As the Music Fades

I stared at the smoke strewn sky as I walked down the street. It's bound to be long night tonight. Shops were already closing earlier than usual. Fire crackers could be heard from a mile off. Each boom of the triangular explosive, the earth shudders foretelling of the close of the year. It happens every year. Fire crackers they call it but it sounds more like dynamites capable of destroying the city.

I really don't get the point of these fire crackers. Is it a great way to face the new year? More like starting the year with chaos and more trash than the usual. But who am I to say anything? I'm just walking here.

I continued walking. Each step I take, I tried to recount all that has happened this year. From the funny first day of the year to the resumption of the internship months. Until now that I am considered a professional (whatever that means!).

I also recount the pitfalls, the obstacles, the pain, the trials and the temptations. They were hard. They were sorely troublesome. And yet, I find a stronger me each time I surpass them. Especially that as each time I try to squeeze my way out of it, a hand would always be willing to grab me out. And I find myself on the floor every time it happens. Kneeling. Praying.

BOOM!

A cracker just went off a few feet from me. It was followed by the sound of laughter. I thought of throwing a stone at them. One that would surely hit them in the face if not the eyes. But I thought better. How many times have stones been thrown at me without even fighting back? For this year, I say many times. Not just tiny stones but boulders.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Several more. And it came from where I was walking minutes ago. I reached our front door. I tried to breathe the last of the 2008 air. It was dirty and smells like gun powder. I just hope the new year would be better than the old. It should be. Especially when He is there.

So as the sound of the explosions drown the night away.



















I'll just sleep it all away!

Bad Shots

Using three pillows and a straw, I was able to do the impossible.

I opened the door to my world thinking it would be worthwhile to spend the hours while waiting for sleep to hit me in the head. I got hit in the head but the computer where my world was supposedly located could not be accessed.

Okay so I don't make sense. So what?

I wend home at 1 am in the morning. A new record for the month of december but not for the year. This year I went home past 12 midnight several times including one time after the Estragel play but you don't want to know about that anyway.

I waited for sleep to catch me. I tried to set up the scene wherein it would catch me while playing a computer game of my liking. But to my dismay, sleep already nearly knocked me out while the computer is not yet running. So I waited till morning to find out what's wrong with this and get the right people responsible for doing this exterminated. (as if I could actually do that!)

So I woke up earlier than usual and started the tedious process of finding out what's wrong with the computer. (At around this season, that would be around 8 or 9 in the morning)

After 7 hours of grudgingly long scans, and checks, I was finally able to.........sleep.

Nice me.

PS. Oh yeah, I managed to fix the computer while sleeping or rather, it fixed itself while I was sleeping.

PPS. the culprits are already knocked out. as in they're also asleep at this moment.

Christmas Back Breaker

I watched in silence as people went past me. Most of them were kids with their parents happily trudging the streets to their godparents or to their relatives for their Christmas gifts.

It only happens here and only in this season where you find all of the people out with a seemingly festive mood. But I still watched in silence.

I woke up early this morning not catching the same festive air these people have. I am not griping neither am I envious. In fact, we prepared food for a small family gathering at our uncle's place. It was enough to feed a hungry regiment.

But that wasn't the way I spent the whole day. Actually, the whole day was muscle straining for me, my brother and my father.

We set aside breathing the jolly air to begin the day with work. Yes. Amidst all the caroling and the cheers that people were having, we were working.

But hold your horses, if my colleagues reading this might think that I did SP work on a Christmas, they're dead wrong. I did something harder.

My father was actually reluctant to bring me along. I didn't have the right stamina and physical strength to do the job. But he brought me along just to ease the load between him and my brother. They also hired someone from our neighborhood to help. Our task: to transfer boxes and other assortments from Makati to Manila.

A client offered my father the job. He was a long time client and a friend so my father consented to the work. Although he thought that this would be as easy as pie to his dismay.

Approximately 15 balikbayan boxes (and huge ones at that), not to mention a 30" television with stand, a king sized bed, two pets (a cat and two birds), 2 aquariums worth of sand and corals and several gallons of water were carried in 4 trips.

The number may seem overwhelming but it's a complete understatement compared to the weight of the boxes. (And I still wonder why the client didn't rent a truck for the job)

We had to load it to our vehicle from inside the client's house and bring it to his new 2nd floor apartment in Manila. So here's to make it easier to picture the house is a bungalow.

