“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
My two cents!
“If not given to you… then work for it
If seek and you can’t find it… then ask for help
Knock and the door won’t open? Then knock harder!
Still not open…?
Work for it… ask for help… and BREAK THAT DARN DOOR DOWN!!!!
Never give in nor ever give up”
A sculpture of an angel at the Santa Cruz church in Bangkok got me thinking…
Why would someone that could fly… wouldn’t?
Why would someone that could rise above anyone else… be so submissive?
Why would someone that can be anywhere else… sitting here patiently?
Humbleness!
During the visit at Wat Pho, I found this side of the temple that is under renovation, restoration, construction or which ever they might call it. It suddenly reminded me of the drive-by shot of the church that I took in Los Angeles. The amount of colors that they use in Los Angeles are at the minimal while the Thai’s are really colorful and lively!
Once in a while, everything is going to need some renovation and restoration… Don’t we all?
So, what do you think of the differences between these 2 churches?
I am certain that everyone must have heard more or less of story about Noah’s Ark. His dedication to build his ark was merely the result of his believe, hope, trust and fate in God. It doesn’t matter how everyone else was mocking him as if he were a fool because it was that belief, hope, trust and fate in God that kept him and the other believer alive from the flood.
It was this window glazing that reminded me to not lose faith, hope and to believe and trust.
Noah had his bitter time while he was spending days and nights building that ark but was able to later enjoy the sweet time.
First is to endure, then to enjoy! How can we know what is “sweet” in life if we have never had anything “bitter” before.
No pain, no gain!
Something that I have been reminding myself everyday, is to endure… and to never lose that hope and fate.
After talking to the father of the church this evening, I have found out that… Portuguese were the VERY FIRST group of EUROPEANS that settled in Thailand hundreds of years ago and the 500th years anniversary of Thai – Portugal diplomatic relationship will be held in the year 2011.
Back to the story about the church… well, let’s make it easy… here is the story that was publish by Eric Lim, a Singaporean living in Bangkok who just loves to write about historical places in Thailand… I am sure going to look him up in person, so that I can learn much more about Thailand itself.
“Santa Cruz Church, the church of the holy cross, was first built in the reign of King Taksin, (1867 – 1782) a legacy of Thai-Portuguese relations that date back to the 16th century. Nestled among old houses on the river banks and newer buildings inland, the reddish dome of the old Catholic church is a prominent landmark on the Chao Phraya.
Descendants of the early Portuguese traders built the first Santa Cruz Church in 1770 after the fall of Ayutthaya. The Portuguese, the first Europeans in Thailand, arrived in Ayutthaya shortly after they captured Malacca in 1511. As the area was also claimed by the Thai King, the Portuguese shrewdly dispatched an envoy to the court of Ayutthaya in the same year to reassure the Thais of Portuguese intentions.
In 1516, Portugal signed a treaty with Thailand to supply firearms and munitions. With the treaty came with the rights to reside, trade and practice their religion in Thailand. This brought the first Portuguese friars in 1567 who established the Catholic Church in Ayutthaya. After the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767, the Portuguese continued with their military support to King Taksin in his efforts to drive the Burmese out of Thailand. The supply of cannon and muskets contributed significantly to King Taksin’s army. In recognition of their services, King Taksin granted the Portuguese a plot of land to build a wooden church in an area called Kudi Jeen. Thus, the church is sometimes called Wat Kudi Jeen.
Over the next 65 years, the wooden church in Kudi Jeen fell into a state of disrepair. In 1835, Cardinal Pallegoix rebuilt and renamed the church, Santa Cruz Church meaning Holy Cross Church in English. The present Santa Cruz Church was rebuilt again in 1913 during the reign of King Rama VI (1910 – 1925). The two renowned Italian architects Annibale Rigotti and MarioTamagno took on this task. The result of their work has remained till today.
The gate to the spacious courtyard is a short distance from the Santa Cruz Pier on the Chao Phraya. A crucifix is in one corner of the courtyard and a statue of Mary within a beautiful garden in the other. Within a smaller courtyard, surrounded by a low wrought iron fence, stands the neat cream colored church trimmed in reddish-brown and topped by a domed belfry. The sidewalls of the church are decorated with stained glass etched with biblical images.
