Faith and Hope in GOD

Later this afternoon at school, one of my classmate which I also considered as my “ate” in school shared one of the unforgettable memory she had during the semester break.
Last week while were told to hold or proctor the final exam Ate Mobs weren’t able to hold exam because she went home in Butuan. Before living she doesn’t know what to do whether she will hold an exam or go home (some strange feelings, like there’s a force forcing her to go home immediately and go to the bus terminal). While she got on the bus the bus were already full living only three empty seats at the back. Left with no choice she decided to sit there. She notice it wasn’t really an empty seat because she notice a traveling bag on it. She sat and didn’t mind. As the bus were about to go she shouted that there’s still passenger who hadn’t come on-board yet since there are bags beside her. The bus waited for minutes, many passengers already ranting where were they? are they coming or not? until so long, the owner came. They were old couples. they were so sorry about what happened and the old lady reasoned his husband went to the comfort room and that his husband is sick. The bus was off. While on their way, the couple ate inside the bus. She was very uncomfortable not because of them eating inside but because of the pity scenario she’s observing. She ask the old lady what happened to his husband, and where they’re going. The old lady said they’re going to butuan to have his husband see a faith healer for his husband is terribly sick of prostate and bone cancer and on its malignant stage now. She said, they actually didn’t know where exactly they were going and that someone just recommended the faith healer. Because of poverty they were left with no choice but try their luck only his husband to be healed. She said also, she only left their 2 children to their neighbors house. the lady was in tears while telling the story because the neighbors told her that his husband couldn’t make it anymore and that he’s going to die soon. She’s devastated but still hopeful that his husband might get well. Ate Mobs couldn’t help herself to pity the couple, but re-assured them that there is God who can help them. She’s happy knowing that the couple didn’t ever question God why its happening to them, instead continue to pray for miracles. Ate Mobs couldn’t take the situation so she change seat. While on her seat, she sob and pray silently for the couple. She didn’t notice the suppose to be silent and simple prayer turned out to be something great and she was in tears. She wanted to offer them prayer for it is the only thing she could do, but she’s too hesitant. Later, seems like there’s a force pushed her to stand on her seat and went to the couple and ask if she could have at least a minute to pray over his husband. The lady said yes. As she’s saying her prayer she felt like it wasn’t her who spoke, but God. She prayed that his husband by the grace of God be healed. They were all in tears and the lady gave thanks for the prayer and the encouragement. They parted ways and until now she’s praying that if 1 day if ever they will meet again the man is very well.
I’m holding back my tears while listening to the story. I admire the old lady for his determination and faith that despite of what they’re going through their not losing any hope that miracles will happen. God is so powerful that he can do all things even the impossible. We just have to believe and have faith in HIM. He’s too generous to grant us whatever our hearts desire and need. God didn’t give us burden heavier than we can carry. When we seems running out of control in all our adversaries God is a prayer away. What we can’t do throughout our lifetime, when we pray it to God he can make it in a snap of a finger. God is never caught off guard or by surprise.  God knows the future.God will never allow us to suffer beyond our own capabilities to handle it.  There is nothing on this earth more certain than hope in God.  He will never leave us nor will He ever forsake us.  He is our anchor in the present and for the future. Let’s not lose HOPE. Pray and Pray and GOD will make a way when there seems to be no way!!

Psalm 130:7 Put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.  

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God had plans for us.  We can bank on that.  His plans are not intended to harm us but to prosper us. God says that He has plans for you and He knows them even if we do not.

realization :D

I’m really blessed by this quote. I was once the kind of person who will wait for something to happen. Few days ago till I realized I will never get the thing I’ve been praying for If in myself I’m afraid to take one step forward. It’s time for me to get a hold of what I really want, I know God is always at my back. Thank you so much Lord for all the things you showed me, provided me and blessed me more than I deserve.