Our muscles were strained. Our clothes were filthy with the dust and grime. Our backs nearly broken carrying all those load. And all the people we pass were frolicking with their new gifts while others were flaunting their new clothes and hairstyles. (Read on I'm not bitter promise!)

The work took past lunchtime. But that is without noting that after the third trip, I blacked out. We were carrying the last box before going back. As I was about to go up the stairs, I seemed to lose hearing while at the same time, my eyes seemed to see all black. I was conscious. I know my eyes were open, but my ears and my eyes seemed to be not functioning at that moment. My mouth was parched. My knees were not just shaky but almost useless in carrying my own weight. I have feared the worst. I'm blacking out.

That was the second time I've blacked out like that. The first one was while on a hiking trip gone wild at Ilas, bulacan, bordering bulacan and montalban, rizal. It was a helluva experience and another story.

So I sat down and closed my eyes. On our way to the client's house to load the fourth time, I thought my father would drop me off to our house to rest. But he didn't. Actually, I don't want the day to end with me feeling that weak in the remaining hours of the day so I was thankful. I rested for a while. Luckily, a dumptruck was blocking our way to the client's house so we have to wait for a while. It was enough for me to regain my strength.

After the back breaking toil, we headed to our uncle's house hoping to party with my cousins. We found the house with only our family remaining and our uncle. All the others left. So feeling slightly dejected, we took to eating our overdue lunch instead and then went home.

It was a great way to spend the Christmas. Unique. Hard. Not to mention, back breaking. But the best part was that at the end of the day, there was pay worth our labor.

Never Try This At Home

It's a Holiday. One of those days where there's nothing important to do but be alive and love it or be bored with it. Either way, I felt both. And I probably will be for the next few days. Why do we delegate two weeks to spend everything we've earned for the rest of the year?

Well, anyway, here I was just performing my role in this world at this time of the year: hybernating.

I slept for the rest of the afternoon. But I woke up feeling hot and sweaty all over. Man!! I forgot to turn on the electric fan. Too bad for  me.

Not feeling sleepy anymore, I decided to play on my computer while downloading something. I just got the classic Starcraft game. I decided to finish the campaign game once more just to feel it again.

I was in the middle of building my defences when someone gave me a BUZZ on the yahoo messenger.

Man! I shouldn't have put my messenger on.

I minimized my game, hoping to sign out my YM. A few minutes later I found myself chatting.
When I returned back on my game, my base was obliterated!!!!

So much for feeling it again!

Have Not Lost The Touch!

I really don't know if I could still do this, I thought as I stepped onto the platform. It has been years since I last did this kind of thing and now I'm not so sure if I could pull it off again. I wrapped my finger onto the trigger as I eased my shoulders onto the rifle. And as if every movement made a sound, I silently slid my head into the sights of the sniper rifle.

I'll just have to be fast and accurate. I'll just have to be calm and ready. I'll just have to make it feel like the old days.

"Man, what am I thinking?" I said to myself. "Those old days were just two years ago. I could definitely pull this off again."

I set my sights on the crosshair. Then I tightened my grip on the gun as I awaited the orders. And the mission began.

The wind speed and the wind direction were A-ok. I was completely hidden from view from this platform so my enemies wouldn't know what hit them the moment I pull the trigger. I set my sights on the first target and as all breath escaped from my mouth and nose, I pulled it.

It took me a few seconds to recover from the recoil and see what happened. I drew the first blood and as expected he didn't know what hit him. He just fell like stone with a busted head. A head shot too!

But I didn't end there. There were more enemies and time is running out. I have to postpone the celebrations and make the body count rise fast!

I spotted the next two targets on the rooftops. I shouldn't miss. If I missed they'll open fire. They may not hit me but some civilian might get hurt. I managed to bag the other two on the roof tops without sparing a moment for one of them to look at the other as he dropped dead. I shot some more scum guarding the building. These structures with glass panels for walls sure make my job easy. I fell three men including one who was hiding behind a group of civilian hostages. All of them head shots.

Now it came to the last man. This guy's the mastermind and the higher ups want him dead. He was holding this lady while rocking back and forth apparently trying to elude my rifle. Little did he know that his head was sticking out that even before I was signalled, a frag was already flying towards him. He fell down with a hole on his forehead.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I managed to pull it off. I haven't lost the touch at all.

I can still play this video game. I can still play Sogeki and now at a new location with so few people playing. I might be at Shangrila longer than the usual.

Randomness daw...

Got this from michi sabi niya randomness daw. I've got nothing to do but random things these days so here I go.

So, do comment and...
1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal.

