Meet Me In The Stairwell

I stumbled upon a blogsite (clinicallyclueless.blogspot) and found this youtube slideshow and the notes about the 911 tragedy. As the slides roll on, it is as if God is talking to whoever watches, hears, and reads it...

'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'

("I WAS THERE") 

You say you will never forget where you were 

when you heard the news on September 11, 2001. 

Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke-filled room 

with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' 

I held his fingers steady as he dialed. 

I gave him the peace to say,
Honey, I am not going to make it, 

but it is OK...
I am ready to go.

'I was with his wife when he called 

as she fed breakfast to their children. 

I held her up as she tried to understand his words 

and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor
when a woman cried out to Me for help. 

'I have been knocking on the door of your heart
for 50 years!'
I said. 'Of course, I will show you the way home
- only believe in Me now.'
I was at the base of the building with the Priest
ministering to the injured and devastated souls.
I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven.
He heard my voice and answered.
I was on all four of those planes,
in every seat, with every prayer.
I was with the crew as they were overtaken.
I was in the very hearts of the believers there,
comforting and assuring them
that their faith has saved them.
I was in Texas, Virginia, California, Michigan, and Afghanistan.
I was standing next to you
when you heard the terrible news.
Did you sense Me?
I want you to know that I saw every face.
I knew every name - though not all know Me.
Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor.
Some sought Me with their last breath.
Some couldn't hear Me calling to them
through the smoke and flames;
'Come to Me... this way... take my hand.'
Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.
I did not place you in the Tower that day.
You may not know why, but I do.
However, if you were;
there in that explosive moment in time,
would you have reached for Me?
Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey for you.
But someday your journey will end.
And I will be there for you as well.
Seek Me now while I may be found.
Then, at any moment, you know you are ready to go.'
I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

~God~

Copyright©2002 Stacey Randall

ANALYSIS...

       
       The writer's tone of the song is nostalgic of that particular event, depicting every situation a person in there can be. The writer nostalgic as it may seem, characterized himself as our God who would be meeting the people in their dire situation only if they have heard of Him what to do and where was the safest place to be if at the last minute of their lives they would call upon Him if they are ready to meet Him on the stairways of heaven and to assure those who had believed that He will surely meet them after this chaos.
    The mood of the song is somewhat sad as one can remember that fatal and horrific day, many lives who have been lost, families looking for their loved ones hoping they are still alive, and people can imagine what transpired what happened in the last minute of their lives.

           The message of the song is fair and clear when one knows he would surely die at that moment, we call our loved ones back home, readying ourselves for what could happen and/or call on to God if they could be spared and hope to live or be just ready to meet Him at the stairwell of Heaven.

    If that same situation comes, I do hope I am ready to meet Him at the stairwell.

World Teachers' Day

Since 1994, World Teachers' Day is celebrated across the world on October 5. The importance of teachers has been recognized by UNESCO as an appreciation for the vital contribution that teachers make to education and development. Over 100 countries observed World Teachers' Day. Education International (EI) the global union federation that represents education professionals, launches a public awareness campaign every year to highlight the contributions of the teaching profession.
In the Philippines, Teachers' Day is actually celebrated in schools between September and October by Presidential Proclamation No. 479 to honor more than 500,000 teachers nationwide. These activities are planned by senior students in the Student Council/Government who coordinate the activities well in advance.

 

Teacher, as they say, makes a man perfect. They could make a wonderful experience and a difference in the lives of their students. What is sometimes lacking in their homes, the teacher fills it and tries to save what was left of them.
Teachers motivate and do not put an end to a dream or goal or strength or ability of their students. Teachers let their students come out and bring the best in them and from them. The teacher equips his/her students to learn how to learn.

SomeOne in the Dark..

Finding yourself in the dark, looking for a friend. It's not always been that dark would take you somewhere. Searching out you will find someone..someone who's been hurt, someone who needs someone, someone who is hoping to find someone 'you'...Be it may, someone in the dark reaches out to you.