The church and the inner courtyard are closed on weekdays. To the rear of the church, away from the Chao Phraya, there’s a little cemetery with nine tombstones encased in marble.
The well-kept church grounds are quiet on weekdays save for the rhythmic strains of children reciting their lessons in the Santa Cruz Convent nearby and the occasional passerby on the way to the pier. Like an urban oasis with narrow sois (lanes) leading to the busy streets outside, the Santa Cruz Church is all that remains of Portuguese influence in Kudi Jeen today.
By Eric Lim
Published: 3/16/2006″
Well, I’m sure that covers most of the story about Portugal and Thailand. Ahh I got invited by the father to join them on a trip to the VERY FIRST Portuguese village in the old Capital of Siam, Ayutthaya, in November.
Something to look forward to!
No, this is not the Santa Cruz church in Bangkok. Instead this is the Valencia Cathedral in Valencia, Spain.
The plan for this weekend is to find the aforementioned Santa Cruz church, the very first Portuguese church in Bangkok. Hopefully they will allow photographing inside the church so that I get to share the moment with you. It’s a way for me to get to know the history and culture of Portugal as much as I can before actually moving there!
As for the photo at Santa María la Real de La Almudena, a Catholic cathedral in Madrid, SPAIN, I took this just weeks before I left Spain. Walking in the sun for hours, I was lucky enough to get a shot at this because … was exhausted from all the walk and wanted rest ASAP! So there I went, snapping photos as much as I could before we went to have our brunch near the Palace.
A mother holding her child… an unconditional love… a purest gift… the greatest joy. (This is Me… trying to write a poem)
I don’t think I can ever put words into defining what I would tell my mother on mother’s day. 2 Days ago, it was Mother’s Day in Thailand.. 12 August 2009. I couldn’t find a picture or word to tell her how much I care for her and love her.
Today, I found the one photo… with an inspiration by a mother that wouldn’t want to miss a minute spent with her child, a great mother indeed.
Dear Mother and mothers, I would like to dedicate to you, A True Angel by George W. Zellars.
A mother is special, she’s more than a friend.
Whenever you need her, she’ll give you a hand.
She’ll lead you and guide you in all that you do.
Try all that she can just to see you get through.
Good times and bad times, she’s there for it all.
Say head up, be proud, and always stand tall.
She’ll love you through quarrels and even big fights, or heart to heart chats on cold lonely nights.
My mother’s the greatest that I’ve ever known, I think God made my mother like He’d make his own.
A praiser, a helper, an encourager too, nothing in this world that she wouldn’t do.
To help us succeed she does all that she can, raised a young boy now into a man.
I want to say thank you for all that you do, please always know mom, that I love you.
A True Angel – © George W. Zellars – Mother Child Poems
After an entire day of point and shoot at everything while we were walking around Madrid, we came to stop at the Madrid Cathedral. It was amazing, the interior, the quietness, the feeling, the empowering and the moment. Some were taking photos while other were praying. I did a little bit of both and noticed how everyone were point and shoot of what in front of them but while I resting. I left my camera on the ground pointing to the ceiling. So I fired away the 3 AEB shots.
That’s how it happened… a coincidence that shows the other side of life. Or was it really… just a coincidence??? Or was it destined to be???
Serendipity is beautiful !
After many hours of not knowing where to go next, we decided to walk west of Plaza Mayor. Minutes later, we found ourselves standing in front of a humongous cathedral. Not knowing where we were and what it was, we just followed a group of people and foot traffic into the cathedral.
Amazingly beautiful, elegant and serene. There were numerous people inside yet it was so quiet and calm. Half of the time we sat and enjoyed just being present, and the rest of the time we walked and explore the cathedral. We also got to light a candle, an electronic candle…
Looking up, that is how I found the shot of the day. Simply beautiful.