Home Alone

I was left to guard the house. At around this season, I get to be like this. Most of the time, my parents would be busy themselves with all the outreach programs in church. Today, they're at the Haven, an institution for abused women and children. Meanwhile, my siblings are busy with their school work, one is in baguio for a school convention while another is at the hospital on a graveyard nurse duty. My other sister is sleeping and so is my grandfather and they wouldn't wake up until later. So still alone at home.

It makes me remember Kevin McCallister. Who wouldn't forget that 90's Christmas film and its sequel? I really enjoyed it as a kid and I still do now. It's a about Kevin played by Macaulay Culkin, who for some reason was left alone at home when his family was on an annual Christmas Vacation somewhere else. While all alone at home, two escaped convicts tries to break into their supposedly empty home but was stopped by Kevin by placing all sorts of booby traps in their house.

So here am I. Also alone at home writing a blog!! Oh well, I guess it can't be helped. I'll just spray some grease on the stairs for a change. heh!

When God Asked The Question

“Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, an answer thou me.” – Job 38: 3

 
More than once, I have come to ask God why we experience hardships in life. Before I started working, I kept on struggling with my issues during in internship. I began to seek answers on how hard life could be and why am I undergoing such trials. More so when while working, issues such as money, pride, responsibility and so many others started to surface. It was even too much to bear when question after questions barraged my brain that I could not answer.

Why should these things fall on us? Why do we have to struggle a lot? Why does life seemed so burdensome? These questions in mind led me to search the scriptures.

I have known that of all the great men in the Bible, Job’s struggle was by far the greatest. Where else can you find a righteous man whose success in life is unrivaled by anyone in his time. Yet with one swoop everything disappeared leaving him not only broken hearted but broken physically as well. But with that already in mind, I still didn’t know the whole story.

What I learned from Job is astounding.

Consider a man like him, he was called blameless. Yet the sudden turn of events made him seemed to be cursed of men. All his children dead, his properties stolen, his wife estranged, and his body almost left for dead all at the same time could be enough to drive any man stark raving mad. It was the hardest for anyone to endure.

Job’s tragedy never fully ended there. His friends taunted him for days with Job trying his best to counter their every word. When Job is at the brink of giving in to their will, the most amazing thing happened God spoke. If that isn’t enough to put you in awe, then you’d be surprised at what he said: He asked questions.

We all know what happened when God spoke. In Genesis, his very words made the world as we know it. His breath even holds the very lives that we have. The last time He asked a question, Adam and Eve were banished from Eden. In Exodus, his mere presence caused the all the hairs on Moses’ body to turn white. Bottom line is you really should cower when He asks you something.

What God asked to Job at that time was really astounding. Putting yourself in the shoes of that man, your trouble was only the loss of everything you have and here was the giver of it all, asking you where were you when he made all those donkeys, camels, and much more your life?

It is a bitter sweet reminder to all of us that these things that we experience are petty things compared to what God has done for all of us. Job’s story was God’s challenge not only for Job but for all of us. Should we try to ask Him why, we should prepare ourselves to answer the who, the what, and the where.

Hard Hearts and Dry Bones

“I really don’t want to talk about faith or God!” A friend once responded when our conversation drew near the topic. “Whenever that’s the topic there seems to be no argument,” He continued.

True enough, we often meet people with the same view as my friend. Most of them would rather talk about the weather, the up coming sale or what’s new on television than who is God and what His purpose in our life is. They would readily avoid things that they know would lead them to a realization that would give them a 180 degree turn back to our Creator. These would lead us to a question: why?

I am not a psychologist or a sociologist to give a general fact, but in the case of my friend, I can clearly see that it is merely the fear of seeing the error of his chosen path that keeps him from knowing God. It is refusing to accept what God really wanted for his life and instead, enjoy the pleasures that HE KNOWS is something unacceptable to the Creator. Thus, his tendency is to avoid anything that would lead him to discover how much he was missing with God by asking skeptical questions or ignoring the topic completely.

Yet for all we know, people like my friend have all the potential to be a great leader in church. Some would have the talent that would help move mountains in the ministry. Yes, they sometimes seem better than us. So what do we do we do about it?

An error that I have learned in dealing with that friend of mine is not to force any Christian fact. It is like forcing your head on an untrained lion’s mouth. He’ll bite back in anger. Another one is to ask questions that would dig deep into his core beliefs as he would tend to hide in his shell. So what would be a better way?