I will not give up on you Lord!. #I promised ^-^

Broken (inspired by the song someone like you)

Yes! Its vacation time and I’m on my way to visit again my hometown. It’s been 6 years since I haven’t gone home since my parents send me to manila to finish my studies. This hometown had a great part in my past. This place where I found the thing I consider precious and unforgettable. I don’t know how it happened but I still couldn’t forget how it went.
It was summer of 2004 when I first met a guy named Martin. He is extremely handsome with statuesque physique. We became friends and did become lovers. We were enjoying each others company hanging out, doing adventures just like most lovers do. We promised to love each other. That I’m the woman and he’s the man I will marry. Our relationship went on smoothly for years. It was on our second year in college when my parents decided that I will continue my studies in manila. We settle each other through text and calls. Due to our long distance relation just like most relationship, it didn’t work out. He needed someone who can stay with him and can give him everything and it wasn’t me, which really hurts me. We lost communication but I’m still holding on to our promises of forever.
Six years had gone so fast, here I am ready to face what I left hoping there’s still someone waiting for me, which I hope he would. Six years and yet he’s still the one I long for. I know I hadn’t moved on yet because if I did I should have boyfriends after him.
The place where we used to stay were no longer the same as before, renovations had changed the place a lot. In fact, I could vaguely recognize it anymore. The place had become more beautiful, flowers were grown beautifully.
As I continue roaming around I pass by a beautiful garden. The garden I dreamed of having it as the venue on my wedding day. It’s very beautiful designed with my favorite white rose and a red carpet on the aisle. Just when I thought “There’s a wedding I should watch”. The wedding was fancy and elegant. People were very happy for the couple. They were all happy and smiles all over their face. I settle myself sitting at the back seat just not to distract anyone. The wedding started. I look at the altar; the groom was extremely handsome with statuesque physique in his black tuxedo which really suits him a lot. Wearing his beautiful smile as he look at his bride. I look at the girl and I didn’t notice I was in tears. She was very lucky wishing I was in her place. The man she was about to marry is the same man I yearn for, the man who caught my heart 6 years ago but never will be mine again. Not tomorrow, not anymore. I ran as fast as I could to leave the ceremony quietly. I went to the beach and cried rivers of tears. That was it. He’s getting married and I don’t have anything to do about it. All the years I waited for him was just in vain. He already forgot all our promises.
I hate to turn up out the blue uninvited but I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it and I hope you’d see my face and that you’d be reminded that for me. It isn’t over. Never mind I’ll find someone like you. I wish nothing but best for you too. Don’t forget me I beg I remember you said. Sometimes it last in love but sometimes it hurts instead.

P.S. I’m still waiting for God’s perfect man. :D
thanks for reading. this isn’t a true story, this is just a product of my imagination. love.love.love <3>

God's 3 answers to our Prayers

Most of the time we want GOD to answer our prayers instantly. We need to wait patiently for God is never late He's always on time to answer all our prayers. We need to cast our trust in Him. He is able. Nothing is impossible through him.

Romans 2:7-8 

⁷ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. ⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

l.o.v.e

 Have you ever had the feeling of being in love? Well just have that feeling after listening to this song. This song had always left me dreaming. Growing old and spending your lifetime with someone are one of the things I’ve been praying and dreaming. That one day I’ll find that someone who would love me, care for me and appreciate me regardless of what I am, what I have and what I could offer. When I get old I want to remember the days I’ve got to spend with the one I love. Isn’t it nice to have someone who embraces you until your last day here on earth? Someone you gonna spend until your last gray hair fall? what a nice feeling wasn’t it? what a nice feeling to be inlove and being love back in return.

The Two Ceiling Painters

There were once two ceiling painters who were hired for separate jobs. The first painter went in, put some drop sheets down and got straight to work slapping white paint on the ceiling. He was finished within a day. The second painter entered and looked at the ceiling that he was to work on. He went home and dreamed of something magnificent that he could do. He called in scaffolders and went to work, taking four years of painstaking work to complete his masterpiece. The first painter went to his next job and finished that one within a day as well. He ended up completing five ceilings that week. But no-one remembered his work or his name and most of it was painted over again in a few years time. He was just another painter doing what every other painter could do, with no ambition, no vision and no expertise. The second painter went on to do other brilliant work and everyone recognises the name Michelangelo, even centuries after his death. He is universally admired for his impassioned style, known as terribilità, which created a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur and inspired generations of other artists. Whatever we do with our lives, we have a choice. We can be like the first painter, going through the motions and doing ordinary, forgettable work that others can easily replicate. Or we can be like the second painter, creating masterpieces that require commitment and passion. And if you’re hiring someone to do a job, you can get the guy who paints a white ceiling within a day or hire the artist who takes his time to create a true piece of art. I know that most organisations go for the short-term, cheaper option, but perhaps it’s time to aim higher and to choose magnificence over convenience. And no, you can’t have both. The Sistine Chapel wasn’t painted in a day and you can’t compress greatness into an efficiency target. You have a choice to make, now get painting.

source from
 http://betterlifecoaching.wordpress.com"

waiting

sitting is all I did all day,

wishing someone would come my way.

you suddenly crossed my state

thinking this is all great.

is this destiny?

or was I just dreaming in fantasy?

suddenly you became untrue,

leaving my heart live in woe.

