Still awake. Cramming at a rush multimedia presentation project due tomorrow. stil 40% complete. I'm sleepy but need to push myself.

Loved the Emirates Airline tagline: "When was the last time you did something for the first time?"

Today's my first class of the semester. I took three subjects: OT Survey Genesis to Esther, Hermenuetics and Theological Research. I still haven't finished enrolling, just the paying part so I don't have classcards yet. But nevertheless I still came to my OT class taught by Ma'am Marcia Anderson, who is also my adviser. I learned a lot the first class. So cool. After class I dropped by Central AG to visit Ate Merla who vacationed from Iloilo. They said I gained weight. That's good. After coming from sickness and being portable for a month. So busy today with work. Now comes the classes. I'm back to the old days.

God Answered Our Prayer!!!

Wow. Last night in our core group meeting we were praying for our coming project called Book of Hope in July. In this project we will team up with some foreign missionaries who will help us in the project. But for weeks we have not got any clear date when the foreign team will arrive, so then our project have no specific dates and planning has been afloat. As we prayed, I prayed for the project and said "Lord, please let us know the definite date of the arrival of the foreign team, the event is already near and we are still short of solid planning our strategies." Without knowing the date of their arrival, we cannot pindown our exact event date, which weeks before we need to get the approval of school heads. And just now, as I checked e-mail (a day after), I got an e-mail saying that the team will be arriving third week of July. I remembered our prayer last night and oh my heart just rejoiced and overflowed with thanksgiving! Truly this event is directed by God, and when we are on God's side, who will go against us? God is so good! Thank you God.

The Tragic Fate of Ducky

After color-coding my dad accompanied me to go to Makati to pick up some materials for some project. I still have a little fever & runny nose. I decided to drop by ASCM to check out the class schedule, so tomorrow I will be enrolling. Tonight, I caught Land Before Time on the Disney channel. I remembered my childhood days when I watch the movie and even until now it makes me teary-eyed. I researched about the movie on the net and found out a very tragic fate that had happened to one of its voice actors. The 10-year-old girl who provided the voice for Ducky died the same year even before the movie was released in 1988. She was shot to death with her mom by his alcoholic dad. Her dad set their house on fire and shot himself after that. It came as a shock for me not knowing this until now. Ducky was the one who was so thoughtful and playful.

Still got the fever. So bored. I can't even lift weights. Today I'm supposed to enroll my 2nd term in ASCM, but I can't 'cause the doctor wants me to stay home.

Chilling in my bedroom tonight. Literally chilling 'cause I got the fever since yesterday afternoon. This afternoon I went to a clinic to have a check-up and the doctor said it is trankaso, I don't know how you call it in English. It's the kind of fever with matching body pains, headache and runny nose. Pray God will restore my body so it could function normally.

Wasting Your Life on Jesus

Just woke up and finished devotion. God is so good to me, He is so good. And I will totally waste my life on Him [read May 23 entry]. Once a young person with a bright mind and skillful talent chose to go to full time ministry, even Christian's would deem it as a waste of life. God desires not extravagance/sacrifice but obedience. Just as Mary, the sister of Martha & Lazarus chose to pour her perfume costing a year's salary on Jesus - two days before His agonizing ordeal in Calvary, I pray that I will choose the one thing that is needed, what is better, on which side to waste my life on.

First Day Funk

Parokya ni Edgar never loses their freshness & originality in their songs. I heard their new song First Day Funk in the commercial of a deodorant. Then I saw it on MTV, cool video. I like Parokya, their songs are very creative and funny. I got a chance to watch them in Malate last year, they rock, they humor the audience. My band before got to sing front-act for them in ICA during my college days. Also saw Bamboo's video "Hallelujah". Makes me wonder if he is also Christian already. Rivermaya has also released "Christian-like" songs such as "Liwanag sa Dilim", "You'll be Safe Here" & "Imbiscilesque". I feel religious-like songs will be a trend and I fear that others will ride with the trend. I'm thinking of using this song for my message for incoming classes of the youth... First Day Funk [+] Let’s do the funk | Let’s do the first day funk [+] First day of school dapat cool na cool | Mas cool pa sa tubig ng swimming pool | Dapat talaga maganda na agad ang pasok | Pagpasok mo ng classroom, dapat umuusok | Wag na wag kang mapapraning | Sagot kita! diretso ang tingin | Di dapat maatat na mapansin | Kahit hot lahat, dapat “chill” pa rin | Hinding hindi yumuyuko, kahit na nakaupo | Di ko sinasabi na dapat maging mayabang | Pero dapat di ka “mahiyain na halaman” | Confidence chong, lakas loob | Wag na wag kang patataob | Kahit sa tapat ng maganda mong kakalase | Mas lalo na sa prof mong mukhang salbahe | Dance! [+] Itaas ang kamay, iwagayway | Salute the prof at sabay kaway | Mag-classmate high-5 lang kayo | Now don’t be shy, kwela skwela ‘to | Just raise your hand kung may sagot | If you don’t know the answer, eh di lagot | Just erase the board, at magsayaw | Lagyan ng funk ang pag-galaw | Sayaw! [+] May dumating na isang babae | Sobrang “hottie” na ka-klase | Sya’y lumapit at nag “hi” | Ako nama’y napakaway | Akala ko ako ang kanyang kinakawayan at hindi ko inakala na ang nasa likuran | Kahit na napahiya, hindi ako kinakabahan | Wala na tong ibang mapupuntahan | Sayaw

Got Jars of Clay latest CD "Redemption Songs" - a collection of remix gospel hymns. I like Track 5 "Nothing But the Blood" Remix featuring Blind Boys of Alabama got blues bluegrass theme going on.