EZEKIEL’S WAY

An Adventist Review Online article called “Dry Bones and Living Souls” seeks to answer such questions by allowing us to look back at the time of Ezekiel.

During Ezekiel’s time, Israel had been under captivity. Most of them have become hopeless to the point of losing faith on and being skeptical with God. It was then that God took Ezekiel on a valley of dry bones. (verse can be found in Ezekiel 37: 1-10)

No questions asked, the bones pertain to death and decay – “dead men walking—alive, but spiritually dead; awake, yet in carnal slumber” as blatantly mentioned in the article.

1. Trust God
What really makes you wonder is the Ezekiel’s view on the matter. While completely surrounded by dry bones, God asked him if the bones would live. Without a single doubt, the prophet replied “O Lord God, thou knowest.”

Ezekiel had nothing to say with the matter. It was like seeing him holding up both hands saying “God it’s you’re call not mine! You’re the mighty one not me!” Dry bones or not, we must keep in mind that it is God who can touch hearts and turn heads, not us. We must refrain from that “shortsighted humanity” wherein we close the doors on people once they rejected God. We must trust God to know what we would say or do. Remember, we don’t call the shots, we’re just the guns.

2. “Prophesy upon these bones”
Ezekiel was then asked by God to prophesy upon the bones. God gave him the exact words. Lo and behold, life came into the bones.

After trusting God to know what would happen, respond to His bidding. Don’t give up on talking to the person. Ask God what to say. He’ll tell you what to say or how to prophesy.

Again, we are the tools. We are the disciples. God directs. So the whole process is God’s call. Just imagine the scene after Ezekiel prophesied. So many things happened in the process. A loud noise and shaking, bones came together, sinews and flesh came, and lastly, skin covered the structure. It was a process that God willed to form after Ezekiel followed the command.

The same would happen to us, God would direct the words and would tell you when to stop. Afterwards, you just wait and you will be surprised with what will happen to the bones.

3. “Prophesy unto the wind”
So the bones came together and became flesh. But imagine the prophet’s surprise when he discovers that the flesh was not moving. God then tells him to “prophesy unto the wind”

Adventist Review Online article clearly identifies the wind as the Holy Spirit. It also goes further to point out that all evangelistic efforts would be futile had the converting power of the Holy Spirit been forgotten. True enough, nothing would come out of any work of God without the Holy Spirit to guide us and to touch the people we invite to God. The Holy Spirit is an essential ingredient in the mix to make any dry bones come to life.

Following Ezekiel’s response to God could no doubt be effective in convincing people to go back to God. The results were clearly staggering. At the end, a whole army was standing in front of Ezekiel ready to do battle.

I could not wait to try such approach to my friend. If God could make dry bones into an army during Ezekiel’s time, why not on ours?

Blogging from ML6731

At last I had this new baby hooked up on the net. So now, I am officially connecting on my newly aquired Gateway ML6731.

It was such as blessing as my Desktop PC is nearly fading away (not if I can help it!!)

It's just a month ago when uncle wilan, uncle james and auntie mel brought this up from their place to ours. And sadly, just 3 weeks ago when I first reformatted it (my deepest regrets). What else can I do? I really don't know how to operate laptops.

Now, it's still crawling baby steps on the net using the classic 56kbps dial-up internet connection . So with that said, I guess you already figured out that this doesn't have YM or any of my usual PC programs (no bittorrent!)

But anyway, from hereon, I'd be posting blogs from here and still be going out to the net cafes for the faster internet to chat and to stream.

SDA Youth Moments: First Prayers

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Philippians 4:13

I was invited by my friend to speak at their academy vesper worship. I was a little hesitant but God’s call prevailed. So I agreed to speak and prayed to God that somehow my message would be an inspiration to those students most of whom were not Seventh-day Adventists.

However, I am not writing about how God strengthened me to speak to these young people. Instead, I was fully impressed to write about how some of the participants that night acted. They were very jittery and anxious to get their parts done and bolt away afterwards. One funny thing is that they reminded me of someone I know.

In our church, the Juniors Sabbath School Class (aged 10-12) had its own Divine Worship to prepare them for service at the main church.

One Sabbath, that person was chosen by his father, who served as their adviser and guide, to offer the pastoral prayer during the Divine Worship service. He was very apprehensive. First he was not a student at the Academy and was only there for the Sabbath. Second, he was not prepared in praying for a crowd and in a gathering such as these. But with his father’s insistence, he went on to serve even when cold sweat was already dripping down his back.