Now… after having not touched WoW, world of warcraft for more than half a year… I miss playing it. The things I miss the most is the feeling while playing the game. I imagined myself as that tiny little character in the game, running around in that huge castle, cathedral, cave, and so on. I had never imagined myself being present in one of those location in the game, until… today after I processed this picture a few times. First time… no, 2nd time… I don’t know what’s wrong with it and 3rd time… is the result that you see. It remind me so much of that SM Cath (aka: Scarlet Monastery: Cathedral) that I have been to countless times while I was playing the game.
The only thing that missing from that day I took picture is…. the armor that I’d need to wear to tank with all the mobs inside 
Okay… Let’s go Vivos!
*photo taken at Valencia, Spain. The Cathedral of Valencia.
Life is simple… we have the choice to choose and when we choose, we choose it… just because. Once you choose something, be committed to it. Choosing is different from making decisions because when we make a decision… it is a debate between which is better than which. Just by looking at the word “de-cide” and how often do you see this word “-cide” ? Some examples would be, pesti-cide, geno-cide, homo-cide, insecti-cide… the lists go on.
according to Wikipedia :The English suffix -cide denotes an act related to killing. From Latin caedere “to cut, kill, hack (at), strike”. In its wider meaning, it may also signify the destruction or dismantling of an object or concept. When attached to a word indicating an animal or plant considered to be pestilent, the combined word is frequently used to indicate a substance used to eliminate the pest in question. E.g. Pesticide, insecticide and herbicide
Okay… so what I am trying to say is (and no one else would say it better than NIKE) “JUST DO IT”
It doesn’t matter how hard the task it, don’t think about it.
It doesn’t matter how tedious the work is, be patient.
It doesn’t matter how boring the job is, be content.
The Problem is that when we are in this mindset (un-happy mode), we think that it is “hard, tedious and boring” will cause us to be grungy, pretty much just make us “not happy” with whatever we are doing.
The solution… (a really hard concept to understand, but once you do… it is entirely different world and that everything you do… MATTER)
…is to understand that we can CHOOSE to do EVERYTHING with a different mindset (happy mode) knowing that… the end result of whatever we are doing is – happiness -.
Those thoughts came into my mind after I took this picture because just and hour before this… the entire area was dark, cloudy, windy with heavy rain. It was freezing cold and wet that I just wanted to stay inside the house. All the negative thoughts were in my head… thinking that the day was over. But then… THIS! THIS amazing moment that just totally blew my mind away.
The beauty after the storm; Orgiva, Spain.
Sunday morning, we spent a few hours around the city center just to grab some quick breakfast before we departed Valencia. We spent sometime in the Cathedral. It was just so amazing in its detail and its architecture that it stunned me and still, I am stunned to even look at my own picture, not believing that I was there, just 12 hours ago.
Life, it passes by so fast. Either we hang on to it, enjoy it, embrace every moment, or… we may end lose that chance – forever.
Day 4: Driving back to Orgiva from Madrid is the plan and our next destination is the Alhambra de Granada… One of the Seven Wonders of the World! I really don’t know much about the Alhambra, besides that I have lived in Alhambra, California before. I am sure it is nothing like the Alhambra, Granada. Every time I mention that, we are going to Granada… everyone will tell me to visit the Alhambra because it is a beautiful place with great architecture. I myself, have not seen anything as fascinating as this Cathedral in Malaga, especially when there are chariots outside.
I really wonder about this “Alhambra de Granada,” if it is really worth being the Seven Wonder of the World… the only way to find out is to visit. Then I will update later about what is my opinion about the Alhambra.
*update via mobile… it seems that we are still in Madrid and going to Alhambra de Granada is in the air right now, not so sure… Oh well, we will find out later tomorrow if we are still going there or is it going to be on Saturday. Either way, it’ll be great because I have been taking so many pictures that I will slowly post it here from time to time. Until then, will keep you posted .
Originally, I had another picture earlier today for the post however the week has been so busy, too busy. There are so many things to be done for the event next week. Well, now I just want that peacefulness… a peaceful place where I can just sit somewhere and absolutely do nothing. I’d like to think about something else beside work.
And that is how I remembered of a place where I have peace. Right here… Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles.
