Have you ever felt like you were paralyzed by something…leviathan that, it stops you in your tracks altogether? I have.
See, when you’re a business person and you’re basically starting from scratch, you do a lot of forecasts about your business, of course after gauging its viability. You make prospects about your market, your plans in reaching them, how to develop more markets and how to fit in the product that you’re selling. All those entrepreneurial duties must be done, and in order for that to retroact, one must look into the distant future, as bleak as it seems.
This is where my dilemma arises. My parents, especially my mother have been reminding us about the Rapture. Rapture is that holy event wherein Almighty God calls in His sincere followers to heaven to save them from the horrendous persecution that lay ahead of the post-rapture. My mother describes it as an ordeal no other ordeals can match and will never be matched. It is, as she would imply, a taste of hell. She told me and my sister about the coming of the Antichrist, and she, based on sermons, speculated that it is the newly-elect US President Barack Obama. To substantiate this revelation, according to the Bible itself, the Antichrist is of Islam descent, similar to that of President Obama’s. The Antichrist will come when the whole world is united and when he arrives, he will be well-received. When President Barack Obama won the presidency candidacy a few months ago, the whole world rejoiced primarily because he is the very first president of the United States of America who is of African-American descent. The grim revelations she incessantly tells us is that the rapture will come by 2012, or even earlier. It could be 2011, 2010 or even 2009. She keeps telling us that we should prepare our hearts for God because if we don’t make it past the rapture, we are in for the worst kind of persecution. She tells us that there is already torture devices prepared for that. 20 years ago, there was a proposal to launch a national ID system that will track each and every living thing on this earth, and the most grim of it all, there will be a microchip that will replace credit cards and that same microchip will serve as a medium to brainwash people against God and His followers.
Now, your literary analysis would dictate that the last paragraph was completely off-track with the optimistic requirements of a budding business mentioned in the first paragraph. Allow me to merge the two as concise as I could. How could I make a 3-5 year planning forecast of my business if the Rapture will happen in 3 years, or even less than that? I am scared, not just because my business doesn’t even have time to grow in so short of a time but because I don’t think I can survive the post-Rapture events, or even if I can make it when the Rapture comes. Just by writing this whole thing the way I understood it paralyzes me completely. It is scary, but it is meant to happen, as grim as it sounds. Maybe my business is never meant to flourish, and can be considered a waste of money, but on a personal sense, will I make it through the rapture? If for instance I don’t, can I survive the post-Rapture? All these thoughts scare me witless and it’s all because of my mom’s revelation. I’m not saying she’s lying because even the Bible foresees this, but why be scared when the point of the Rapture is to gather all sincere Christians. The Bible also tells us that when this time arrives, we shouldn’t be scared, so why all the pandemonium?
I hate it that I can’t seem to even breathe just when I think about it, because in the first place, it’s supposed to pacify Christians like me because it’s at that time where God will save us from His enemies. It’s because of this fear that I can’t even make a forecast even for next year. I hate it when I’m scared because I can’t even formulate a thought when I’m scared witless, all because of Rapture. No one should be scared of the rapture, in fact, every Christian should anticipate it because it’s at that time Jesus will come for us.
I hate it when people scare, or let them scare me. The most important things in this world are our relationship with God, His people, how we have lived in this transient earth and if we have brought someone closer to God because of our actions. Why is that overshadowed by fear of not making it through the Rapture? Why let fear erase all the good things we’ve done? Isn’t it enough?
So I make a stand today, that I won’t be scared. I will live up my life in following Jesus Christ and his teachings, though I may not make it in heaven, if I can bring people closer to God, that’s enough for me. And that’s my new role, to share the gift of melody to those people who praise God. I’d like to bring them up, make their praises more sincere than they thought it was.
As for my business, it goes on, Rapture or not, it will survive. I may not be able to take it to heaven but I’m sure I’ll learn a lot of things along the way…and I’ll take those in heaven, as a testimony that I’ve made the most of my fleeting life on earth. My business will flourish, by God’s grace and His divine intercession. I shall consecrate this budding business to God. It shall be OUR business, OUR partnership, an endeavor that will bind us closer, but not as close as when I pray to Him and I read His Word. It shall be OUR defining moment, Nu Skin Enterprises.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Roberto Cavalli Pre-Fall Fashion Show 2009
For someone who made a name out of designing looks that are rock star wives and the kind that Courtney Love would wear, this collection was, by far, the most clothed and reserved Robert Cavalli ever showcased.
First up, he divided his pre-fall collection into a series of nature-inspired prints, 40s era suits mingled with silk caftans and sporty nylon anoraks, as well as cocktails dresses for those parties every Cavalli’s women must attend. Color palette wise, it came with shades of navy blues, some animal-esque prints and wavy prints.
Roberto Cavalli has deviated from the all-out glamour-in-your-face looks and went for something less coquettish and more sophisticated by using prints other than his signature animal prints. The collection could have suffered from last season’s too-many-cooks-spoiled-the-broth syndrome, although the sub-categorizations have held strongly, the overall collection may not have done as strongly as the subgroups did. Nevertheless, the collection read classic glamour Cavalli way.
For someone who made a name out of designing looks that are rock star wives and the kind that Courtney Love would wear, this collection was, by far, the most clothed and reserved Robert Cavalli ever showcased.
First up, he divided his pre-fall collection into a series of nature-inspired prints, 40s era suits mingled with silk caftans and sporty nylon anoraks, as well as cocktails dresses for those parties every Cavalli’s women must attend. Color palette wise, it came with shades of navy blues, some animal-esque prints and wavy prints.
Roberto Cavalli has deviated from the all-out glamour-in-your-face looks and went for something less coquettish and more sophisticated by using prints other than his signature animal prints. The collection could have suffered from last season’s too-many-cooks-spoiled-the-broth syndrome, although the sub-categorizations have held strongly, the overall collection may not have done as strongly as the subgroups did. Nevertheless, the collection read classic glamour Cavalli way.
My favorite look was this summer-inspired printed top with black pants (PICTURED) because it brought a sense of freedom in the collection, despite the fact that it was meant for pre-fall seasons.
For the entire 22 looks, click this link:
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