He collected his thoughts and tried to plan his prayer carefully. He even tried to ask if he could just read his prayer but his request was denied. So he had to go impromptu.

 At the pulpit, he was very anxious to get his part done and go back home. But the worst came, nothing came out of his mouth. He didn’t know what to say. He paused for so long while banging his knees on the floor. The thought of banging his head and throwing away the microphone also occurred to him.

He thought how foolish he looked especially with people his age. At the end of the service, he wanted to quickly get away from this crowd and go back home where no one would even know what he did.

But what happened during that embarrassing Sabbath led him to seek God’s help and try to remove his stage fright. It took several years but later on, he became very much involved in God’s work that he can’t even count how many times he had been on that pulpit. 

So imagine how much God would strengthen you whenever you feel inadequate and unprepared for His work. It just starts with as simple prayer – even a very embarrassing one.

I hope you’ve guessed who this person is, because I am not dropping names.

7:11 AND ONWARDS

Imagine a man walking inside this church. He looks haggard and worn. It even seems that he has not eaten for several days and his body is about to fall. But when you look at his clothes, he seemed like the man you see in the office. A CEO type.

He walks along the aisle. Slowly, very slowly. It was as if every step felt heavier. And when at last he reached the front pews, he suddenly kneels down and cries out in agony: “LORD, I BEG YOU HELP ME! MAKE ME RICH! SAVE MY BUSINESSES!”

In another side of the church, in the farthest corner, another person sits on the pews. This time a woman sat there. Her eyes closed, lips quivering in prayer. She started pouring out her heart to God as tears fell down her cheeks. In agony she prays for healing her sick son, her failing health, her depleting savings.

Now on one of the function rooms of the church, a group of young individuals gathered and started to pray for each other. They prayed for their families, their fellow brethren inside the church, for their ministry and for many other things.

So what do you think am I pointing out here?

You see, that man, that woman and the group of young individuals are all illustrations of some of us here in this church. Most of us are in agony or are in dire need of divine guidance and intervention. Some of us may even pray and praise God for whatever blessings we may have had. And when these things do happen, our bodies fall down on their knees and talk to our Creator. So we all pray.

For the past five months, I have learned how nerve racking this life could be. All of us may have already realized that, but with the current crises with the gas prices, the inflation rates, and our never changing income, it’s really devastating.

Warriors All

For the past years, we have learned to be more prayerful. We have learned to take a knee and pray fervently, faithfully. We have learned to become PRAYER WARRIORS!!

YES! Most of us have become more prayerful because of the crises. We have suddenly remembered what Jesus said:  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matt. 7:7, 8). And so everyone is down on their knees and starts praying. Now, we don’t only pray before we sleep, when we wake up or before we eat meals. We try to find time to pray almost every instant we can. AM I RIGHT?

So what does it mean to be a “prayer warrior”? I myself have been wondering the very same thing. I’ve prayed for protection from being too greedy or being misled by the enemy’s guile, but at the same time, I’ve prayed for that BMW, that brand new cell phone, and so many other things. Aside from not getting what I wanted, more questions on how prayer really works started to seep in.

An article posted in the Adventist Review Online website also poses the very same query. It even goes on to tell us that if what we mean by “prayer warrior” is someone who does battle using prayer, then who are we battling against? If our idea is to pray fervently enough to prevail, then doesn’t that lock us into a battle with God, Himself? Pretty weird isn’t it? But if that is our mindset, we seem to think that God would eventually wear down and give in to our request. It would seem to suggest that too much pestering would make God irritated and just say: “Alright quit talking, I’ve heard that 30 times this week! HERE, TAKE WHAT YOU WANT!” So in a sense that would make God some sort of a convenience store.

So what’s wrong with that picture, my dear brothers and sisters?  If we read the passage again, we see that the bottom line is asking God for help. It is true and I don’t plan to contest that at any moment now or in the future. And of course, we also know that it takes prayer and faith to get the things that we request.

We see so many illustrations of that in our Bibles. My favourite illustration is Elijah praying over the widow’s son and the boy came back to life and Elijah praying on Mount Carmel to send that fire from heaven. Daniel and the lion’s den also comes to mind when I think about praying faithfully and fervently.

But then, we also see that same prophet Elijah begging God to take his life, but God give him an angel instead. Our Saviour also prayed for the cup to pass from Him, but he died all the same.

Of course we may all argue that Jesus asked for God’s will to be done. But doesn’t that give us more questions than answers? How would we know the difference between God didn’t answer my prayer because it is not His will versus God didn’t answer my prayer because I didn’t pray fervently enough?