>my first ever own composition. hehe.. just posting.. :)

2 step program toward a positive, God-honoring response to pain.

STEP 1: think straight about trouble. its not only inevitable, its indiscriminate. trouble comes in all shapes and sizes. Various trials affect our health, our careers, our relationships. First we understand facts, we can begin appreciating thier significant value in our lives.

STEP 2: Trade resistance and resentment for receptivity and rejoicing. "count it all joy". THE JOY IS NOT IN THE PRESENCE OF PAIN BUT IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT GOD IS USING OUR PAIN to refine us and make us BETTER, not BITER. (Stowell).

If we embrace adversity, accepting every pain, then we will learn what we should know; "our grief will turn to gain".

elegant fashion shoes

fashion

like or dislike it?

WAKING UP FROM UNTOLD REALITIES

We often think of the things that have hardly to be true.
We believe in fairytales, not knowing the possibilities. How it will end?.. is it happily ever after?. As what we always believe.
But sometimes, somehow it’s the only reason why we are still holding on to our dreams.
Believing that there still a little hope for everything. No matter what happen or no matter how bad the weather it might be we are still willing to take the risk of what we believe.
We are bounded and stacked by our own beliefs.
Believing in happy ever after or a fairytale like love story is very….
But believing in fairytales sometimes led us to misunderstanding what life would bring us in the future.

INTRODUCTION:

Learning Community is where a group of people shared common interest and actively engaging in learning together from each other. Learning Community is where groups people gaining and sharing knowledge to meet a common goal. Learning Community can be enhance through partnering with students on projects, brain storming and group reporting. Learning Community may be Residential or Non-residential. In residential, students are involve in meeting people which of the same interests interacting in campuses or classrooms. In non-residential, students may not be on the in the same community but still interacts and learns from each other through online learning. Students mostly undergraduate spend a lot of their time sitting in the classroom listening to lectures and discussions. We learn through the use of books and exchange of ideas from our classmates and teacher.
Learning means gaining knowledge of or skill. Community is a body of people in the same locality; the general public, society; any group having work, interests, etc. in common.( webster, 2007). Community is a circle of people who live together, share knowledge and exhibit common values. ( Guinnes, 1993). Learning communities help students link their academic work with active and increased intellectual interaction with each other and with faculty. Learning communities also promote coherence among students and create a sense of common purpose and community. Alexander Astin (1985, p. 161) in Schroeder & Mable (1994, p. 167).
From the existence of mass media through the inventions of new technology, both of which have greatly affects our Learning Community. Twentieth century has been described as the "century of the individual" according to Piaget's developmental theories where the learner is viewed as the " Lone seeker of Knowledge" ( Feldman, 2000). By contrast, a movement from the "Age of the Individual to the Era of Community", by the influenced Vygotsky (1978) by his theory of Social Constructivism.(Feldman, 2000). E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching, which are procedural in character and aim to effect the construction of knowledge with reference to individual experience, practice and knowledge of the learner.
The definition of learning Community continues to evolve in response to the needs of the learners and the communities to which they work.(Google, defining learning community par.4). There are five major types of college learning-community curricular models these are : linked courses; learning clusters; freshman interest groups; federated learning communities; and coordinated studies. Characteristics of each model are outlined concerning institution size, basic unit of instruction, number of students involved, faculty roles, faculty co-planning, student seminars, faculty seminars, and community-building mechanisms. (MSE). The learning community curricular model links coursework to promote coherence and intellectual interaction for a group of students.

BODY

What Is a “Professional Learning Community”?
According to Richard Dufour, a professional learning community (PLC) is an extended learning opportunity to foster collaborative learning among colleagues within a particular work environment or field. It is often used in schools as a way to organize teachers into working groups.
The professional learning community model has now reached a critical juncture, one well known to those who have witnessed the fate of other well-intentioned school reform efforts. In this all-too-familiar cycle, initial enthusiasm gives way to confusion about the fundamental concepts driving the initiative, followed by inevitable implementation problems, the conclusion that the reform has failed to bring about the desired results, abandonment of the reform, and the launch of a new search for the next promising initiative. Another reform movement has come and gone, reinforcing the conventional education wisdom that promises, “This too shall pass.” The movement to develop professional learning communities can avoid this cycle, but only if educators reflect critically on the concept’s merits. What are the “big ideas” that represent the core principals of professional learning communities? How do these principles guide schools’ efforts to sustain the professional learning community model until it becomes deeply embedded in the culture of the school?

