Wednesday 30 January 2008 . 09:51

Second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour ... Time keeps passing by ... another 5 seconds have passed by the time you reach the fullstop at the end of this sentence. Just think about time ... used up time, wasted time, spent time, time made, time saved ... it just keeps passing ... its an independent aspect in life which just doesn't wait for anybody ... an amount of time is set for each of us, but it's up to us how to use it ... it's free, there, passing, longing to be useful but used up anyway when not used well.

6.6 BILLION heart-beats pumping at once ... close your eyes and cover your ears for a second and just hear that ... heard it? ... now magnify that x 6.6 BILLION ... its a common sound ... a sound heard every second all around the globe ... heart-beat = life; life = time ...

We all say we're too busy ... then we all cry out for help ... we say no one is ever there for us ... we feel alone ...

If we take 6.6 BILLION people and multiply them by their wasted time ... that's a hell of a lot of time! Just imagine if in all our wasted time we could do AT LEAST one good deed ... think about that ... 6.6 BILLION good deeds per day! AWESOME! Wouldn't the world be a better place..?

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Tuesday 29 January 2008 . 07:55

Indeed... it is... for those of you who know me, I can no longer say "Hello, I'm Martine, I'm nineteen..." ... guys, I'm afraid it's going to have to be; "Bongu, Jiena Martine, Ghandi Ghoxrin!"...
Man, its so weird being 20. Two decades = 7,300 days = 175,200 hours... (that's if my Math is correct of course).
I look back, and think about my life over these 20 years (from which the first 4 I don't quite remember). Its incredible how things change, how life complicates itself, how people grow; they come and go.
BUT... and a BIG BUT... :) this birthday is going to be different!!!!! I've started it with a prayer to God, thanking Him for all He's done in my life till now and all He still has planned to do! Its a new decision to love God with all my heart, and to trust Him no matter what! :)



And a special thanks to a very special person who is enjoying eternal life with my Best Friend Jesus. 8 comments

Sunday 27 January 2008 . 14:27

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Saturday 26 January 2008 . 18:38

Yesterday i had a really bad day. One of those cherry on the cake vulcano eruption days! Yep.. one of those... but thanks to a few people I'm back on track! (guys, you know who u r!! :) thanks!)
This morning I woke up and questionned "what's the reason I'm living for? Why am i so upset about everything?" Then I thought, and I wnt a bit down memory lane... I remembered the time I took my True decision of following God, and the peace I felt when I put God at the centre of my life. It seems like my compass didn't work well lately, and instead I kinda got off track.
I purposely chose this video today, and I made it my prayer. Fllowing God is not just a once in a life-time decision... it's a decision to take daily...



Lyrics of the song... make them your prayer...
I was no one when i first met you * I had nothing of worth in my life * But then i found you and it all became clear * You're the one that i've been searching for * From the start i couldnt figure it out * Why someone like you would die for me * But i know that your love for me is so great * And that is why im giving you my life * I am yours every part of me * Jesus you're the reason i live * Take my life lord and use me as you will * Jesus you're the reason i live * I can't believe that you're with me til forever * I'll never leave you and you'll never leave me * It's what i long for your presence here in my life * Cos you're the air i breathe my reason why * 1 comments

Friday 25 January 2008 . 13:46

This story was taken from the internet but it has been edited and arranged to make it a bit more entertaining :)

When she got to the top, her friends checked out her eye and her clothes for the lens, but nothing there either. So she sat down, despondent, with the rest of the gang, waiting for a few others to make it up the face of the cliff. She looked out across the mountain range (with one eye) and a thought popped into her brain *POP!!*

"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." 2 Chronicles 16:9

She thought, "God... You can see everything. you know these mountains, you know every stone and leaf, and you know exactly where my contact lens is!! Please help me!!!!" As they walked down the trail to the bottom there was a new gang of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Yo guys! Has anybody lost a contact lens?" That already surprising enough... but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it on it's back. Cettina went home and told the story to a friend of hers, a cartoonist who came up with this picture.