Sandwiched

If we look at the verse again carefully, this time in the similar message in Luke 11, we find a very interesting illustration. The verse is sandwiched by two illustrations.

First we see a man helping a friend at an ungodly hour. His friend’s persistence bade the man to give more than enough bread even though he and his family are already sleeping. Imagine our similarity to this picture, where in our persistence and in our faith in our God, he will still give us more than what we need.

The second one is similar to the first, it tells us about a son asking for his father for fish. Jesus asked the people if the father would give him a snake instead. And it ends with a comfortable thought: “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt. 7:11).

Isn’t that really comforting to know? Don’t you feel relieved by those words? I can see some nodding ( I just hope they’re not sleeping) and some are saying yes.

But now the question: Why do still things turn out badly even if we pray for it so hard and so faithfully?

Tell me if any of these has not yet happened to you: We pray for financial stability, and things still get wavy. We pray for help in an interview and we just goofed on that interview. We pray for safety but Voila! FLAT TIRE! We pray for healing but all we see is more suffering and sometimes, death.

But that is not all. What about what the article termed as “conflicting prayers”? Just like when two opposing teams both pray to God for help in winning the game. Just like when you pray for fair weather for you to go out while our farmers pray for rain. What about those? Hindi kaya mailto si God sa mga pinaghihingi natin?

Would God say, because you asked for a sunny day, you will have the sun over your head and over yours alone. And you farmer, because you prayed for rain, only your fields will have rain clouds over it. With the two teams, He might say because you both prayed to win the game, you will have the same score all throughout the game. Hey, you’re shooting more than I intended to, pass that ball to your opponent. Go ahead.

So do we know everything about prayer? So how or why are we still asking God?

Wait! Before you get completely discouraged, look at that comforting text again? The one with the giving of good gifts? It’s in Matthew 7:11! What about Luke’s version of the text? Look up Luke 11:7 and onwards. It’s the same illustration, but let us look at the difference of what Jesus said in the end. “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13). Whoa! Sabi ni Matthew good gifts, pero sabi ni Luke Holy Spirit!

Dear Brethren! When we ask, when we seek and when we knock, God promises the Holy Spirit! And what does it do? I think we already know this as a fact. But if not, look it up at 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11.

Now you realize how much comfort God offers us. He really gives good gifts. He even gives us the best gifts – The Holy Spirit that gives according to our need and abilities. Remember how he granted the prayers of the like of Daniel, Esther, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and all the other prophets? Well, bear in mind, that even though God answered their prayers, things did not always went well with them. But the Spirit was still with them when they went through all those trials. How else could Stephen ask for forgiveness to those who were stoning him?

God still wants us to be persistent and not lose heart. He still wants us to realize that we need to be prayerful. When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he taught not to present a prayer equation or a formula. Rather, he is teaching us that God loves us and wants to give what is best for us – even when that gift may be the things we least expect.

And what greater gifts could we ask for than to be “loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled”? Which all comes with the gift of the Spirit.

May God bless each of us with more faith and more of the Holy Spirit.

Once In A Blue Moon

Tell ya if the moon is blue. So when did it become blue? And why did they call it blue? Why are there so many questions? Should I answer them? Nah.

One day, after ESTRAGEL 4 practice, I came home dead tired. No the practice wasn't that tiring, rather it was fun (great set of exercises from direk arjay). I found my mother as she descended the stairs. She was dressed to go somewhere with my sister.

I saw them out. When I went back home, I went straight to find my slippers. To my disappointment, i found my slippers broken. It was as if someone with feet larger than mine tried to see if it fits. It was a real bad day. Those slippers (they were imitatio havaianas) were just 5 months old!

So instead of sleeping, I immediately went to the market to look for slippers. There were the usual ones: the hundreds of imitation havaianas, the regular slippers, and the not-so-expensive but durable islander sandals. But among those lines of slippers, one shop really caught my eye!

Man!! They still sell Rambo slippers!! It's been years since I last saw one of those! Cool.

I tried to ask how much. It was just enough. But when I looked at the slippers carefully - ugGH!! They were just imitations! RAMBBO!?

One Vain Day @ the Orchidarium

Kuya Vinz asked us to go with him to the orchidarium re: his up coming wedding this sunday. He wanted to orient us regarding the place and our role as ushers. At the same time he finalized things with his decorator and caterer. So while they were having a meeting, VJ took the shots....