The five major types of college learning-community are as follows:
Linked courses; learning clusters; freshman interest groups; federated learning communities; and coordinated studies. Linked courses are put together cohort of students with two common courses. One course is typically content-based (science, math) and the other is an application course (writing, speech). The faculty of each course may teach independently or together and coordinate syllabi and assignments so that the classes compliment each other. The Linked Courses Model provides a shared experience for students that focuses on a content-based course that is actively supported by a skills course( Kellog, 1999). The Learning Cluster Model is similar to the Linked Course Model except that instead of linking two courses together, three or four courses are linked with one cohort, often serving as the students' entire course load. However, in Learning Clusters, the courses are usually based on a theme, historical periods, issues, or problems. The degree to which the three or four faculty work together depends on the institution but can vary from common syllabi, joint assignments to team teaching. Often, Learning Clusters have a seminar component in which the students meet weekly or bi-weekly to discuss class work and shared experiences. Students in Learning Clusters may also have planned social events, field trips, or common readings. Freshman Interest Groups is a unique program for freshmen that extends learning from the classroom to the residential hall. A FIG consists of a group of 10-15 students that take 2-3 courses together, and enroll in COLL-X111, a one-credit seminar that is built around a common theme. The FIG's Seminar is a small discussion-based course in which you develop skills that enhance academic achievement and discover how disciplines relate to one another. Each seminar creates a rich educational experience with the help of specially selected and trained graduate students that serve as Seminar Instructors. Federated Learning Communities,this model is the most complex Learning Community Model because a cohort of students takes three theme-based courses in addition to a three credit seminar taught by a Master Learner. The Master Learner is a professor from a different discipline who takes the courses and fulfills all the requirements of the classes along with the students. He or she then leads the seminar and assists students in synthesizing and exploring the opinions and points of view of students from the three courses. Faculty in Federated Learning Communities are relieved of their other teaching responsibilities. In Coordinated Studies, faculty and students participate in full-time active learning based on an interdisciplinary theme. This curriculum can last an entire year and the faculty have the opportunity to redesign the entire curriculum, providing extensive professional development for faculty. Coordinated Studies provide 16 credits per semester and are team taught by several faculty members in set blocks each week. These Learning Communities are thematic and can be broad or narrow in scope. This model is most closely tied to the Meiklejohn Model.
The benefits of learning communities to students are numerous but extend beyond students to faculty and the entire institution. Students involved in learning communities show an increase in academic achievement, retention, motivation, intellectual development, learning, and involvement and community. Learning communities also reinforce positive views of the institution. (Kellogg, Karen). The professional community of learners, in which the teachers in a school and its administrators continuously seek and share learning and then act on what they learn. The goal of their actions is to enhance their effectiveness as professionals so that students benefit. This arrangement has also been termed communities of continuous inquiry and improvement.( Astuto and colleagues (1993)).


CONCLUSION

learning Community is very important specially for us undergraduate students. We commonly sit on our classroom listening to our teachers discussions and lessons. Being in the Learning Community doesn't mean learning could take place, each participation we did made learning more interesting. Our participation in Learning Community helps us a lot. Mostly those who are actively participating excel in academics. Learning Community has played a big rule in developing our knowledge and skills. We can express our thoughts, feelings and opinions through this. As our whole being develops we tend to find more ways how our learning could be satisfied. We usually find our comfort zone from our co-students and friends to which each of us could relate. There are also many ways how we understand the true meaning of community to which we belong. Another way that made learning more easy is through the use of technology, like
E-learning. E-learning is essentially the computer and network enabled transfer of skills and knowledge. With the help of this we can have easy access and faster research. We can also communicate even without facing to them directly. Today , our learning community continues to evolve and many various aspect had already influencing it.



May this paper gives you information how Learning Community takes place.

thank you and more power.Godbless









REFERENCES

• http://www.google.com.ph/#hl=en&q=major+types+of+learning+community
  
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-learning
• http://www.google.com.ph/#hl=en&q=learning+community
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_learning_community
• http://www.aare.edu.au/03pap/jon03441.pdf
• http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/currclum/cu3lk22.htm