“I am for peace,” said David, “but when I speak, they are for war.” [Psa. 120:7] Why speak then? Why not exercise love, and charity, and forbearance, and avoid giving offence by disagreeable truths? “I tried,” he says, “to refrain even from good words, but it was pain and grief to me; as I mused the fire kindled, and at the last I spake with my lips.” Jeremiah found the same thing; [Psa. 39:2-3]
Exactly, that is what I thought too… this is GINORMOUS, but hey, I am talking about the Cathedral of Malaga, Andalucia, Spain here in the picture okay? Let’s not carry ourselves too far, ya? So I was confused about the difference between a church and a cathedral because when we ask the locals about the church, they did not understand. Then they said, oh! You mean the cathedral. So what is the difference? After doing some googleing (can you believe it, it actually a word now… to google = to search information online) I found that, a Cathedral is actually a church that houses a Bishop or Arch Bishop of the city.
Always we have something new to learn everyday, don’t we? As for this picture, I took it during the trip to Malaga 3 weeks ago which is the same week that I took the Picasso Balcony picture. It is amazing how so much architecture is still intact and that there is so much of it in the city. Unfortunately for us, they were closed that day, so we did not get to go visit inside. It is really really big, I wonder how it would feel inside the Cathedral.
Also, can we have weddings inside the Cathedral? If yes, how much would it cost? Anyone know? Please get back to me if you do. Why do I want to know? Just curious, Just incase… incase what??? Well… just in case… you know!
It has been one month since the first post here at www.TwoStepsBehind.com and thank you to all the visitors… I will keep up the good work and keep up with my commitment of ONE post per day, at least. Well someday I might feel like posting more than one… never know. ^_^ And yes, I have broken the promise twice this month, as I have missed 2 days.
With this month’s statistic of 126 visitors (one of them is my mother whom recently learn how to go about on the internet and doesn’t know how to stop browsing online, talk about addiction / obsession), 749 page views, and 117 feeds. The stats are way more than I have ever hoped for.
And again… this is where……… hope achieves the impossible.
On Sunday, my friends and I spent 3 hours in Old Town Marbella. After stopping at a cafe for some coffe and fresh orange juice, we just walked around and found this church in the middle of town, hidden from the street view. So we entered the church… and the entire environment, surronding, feeling and emotion has CHANGED. It was an amazing feeling to be in the church… it was very peaceful. After weeks and weeks of dealing with projects, one after another… this is where I want to sit and just be left alone.
However, all the boys are not that into the Church as much, so they do a speedy tour of the church then left. I didn’t have that much time to take pictures due to the fact that I was way too amazed by it. So I was kindna blanking out at that moment. The next thing I knew is that… the boys were gone. Sigh… so I left to catch up with them because I didn’t want to get lost.
I had only been in the church less than a minute… but it has reminded me so much of how simple life can be if we choose to make it simple.
If it is to be, it is up to me !!!!!!!!!!
Back to the road-trip during the New Year Holiday, with my friend Hans and his wife. Our first stop was San Francisco and as a passenger, you could imagine how boring it was in the car. Luckily I am with my buddy, Canon Rebel Xsi, and it kept me company.
I didn’t plan to go anywhere during the holiday but it just happened so fast on the morning before they planed to leave for the trip. Fortunately there is open spot in the car, so there is where the trip began.
Go with the flow, be spontaneous and just improvise the situation. That way… life is much more enjoyable.
Okay, so I took this picture while we were in traffic looking for our hotel in San Francisco. He said, “ohhh look to your right”, then I say, “whaoo!!! STONED.” Nope, it’s not that kind of STONED!! It was an awesome feeling to experience and see the architecture of San Francisco.
No, it is not that kind of shooting. Sorry to disappoint you. ^_^
This photo was taken on a morning that I was trying to apply for my Spanish visa. In one week, I have been down this street for more than 10 times and I have noticed the churches on Wilshire blvd. I then kept telling myself to bring my camera the next time I went to the consulate, but it wasn’t until the last day as I kept forgetting to bring my camera along with me.
Finally, I brought the camera but I didn’t have time to stop the car… solution??? I only got one shot! … The result is what is posted here today.
*We can always plan as much as we want, but there are always unseen obstacles… so we must improvise and do our best. In our life, we pretty much only have one shot!