:) don't keep wondering why you are called to do some things, cause you'll never understand WHY! Just trust God.. and keep going! :) 4 comments

Thursday 24 January 2008 . 19:23

This Video says it all!!!! :)
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Wednesday 23 January 2008 . 09:03

We've all heard the breaking news about Heath Ledger, found dead in his apartment caused by drug overdose. This makes me think, and confirms my belief that success isn't everything in life. Who knows what made him take those pills... what emptiness he must have been feeling inside. What makes someone turn towards such solutions...? I don't think he purposely over-dosed... but he definitely knew the risk was there.









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Tuesday 22 January 2008 . 11:15

:) for those of you who do not know what BDQ means, it seems to be a common well-known phrase amongst university students and anybody undergoing exam stress! It means; BREAK DOWN QAWWI, which my course mates and I adapted to BDQH - BreakDown Qawwi Hafna!
BUT... my friends... you know what I say?
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Sunday 20 January 2008 . 14:49

Looking in the mirror, what do I see?
Another person looking back at me...

A year ago...
"Treat your brothers like you treat yourself"
As though i used my bible gaining dust on my shelf.
I think of the people
I walked passed today
Greeting them with a look
of "Get out of my way!".
What I monster I am
to treat people like that!
What excuse have I got
for this horrible act?
The reason is I'm angry
and hurt, alone and confused,
my heart is broken, torn and bruised...
There are passed situations which have marked my life
tearing me through with the sharpest of knives.

Today...
I will never be healed of the wounds from the stabs
but I don't bleed anymore, all i'm left with are scabs.
I'm stitched up inside like a patched, ragged doll;
When i was torn apart The Tailor answered my call.
I was crying, shouting, screaming with pain,
and in my darkest hour He called out my name.
"it's ok my child, I'm here with you,
i know everything you're going through.
every tear you cry, every heartache you whine,
I express in a storm and an earthquake of mine.
every hurt of yours I feel it too,
every step you take i walk with you.
But please don't give up, take courage, look ahead,"
and as He wiped my tears
he went on and said;
"I moulded your mouth,
your eyes, your nose,
Carefully carved
your fingers and toes...
I pump your heart, make
your blood stream flow,
I smile every second
i watch you grow,
I put so much Love in giving you life;
what makes you think that now I'll step aside?
Remember, It's a promise, whatever you go through,
Cling onto me and I'll pull you through!
I've always been here, I'm here to stay,
I'm here to lead you safe on your way."
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Saturday 19 January 2008 . 10:47

all we're asked to do is try... and to believe... and to hang on...
If only we try and persevere in what we do, then we'll believe that God will do the rest... but we must hang on until its the right time for God to act. God is constantly working in our lives, however He's a gentleman. He doesn't force Himself into our lives. He waits for us to open the door to Him...

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD
Painful moments, TRUST GOD
Every moment, THANK GOD.




After writing this post I read Ben's post about "Testifying God's Love". awesome how our two posts are linked and contribute to one another. so I suggest u have a look at it, then read mine again. Put together they give a whole picture!!! :) 2 comments

Friday 18 January 2008 . 17:37

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Thursday 17 January 2008 . 09:39

We are called to see Jesus in eachother... and Mother Teresa teaches us this lesson to the full! She speaks about God's presence, how real and true His presence is within the Eucharist and within one another. For those of you who, like me, wonder if you'll ever grow to be as loving and humble as Mother, there's a phrase i would like us to remember,
"Aspire to Inspire before you Expire!". As long as we keep jesus in the centre of our hearts and lives, then we've got nothing to fear and we've got far to go!



I've got a piece of writing under sonstruction, will soon post it.
Meanwhile, tmrw I'll post a video about forgiveness, so keep posted!!
Also, please pray for all of us uni students... starting exams within the next few days!

Gbu!!
"keep close to the one who loves you most" 2 comments

Wednesday 16 January 2008 . 18:15

Not in writing mood... Here's a new Video
to all the people I miss...