Now I Know (An NBI Story)

I took my first step to adulthood today. And just like a child getting ready to sit or walk, I fumbled on my first few steps. I obtained my NBI clearance.

Of course everyone would think that it is not really a step toward adulthood but everyone would definitely agree that it is not also a requirement when you're a high school or college student. 

When I first stepped down the train bound for Carriedo a sudden thrill permeated my heart. At the same time, the feeling you get when you are at a loss also began to creep down my spine.

A friend told me that the only difficulties that I could encounter is finding the building and falling in line. I only agreed with the latter. However, as I entered the threshold of the building, I didn't know what to do. I felt nauseous as all around me were strange faces. Some of them  badgering  other people around while others  looked as clueless as I . 

Eventually, I managed to get a hold of myself and plunge into that sea of people. Not entirely mingling, mind you, but hustling and bustling amidst the "isaw"-like lines toward claiming that piece of paper called an NBI Clearance.

I waited and waited and waited among those lines until my turn came. I paid every fee and ink-smudged all of my fingers with ink. All to get that clearance. I asked every  person worth asking regarding the next step and got grunted answers or the classic pointing snout.

Two hours and a skip at lunch later, I was finally able to obtain that precious piece of paper. But it wasn't a leap in the air. It was with a greasy forehead, a stinking shirt and a weary body that I descended the steps.

I stared at my prize.

I stared really hard.

I noted each detail on that piece of paper.

All I can say is that now I know why everyone looked so haggard in their NBI clearance pictures. =P

Addiction Abyss

The air reeks with the smell of nicotine.

I hated that smell. Better fill the room with the scent of any nose-piercing perfume of my brother than smell the strong odor of nicotine. Better if it were just from one person. But from where I sit, it's clear that it comes from both sides.

What makes the agony more profound is the fact that I am sittin inside a supposedly air conditioned room. A computer rental at that! Yet, some confounded bloke blatantly seemed overjoyed with the scent of nicotine to think that sharing it would be the sanest thing to do. Yeah, I love it! NOT!

But that clearly was not the end of it.

I tried to see who conspired to make this supposedly comfortable computer servicing seem like hell. Lo and behold, children of no more than ten sat beside me. They were the perpetrators?

I tried to look around the rental. The only grown-up is three computer stations away from me. And he's not playing a game. Instead, he's doing some thing on Microsoft Word. It must not be him.

The children were shouting obsceneties and curses at each other. So imagine the scene me in between two mangy children shouting at each other with what seems like a contest on who knows the most curse and obscenity. "PIs" and "G"-words were flying back and forth from the mouths of these kids. If given the chance, I could have bashed their brains out with the computer set I'm renting.

So they must be it.

The shouting even proved it. Their mouths were reeking foul with the nicotine. These kids smoke? Wherever are their parents?

All this time, I thought that I would be better off being a computer addict, filling my mind with countless games. I tried that life. Personally, it would be a good escape from drugs, sex, booze and even smoke. But as I see these kids, the computer shops has become breeding grounds for smoke, gangster lifestyles, obsceneties and such. Should this continue, what would happen to them?

Isang Linggo

Isang linggo akong walang magawa,

Nakadungaw lamang sa bintana,

Magdamag na lang nakatunganga

At inuubos ang oras sa wala.

 

Sa isang linggo aking napagtanto,

Kung ako’y lagi na lang ganito,

Marahil ay hindi na isang milagro

Kung katawa’y tuluyang lumobo.

 

Buong isang linggo ring naisipan

Magtrabaho, umasikaso nang minsan

Ngunit gawai’y tanging pinagmasdan

Nang muling maghari ang katamaran.

 

Isang linggo nga ba’y nauwi sa wala,

Teka nga muna, hindi naman yata,

‘Pagkat aking kwarto ay sinala

Nang dumi’y maglaho parang bula.

 

At di rin ba iyon ang isang linggo,

Kung saan isang panulat ay kinuha ko,

Gayundin ang isang lumang kwaderno

At aking nalikha ang abang tulang ito.

And I Wrote About God

Everytime I visit the web, only four pages are active: my email, my multiply site, my friendster account and my xanga account. In all of these accounts except for the latter, I add everyone freely. I think even those strangers whose sole aim in life is to increase the number of their friends on friendster.

So one day I wasn't surprised to find someone has added me up. I wasn't also surprised when that person posted a comment.

A complete stranger added me up. I approved her request with some hesitation.

What really took me was her comment. It brought me a year ago when I tried to force some writing during internship.