This song..one of the favorites of many from Michael Jackson. Whenever I hear this song, it moves me and wanna say something.. just like the singer who wanna tell us everything about himself.

This is for SomeOne in the dark.

music credits to the owner

To My Friends..

image credits to Google clipart

Someone send these thoughts thru my e-mail way back in pictures.

I have been keeping it in my files...

so when I was thinking about what to write in my blog, 

I decided to create a PowerPoint then convert it into a video.

 To put music over it, I have uploaded it to Canva.

it comes to my mind, it would be a nice thought to ponder on by us..(",)... 

FRIENDS..what have you been going thru right now?

Click and watch below...

(For a clearer view on your mobile, zoom it with a landscape mode) 

Disclaimer: The images shown from the video I have created are not mine, credits to the owner.

Music thru Canva >> Morning Snowflake, credits to the owner

Pen is Mightier than the Sword

  

* image credit to http://peachyqtz.deviantart.com/art/Rizal-Pen-61071597

    Who would have not known Jose P. Rizal? The Philippine National hero had written the famous novel Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and its sequel, El Filibusterismo (The Greediness). Jose Rizal had proven that the pen is mightier than the sword through these two novels tackling issues and problems in the government and society. These two novels somehow contributed to the Philippine independence, a long tyranny from the Spanish regime. 

     Noli Me Tangere was written based on an excerpt from a Bible verse in the book of John 20:13-17 wherein a leper was made to wear a note announcing his leprosy so that people he met would avoid and stop bothering him. Noli Me Tangere depicts the social cancer Philippines have been had even up to now. The novel discusses the Philippine culture under the Spanish influence, the vices and habits of the Filipino people, and the powerful Roman Catholic church, more powerful than those in the government positions during those times. Jose Rizal was 26 years old when it was first published in 1887. Every character from that novel represented every facet of the Philippine society, from every Filipino home to its neighborhood, to gatherings, to education, to the church, and to the government.

     Three years after, El Filibusterismo, a sequel of Noli Me Tangere was published. Rizal dedicated the book in honor of the three Filipino martyr priests,  GOMBURZA, (Fathers Gomez, Burgos, & Zamora). El Filibusterismo depicts the political and educational situation of the Filipinos from the Spanish regime, making the Filipino reader clamor for real independence and democracy.

      These two novels somehow influenced and helped ignite the Filipinos' emotions and cravings for freedom that made the spark on Filipino revolution but Rizal remained on what he believed was a peaceful means of acquiring freedom and asking for direct representation of the Filipinos to the Spanish government, through his pen, through his writings.
     Today, June 19, 2011, marks the 150th birthday of the Philippine national hero who paved the way for the Philippine independence along with hundreds of Filipino who shed their blood for the freedom we Filipinos are enjoying now.

List of Taiwan Food Products Contaminated with DEHP

    

credit image to PRO-A Innovation Ltd

     The Philippine Food and Drug administration already posted on their website the list of food products contaminated with DEHP. However, the agency fears that many of these food products have possibly entered the country illegally. Click here for a List of Taiwan & other countries' food products contaminated with DEHP as per the list given to GMA News.

     According to Dr. Suzette Lazo of the FDA, DEHP (Di-2 ethylhexyl phthalates), can possibly affect a person's kidney and reproductive system, however, she reiterates that an adult with a lower dose and smaller amount of intake of these food products does no harm for it would be only excreted. Dr. Lazo emphasizes that extra caution should be given to children and fetuses inside the mothers' womb because of the effect on their development. Click here to know more about what is DEHP, what happens when it enters our environment, how one might be exposed to DEHP, and how it affects us and the children..

* Updates: DEHP can also affect the sexual preferences of men according to FDA.

Legal Separation, Annulment and Divorce..