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Tuesday 15 January 2008 . 19:05

"God... mend our porcelain, broken hearts..." 1 comments

Sunday 13 January 2008 . 14:32

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Thursday 10 January 2008 . 18:17

so today i went to my cousin's house to continue my psychology observation which involves drawing. i laughed so hard when I asked my cousin (a 5 n a half yr old) to draw her family, and she gave me a whole list of 11 people, starting with nannus and nannas and ending with the little 3 yr old! haha. then she wanted to draw a guitar, and when i told her how well she draws a guitar she looked at me and said "its not a guitar, its a tortoise!!!" haha... how adorable! then I asked her to draw ANYTHING she wanted to, and her reply was "I dont know how to draw!". so i asked her what she draws at school and she said, "At school we don't draw, we only do school work!!!" and she had a 'like DUUH' look on her face! Hanini!!! then, the classic, she had some homewor left to do, she had to read two pages from Tom and Kate, repeating each sentence 3 times. When she finished she looked at me, smiled, and said "there... I finished... and I didn't even get tired!!!" Hahahaha!!! After that she decided to draw a cockroach...
She really made my day, the innocence, being excited at any little thing, loving mum dad aunts uncles and cousins with all her heart, mind, and strength, showing others how much she loves them by squeezing them so tight she leaves them breathless for a few seconds.... which reminded me of Matthew 18:3 in which Jesus says "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" . We must learn to love unconditionally, we must learn to be excited about God's plans for us, and we must show love and spread God's Love in such a way that we leave people breathless and thirsty for more! 2 comments

Wednesday 9 January 2008 . 11:01

I'm soon 20yrs old, and this fact is making me look back at my life till now (sometimes i sound as though i'm 60!!! :/ ). But anyhow, with all the ups and downs i've been through, only now can i look back and truly see God's presence in every instance of my life, especially in the times where I felt Him most distant. I keep hearing and reading the story of Footprints over and over again, and each time i identify myself 100% with the story. Its sooo awesome!!!
Till this very day I'm amazed at the fact that I became "Nerdy". In what sense. 5 years back, anyone who prayed, spoke about God, and said God was the centre of their lives was instantly labelled "NERDY FREAK" by Moi! And now... well.. it is I who will not let go of God! :) If before I was convinced that the life of a Christian is a boring one I am happy to say I was WRONG! Its a fantabulous journey, each day is an unexpected adventure, and I myself ended up doing things I never ever dreamt I would! Video editing for a Christian TV program, dancing, sharing my experience to something like 500 people at one go, be committed daily to a youth group, guide 9 girls, camp for a sleepless week in England, feature on the news side by side to the archbishop, help out in concerts, print a 2-storey high banner which I myself designed... ect...!!! In the past 5 years I lived more of a life than the previous 15 years put together!
God just keeps opening doors to new experiences and new adventures, and i'm sooo excited for all the plans he has in store for us in the future.
However... a christian life isn't just sugar puffs, candy floss and love hearts. There are the tough times too. Just this week I had a hell of a week. I was so down, worried about future happenings, disheartened over my studies, i felt alone, as though no one could understand me, and I felt God much further away than ever.
Last night was the final straw. I'm fed up of sobbing over spilt milk, nagging over things i have no control of. I can't do anything about the fact that key people in life pass away, heartless people ruin lives, and changes happen. All I can do is trust God in everything that happens. I have to take each day as it comes, and focus on others; make people smile, fill my dad's stomach with a good meal cooked with love, help my friends whenever I can, and most of all, introduce people to my Saviour and Friend, Jesus.

"Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing" Mother Teresa 3 comments

Tuesday 8 January 2008 . 11:57

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.
They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists." "Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving a God who would allow all of these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.
Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and un-kept. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside." "Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me."
"Exactly!"- affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world." 0 comments

