceful, and tranquil life ahead of me. We move forward to a better tomorrow with Him. 

Disclaimer. This post is not sponsored.

Another Boring Year, A Better Tomorrow

 

Another Boring Year

Bye 2022, hello 2023!
So what, then? 
This cycle comes every last day of the 365 days of every year. What's new? What could be special about it? Matter of fact, I can't seem to comprehend sometimes the hype people give into this kind of tradition, and that would make me appear so weird and out of this world, am I the only one who thought of it? I do wonder.
I don't mean to minimize or cancel the effort of the people who try their best to cook mouthwatering meals and wonderful dishes, decorate their houses to vibe in the holiday trend, and put up a table with all the best food in the town. In fact, I love it and appreciate it. I want delicious food! Hehe.
Where do they get all the energy every year to consistently participate in this worldwide tradition and share it with the world for all the people to see what they have on the new year's occasion?
I feel like I'm making myself sounds bitter here. Haha. But, I truly wonder. Because I tried following the trend like taking a photo of our food on the table from the little resources we had and I attempted to post a photo of it like some of the posts we can see on our social media news feed, but I couldn't. I lack consistency in this area of my life. Why is that? Am I an odd one for thinking like that? I questioned myself with this petty or silly thought.   

A Better Tomorrow

Sometimes, I wish I have the desire, energy, and of course, consistency to put up exciting posts on my social media handles, instead of my boring content about books and my musings. But I am still glad that most of the time, I am good all by God's grace. That wishful thinking only comes in a while, once in a blue moon. I guess I am the type of person who prefers boringness. Or in other words, the kind of life that isn't exciting and happy as it appears to others? And why would I care anyway? Why would you even care? HAHAHA. 

Just live your life, I live mine. Simple as that!

The important thing is to live a life with a purpose. Live your purpose. Do not leave it. Live it! Do I sound like I am demanding you? No, I am not. This is just a reminder for you and me. Find your purpose and live it. 
A better tomorrow is ahead of us. Another boring year is also another exciting year. I am quite excited about another boring year ahead of me. I am positive that there are a lot of surprises in store for all of us. So prepare your heart, mind, and soul. It is reassuring that God holds our future, I pray that we are all hopeful because the hope that comes from Jesus is much, much greater than the hope that this new year brings. So be hopeful, always!

Only for Hopeless Romantic, or Is this also for You?

I've finished another book by Marcelo Santos III. Yay or nay? Yay, of course!
As I read the book Para sa Hopeless Romantic, I couldn't help but feel the cringe that loomed just around the corner. I almost put down the book and stop reading it, but I was committed to reading and seeing it through until the end. I have to see the ending of everything that was going on with Maria, Ryan, Becca, Nikko, Jackie, Matt, and RJ. I need to know if the author decided to give them happily ever after. 
I believe every character deserves the happily ever after ending in their story. I empathize with characters who don't get their good ending in some of the books I read, such a bummer. It hurt me as well to see the characters, be they, the antagonist or the protagonist. They so deserve the happy ending. They need it! Though they are fiction, I can't help but relate them to the people around me whether they are good or bad, they still deserve a happy ending. Every character has a background story, and if we are not aware of it, it is better to put on hold our judgment and never comment negatively or insensitively on their lives just because they appear weird or peculiar based sometimes on our biased standards, especially if they never do us wrong.
The path to happily ever after is not an easy road and for some, it is even impossible. The fairytale-like ending seems not very fitting to the real world we deem to exist. Most grown-ups no longer appreciate the magic, and it no longer amazes them. Some realized that happy ever after is completely BS, which is very similar to what I feel sometimes. 
This book brought me back to my high school days, while reading this I thought I was too old for this teenage love story, the cringe almost suffocated me in the middle of the story.  But I continued reading anyway, I was sure that the story was good in its own way and I came to like all the characters. They all have their own story to tell. I admire the author and the whole team for making sure that the book will turn out well for every character. 
Everything happens for a reason, be it good or bad. Destiny is real. One big shot is real. Taking a chance is real. Our happily ever after is so real. If we are yet happy, then it isn't the end. Be rest assured that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).