I remember very well how I tried to include writing about my everyday experiences in montalban and summer days. All 10 of them included in a book called "verses in my heart" which was off the press last january.

I was really touched that someone was blessed by something I wrote. I remember that all I wanted was to share something to whoever would read the book.

I praise God for it all...

Manila Autoshow

Manila Autoshow... one sunday morning.. may nagtext...galing kay jaymi yung tickets. camera ni dudoy galing yung pics.. 'stig...

weight and dead weight

This blog entry is also posted on my friendster blog: http://teilwng.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/

'tis been said that in these types of seasons, we should look forward to joy and prosperity while trying to forget the obstacles that tripped us into a deep ditch.

And so you would normally think that I would write about something that would make you think otherwise.

I guess you're right! So here goes...

(1) Chinese tradition tells us to create as much noise to scare away the bad fortune and the evil spirits that would come on the year.

Hence the fireworks and the clanging, banging and noise making. But come to think of it, doesn't Metro Manila have enough honking vehicles along EDSA and enough jabbering couples to drive those ghosts crazy?

Kaya bakit pa tayo magpapaputok? At isa pa, counted ba as paputok yung hindi paliligo ng buong araw tapos pagkain ng bawang at sibuyas before the new year?

(2) Tradition all over the world tells us to prepare a huge feast for the whole family if not for the whole clan.

Thus, all your most favorite dishes will be served on your mom's most treasured platter. Yep, the one dating as far back as when your greatgrandmother got married. You didn't know that didn't you? And it does makes all the businessmen prosperous.

Dagdag niyo na rin ang mga doctors, nurses, therapists at mga medical professionals na tatakbuhan ni lolo o ni tatay kapag nasobrahan ng generoso at ginebra o di kaya ay kapag gumanti yung hipon at lechon na pinampulutan nila. Dagdagkita yan kina doc! Parang rowing lang yan sa Manila Bay eh... stroke, stroke, stroke! ehehehehe

(3) It is said that wearing polka-dots and collecting 12 round fruits would let the moneys coming in.

So you were yanked around by your mom and forced to wear that polka-dot pinkish polo she bought in divisoria. Even though it dated as far back as when you were still in gradeschool. What about the fruits? well, you would feast on some while la cucarachas and ratatouille will feast on most later on.

Tsk Tsk Tsk. Pero wala pa ring perang pumapasok kasi simula pa lang ng taon, gumastos na kayo sa mamahaling peras, oranges at washington apples para sa handaan. Dagdag mo pa ang pinya at pakwan na out of season ng ganung panahon at buko na hindi naman pala prutas. At hindi rin pala bilog ang pinya at washington apples, kaya wag ka na magtataka kung bakit walang pumapasok na pera.

(4) Jump Up and Down on A New Year's Eve and you'll be taller.

So many have done so much jumping on a new year's eve since they were born that nothing seems to happen. You could see them anywhere even on the streets. Fortunately though we haven't heard any news of house falling to the ground because everyone jumped inside.

Kaya matulog ka nalang baka dun mas tatangkad ka pa. Sabi rin ng mga matatanda kailangang matulog para lalong tumangkad. Sabi rin ng iba na kapag lagi kang nakatayo nagpapatangkad ka daw. Ano ba talaga?

(5) Every new year, one must consult fengshui experts for good luck, and consult the chinese calendar for more luck and buy luck attracting items.

This has been done by so many people it's already an accepted fact. Everyone attests to how much luck they have received on the new year. Everyone that is except those who consulted the expert, the calendar and bought the items. For whoever said that YOU will have the good luck when YOU were the one who paid the expert, bought a chinese calendar, bought good luck items, books and other paraphernalia. So who received all the money?

Kaya bili na kayo ng kumakaway na daga. Sabi sa hula mo ngayong taon mapapangasawa mo si dennis trillo kung babae ka at si angel locsin kung lalake ka. Kaso nga lang... marami kayong pakakasal sa kanila. Good luck!!

(6) Singing a song on new year would make you a great singer.

This is something you've heard from your parents or grand parents. Of all the myths and superstitions concerning new year this one is the real deal. This is where singers like regine velasquez and others got their singing prowess.

Ang maniwala... alam niyo na. Hahahahaha. Wala naman talagang ganito eh pero kahit meron man, sino naman makikinig sayo kung nagpapaputok ang lahat?

So are you still up for another new year's celebration?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

P.S.

So what is the connection of this entry with the title?

Tama ka.

Wala.