American Dream by Casting Crowns

All work no play may have made Jack a dull boy
But all work no God has left Jack with a lost soul
But he's moving on full steam
He's chasing the American dream
And he's gonna give his family the finer things

Not this time son I've no time to waste
Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play
And then he slips into his new BMW
And drives farther and farther and farther away

So He works all day and tries to sleep at night
He says things will get better;
Better in time

And he works and he builds with his own two hands
And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands

His American Dream is beginning to seem
More and more like a nightmare
With every passing day
"Daddy, can you come to my game?"
"Oh Baby, please don't work late."
Another wasted weekend
And they are slipping away

'Cause he works all day and lies awake at night
He tells them things will get better
It'll just take a little more time

He used to say, "Whoever dies with the most toys wins"
But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end
I'll take a shack on the rock
Over a castle in the sand
Now he works all day and cries alone at night
It's not getting any better
Looks like he's running out of time
'Cause he worked and he built with his own two hands
And he poured all he had in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are coming crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands

All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You

Responsibilities

During a friend’s birthday, something he said struck a chord in me. He said something about the young emulating what we do.

I have known about this ever since a task over a group of young ones was given to me. I wonder though how many amongst us really know how careful we must be in everything we do.

For eyes see what we do. Ears hear what we say. Minds process the actions we make. Hearts learn from the experiences they get.

They are watching. Even if we do not notice. They are there. An audience to our lives.

We must be careful. Impressionable souls may soar and fail because of our examples.

Ode to my Pentax Series II

Chosen amongst numerous possibilities
Decision turner : I knew your predecessor
And from then on, you accompanied me.
Whereverer, all over.
Birthday celebrations you recorded.
Embassy events with cocktail dresses you captured.

Though you are just a point-and-shoot,
You helped me captivate the beauty of the world.
Turned me from having my picture taken
To capturing the images of the world.

But things happen.
Unexpected, sad accidents.
And so now you are so far away,
Awaiting the day the you can zoom your lens again.

Until that day comes
I feel a certain emptiness
For how will I catch the representation of life?
Or document various episodes of our existence?

Goodbye for now.
I hope to have your company soon.
Don’t take too long.
Nikon D40 is just around the corner.

Me? Spiderman

Bakit walang spiderwoman? There should be one. Thanks PC for the test : - )

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 80% Superman 80% Green Lantern 75% Wonder Woman 62% Robin 60% Supergirl 57% The Flash 55% Hulk 50% Catwoman 40% Iron Man 40% Batman 35%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

The first days...

When arriving in a foreign city, most would probably go straight to a hotel and rest. Who wouldn't? Spending more than 6 hours at the airport and 12 hours inside a plane could be tiring.



But I didn't. First stop? The J. P. Getty Museum at Los Angeles. Very impressive as soon as you see it but more so once you learn about what the creator had in mind when he designed the building, the lines, the colors. The works being displayed were beautiful but the greatest were those done by the Impressionists such as Renoir and Van Gogh.



The new house of a wonderful couple became our resting place for the second night. This is their adopted daughter ... Mei-li (or beautiful in chinese)

A typical American street... lined with uniform houses.




In San Diego, I found Jose Rizal... not to mention Jollibee, Chowking, Red Ribbon and Goldilocks... now where is SM?



Streets were lined with trees and sensor sensitive stopsigns...





And one night, the festival of the boats...

On the road again

Flying...

Next stop, i will ba-logging...

Til then...

For a common cause

Dozens of shanties extending along the length of the high and thick wall separating the street from the river. The place reeking of the foul smell of the stagnant river. The street was littered with bits of trash. Scattered all around were puddles of muddy and stinky water. All over were wooden carts. Young girls were washing baluts in big plastic basins. At the other side of the street were stacks of uncooked corns. No mistake about it, these were their means of livelihood.

Who would believe that this was the place we would see as we enter a street that was seemingly just part of a modern city? But as we drove through the street, we saw the kids, most were dirty, huddled together. They smiled and waived.

They knew our passenger. She is one of them. Only because she spent most of her Saturdays teaching them. Together with other souls giving themselves to reach out to this unprivileged sector of the society. Not many would dare do what they are doing.



For one whole afternoon, we had the honor of sharing with them this opportunity to be of service to God and men. We danced, we sang, we laughed, we acted, we fed, we gave. We took part in something bigger than ourselves. It was not easy.



The kids could be unruly. They sometimes took over the space of the imaginary stage. They shouted too loud. The pushed each other. They fought with their seatmates. They pretended to be the persons being called to receive their Christmas presents.

On the other hand, it was a joy to see them praying with their hands put together, eyes closed and heads bowed down. It was music to hear them utter the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was wonderful to listen to their laughter. Noted were words of understanding as they indicated who were the good and the bad persons in the skit.



All throughout the activity, I felt a surge of pity to see them live in squalor and poverty. You get the overwhelming urge to take the the kids and just give them a bath to make them clean.


Pretty innocent faces, happy to receive a paper bag full of treats and eat a warm bowl of soup.

For a short time, we brought them joy thru food and material gifts. But for a long time, and we hope, forever, we shared to them something more valuable : the love of a merciful and forgiving God.

I know that a lot of time, effort and hearts were planted in this place. I leaarned they have been here since 2003. Otherwise it wouldn’t have been this easy. Things could have been more unruly.



What impressed me most was the passion of these girls and boys in their teens and early twenties. At a young age, they are already doing great things for God. They are already reaching out to those in need. Most of them were also products of the same kind of outreach to their respective streets. Led by a family blessed with a passion for the lost, they do their share in different ways : ministering to the metros, sharing the Good News, building relationships, investing in the lives of the people, feeding the children, and redeeming the stage.



I do not ask them what they are getting out of this. I know. I believe we are in the same boat. It is to share to others the joy that we have in partaking of the assurance of a loving God and a forever life.



I never imagined that a leaders’ meeting a few months ago would turn into something big. A simple desire to expose a group of young adults to evangelism became concrete plans, turned into Sunday morning presentations and on that day, an all-out performance to declare the Good News.



Truly, it was the hand of God. With His design, events and people fell into place so that as we blessed others, more so we were blessed.



Thank you to the Metro Ministries, the Redeemed Stage and CAFEYA.