 

     Approval for RH Bill is not yet done and here comes the fuss on the Divorce Bill. After the Malta referendum on legalizing divorce, the Philippines is the only country without a divorce law. Following the referendum on Malta, the Philippine House Committee on the revision of laws announced it would begin a discussion on legalizing divorce in our country. Of course, the Catholic Church will vehemently oppose such a bill as in the case of the RH Bill. The Divorce Bill is a very complicated matter and maybe a referendum will echo the real voice of the people.

     When I was teaching Ethics, under the topic of marriage our lessons were only limited to legal separation and divorce. I had asked some students then to research annulment and how it differs between the two.

Legal Separation gives the spouses the right to live separately from each other, dissolves the conjugal partnership, awards the minor children to the innocent spouse, and disqualifies the offending spouse from inheriting from the estate of the innocent spouse.

Grounds for Legal Separation:

1 – Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner.

2 – Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or political affiliation.

3 – Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement.

4 – Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six years, even if pardoned.

5 – Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent.

6 – Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent.

7 – Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the Philippines or abroad.

8 – Sexual infidelity or perversion.

9 – Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner.

10- Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one year.

Divorce is a dissolution of marriage that seeks a judicial ruling to dissolve a valid marriage.

Grounds for divorce are almost the same as in legal separation and vary from one country to another. Legal Separation, however, cannot remarry unlike in Divorce.

Annulment refers to a marriage that is considered valid but there are grounds to nullify the marriage. However, a Declaration of Nullity of Marriage refers to a marriage that is void or invalid from the very beginning as if no marriage ever existed.

Grounds for Annulment:

1. Absence of Parental Consent. A marriage was solemnized and one or the other party was eighteen (18) years of age or over but below twenty-one (21) and consent was not given by the parents, guardian, or person having substitute parental authority. The Petition of Annulment must be filed within five (5) years of having attained the age of twenty-one. However, if the parties freely cohabited with each other as husband and wife after having reached the age of twenty-one (21) a Petition of Annulment can no longer be filed.

2. Mental Illness. One of either party was of unsound mind at the moment of the marriage. But if the parties freely cohabited with each other after he or she came to a reason the law prohibits the filing of a Petition.

3. Fraud. That the consent of either party was obtained by fraud unless such party once having knowledge of the fraud freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife. The petition must be filed within five (5) of finding out the facts of the fraud.

4. That the consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation, or undue influence. Except when the same has ceased and the party filing the petition freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife. The injured party must file within five (5) years from the point in time the force, intimidation or undue influence disappeared or came to an end.

5. One of the other parties was physically incapable of consummating the marriage, and such incapacity continues and appears to be incurable. The filing of the Petition of Annulment must be filed within five (5) years after the marriage.

6. Either party was at the time of marriage afflicted with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) found to be serious and seems to be incurable. This may also constitute fraud. The filing of the Petition of Annulment must be filed within five (5) years after the marriage.

SEPARATION: being separated from your spouse with or without communication is not grounds for annulment. It does not matter how many years you are separated. No law annuls or voids a marriage automatically. Only a judge in a court of law can annul, void, or nullify a marriage.

INFIDELITY: is not grounds for annulment.

Grounds for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage:

A – Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the consent of parents or guardians; (lack of legal capacity to marry).

B – Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so;

C – Those solemnized without a license except if otherwise covered by other laws.

D – Those bigamous or polygamous marriages except those covered by the laws of presumption of death of the absent spouse.

E -Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of the other;

F –   A remarriage shall be null and void if the partition and distribution of the proprieties of the spouses, the children's presumptive legitimacy, and the judgment of absolute nullity of the marriage are not recorded in the necessary civil registry and registries of property.

G – Any psychological incapacity at the time of the marriage celebration, which prevents either the husband or wife from fulfilling the essential marital obligations of marriage, shall also be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after the solemnization.

(Psychological incapacity is not automatically lunacy but it does mean that one or both spouses have abnormal interpersonal behavior or a psychological characteristic that inhibits the spouse to fulfill the essential obligations of marriage.)

H – Marriages between ascendants and descendants of any degree; between brothers and sisters whether full- or half-blood are incestuous and void from the beginning.