Monday 7 January 2008 . 19:41

Then they say the problem of racism and discrimination is being solved in Malta! When we say discrimination in Malta we immediatly think 'refugees and people with dark skin-colour', however that is not the only kind of discrimination in the country.
In Malta especially, people judge you immediatley by the way you pronounce words AND cause of where you're from. I'm fed up of the fact that simply because I'm from Sliema and my language is full of "inglizati" people ASSUME my trail of thought reads "i'm better off than everyone else, ethiquette is vital in life, and i can get anything i want because my father is of a high social level". It all BULL guys!!!!
I actually have a fear of saying where I'm from because I myself cannot stand the stereotypical Sliema people I'm compared to! But hear this... MANY people live in Sliema APART FROM the very wealthy, posh, well-off snobs who don't give a damn about anyone else, the ones now all Sliema people are imediatley categorized as!
And the same applies for any other village in Malta. Just because a person says he/she is from a particular place (or school for the matter), it does not give anybody any right to judge the person! Same applies for people who come from well-off families; just because someone's Dad is a doctor, minister, or celebrity it does not mean that they are selfish dudes who get all they want whenever they want.

"even though there are differences (skin colour, social class, culture, social status, way of life, religion, dress style, age, gender) ... it is still red blood flowing through our veins, and the same blood pumps a heart." 3 comments

Saturday 5 January 2008 . 10:34

Last nights concert was the best!!! Great job Robert Galea and everybody who contributed in some way or other, especially the Ushering Team: Rache, Vicky, Beverly, Ivan and Sam, the Sales Team: Ben, Rob, Ed, Amy, Paula, Sean and Matt, and our BestMan KEVIN! Woohoo!!!!!! (forgive me if i left out anyone!!!!! :S)!! Illa man working backstage is sooooooooooo cooooool! I had forgotten what a buzz it is!

So, story of the day. Last night i appeared in my friend's dream... ahaha! So, the dream was this. Two friends and I happened to be in a very ugly place and apparently i actually locked up a friend of mine and decided to steal something!!!!! ... No Comment ...

The funniest is this though, 2 days ago I was talking to Rob Rizzo and we happend to mention Easter and that its coming early this year. I wondered why, and Rob came up with the answer. he said: "don't you know that Easter depends on the moon? Easter Sunday must fall on a full moon night..." ... and my genuine answer was "That's why every year I'm amazed that Easter Night is a Full moon night!!!!!" HAHAHAHA.. BLONDE MOMENT OF MY LIFE!!!!

Hope to update you again later, I'm sure something interesting will happens, God always has some exciting adventures in store for us. However, one piece of advice guys. Try starting your days with a very simple prayer in the morning:
"Lord Jesus, I pray take control over my thoughts, my actions, and my words so that I may live this day accoring to your will."

GBU all for now. xxx
Cettina

P.S. keep close to the One who loves you most 3 comments

Friday 4 January 2008 . 10:12

Oh what a day yesterday was! hihi! So we had Robert's CD Launch concert.... AWESOME!
in the morning i went to help Rob with the last few things he needed to set up at MITP and to his astonishment and horror there was much MUCH more than he expected! So, i sent him home to rest (hihi) and i called rache, pete, rob, and ben who very willingly came to help (thanks a million guys!!!). we ended up staying there from 2pm till midnight!!!! but it was fun! :)

What i learnt from yesterday's experience is that if you simply trust God everything simply falls into place, probably not in the way you expect it to, but in the way God planned it to. I saw some really unexpected faces at the concert last night, which was proof to me that ANYTHING is possible for God! Robert, by using His talent through prayer, for God, is touching so so so so so many lives! And through this I know that if each of us use our talents for God's glory, than God is going to use us, in small ways, for very BIG THINGS! :)

I hope this post makes sense to you guys... :)
Gbu for now! 0 comments

Wednesday 2 January 2008 . 10:26

Hello ALL!!!
This is actually the second time I'm writing this post, because it mysteriously got deleted!

So, I'm finally blogging too!!! How did I get convinced? Because the few times I dared to say that I do not have a blog, well, I almost got my head bitten off!!!! My fellow friends who do not have blogs, take my advice, NEVER say that you do not have one!!! I assure you, to some people it is considered a crime!!!

Anyhow, back to the post. Until I'm figuring out how to go about this new world... I hope to post regularly, or almost. I shall definitly be relating my daily, eventful adventures! Trust me, some are way beyond anyone's imagination!!!! :)

So... until i figure out how to create a new post relating my latest adventure.... bye bye!
Gbu!
Cettina

P.S. Keep close to the one who loves you most! 3 comments