Today I and the youth went to Quezon City Sports Plaza to play some basketball and badminton. Unfortunately, there was basketball courts were non-existent in the complex which is weird coz this is a sports complex and basketball is the most popular game in the country. So we played badminton in the oven-like gymnasium courts. After which we had dinner at KFC across the street. Pastor Joedy's kids Nina, Joshua and Jessie were there to join us, we stayed for a while in their place after.

Gising, Frend

Got this excerpt on Friendster Bulletin... true...

Tumatanda ka na, frend. Nasa Friday Magic Madness na yung mga paborito mong kanta.Nakaka-relate ka na sa Classic MTV. Lesbiana na yung kinaaaliwan mong child star dati. Nanay na lagi ang role ng crush na crush mong matinee idol noon. Dati, pag may panot, sisigaw ka agad ng "PENDONG!". Ngayon, pag may sumisigaw nun, ikaw na yung napapraning. Parang botika na ang cabinet mo. May multivitamins, vitamin E, vitamin C, royal jelly, tsaka ginko biloba. Dati, laging may inuman. Sa inuman, may lechon, sisig, kaldereta, inihaw na liempo, pusit, at kung anu-ano pa. Ngayon, nagkukumpulan na lang kayo ng mga kasama mo sa Starbucks at oorder ng tea. Wala na ang mga kaibigan mo noon. Ang dating masasayang tawanan ng barkada sa canteen, napalitan na ng walang katapusang pagrereklamo tungkol sa kumpanya ninyo. Wala na ang best friend mo na lagi mong pinupuntahan kapag may problema ka. Ang lagi mo na lang kausap ngayon e ang kaopisina mong hindi ka sigurado kung binebenta ka sa iba pag nakatalikod ka. Ang hirap nang magtiwala. Mahirap nang makahanap ng totoong kaibigan. Hindi mo kayang pagkatiwalaan ang kasama mo araw-araw sa opisina. Kung sabagay, nagkakilala lang kayo dahil gusto ninyong kumita ng pera at umakyat sa tinatawag nilang "corporate ladder". Anumang pagkakaibigang umusbong galing sa pera at ambisyon ay hindi talaga totoong pagkakaibigan. Pera din at ambisyon ang sisira sa inyong dalawa. Pera. Pera na ang nagpapatakbo ng buhay mo. Alipin ka na ng Meralco, PLDT, SkyCable, Globe, Smart, at Sun. Alipin ka ng Midnight Madness. Alipin ka ng tollgate sa expressway. Alipin ka ng credit card mo. Alipin ka ng ATM. Alipin ka ng BIR. Dati-rati masaya ka na sa isang platong instant pancit canton. Ngayon, dapat may kasamang italian chicken ang fettucine alfredo mo. Masaya ka na noon pag nakakapag-ober-da-bakod kayo para makapagswimming. Ngayon, ayaw mong lumangoy kung hindi Boracay o Puerto Galera ang lugar. Dati, sulit na sulit na sa yo ang gin pomelo. Ngayon, pagkatapos ng ilang bote ng red wine, maghahanap ka ng San Mig Light o Vodka Cruiser. Wala ka nang magawa. Sumasabay ang lifestyle mo sa income mo. Nagtataka ka kung bakit hindi ka pa rin nakakaipon kahit tumataas ang sweldo mo. Yung mga bagay na gusto mong bilhin dati na sinasabi mong hindi mo kailangan, abot-kamay mo na. Pero kahit nasa iyo na ang mga gusto mong bilhin, hindi ka pa rin makuntento. Saan ka ba papunta? Frend, gumising ka. Hindi ka nabuhay sa mundong ito para maging isa lang sa mga baterya ng mga machines sa Matrix. Hanapin mo ang dahilan kung bakit nilagay ka rito. Kung ang buhay mo ngayon ay uulit-ulit lang hanggang maging singkwenta anyos ka na, magsisisi ka.Lumingon ka kung paano ka nagsimula, isipin ang mga tao at mga bagay na nagpasaya sa yo. Balikan mo sila. Ikaw ang nagbago, hindi ang mundo.

Sunday service. I lead worship today, God moved wonderfully in our midst. After service, I was chatting with a businessman brother when he brought up my not pursuing my architecture career. Even as I explain to him my personal decisions to serve the Lord with much time, I can see an 'are you crazy?' written all over his face. For someone who is very logical, who would exchange an architecture career earning hundreds of thousands, as he puts it before me, for a hand at shepherding a small group of believers in faith? He told me he feels sayang (too bad) for me, that someday I would change my mind. I assured him that I would take board exams just to shut him up. After that conversation I eagerly wanted to run away from, I felt sad and a little humiliated. Sad because this guy cannot understand my heart; and humiliated because deep in the crevices of my heart craves the approval of all people. I began to think if I am making my parents proud, suffering the same interrogations about their son's twist of lifepath. I am learning to unlearn principles which the world fuses before its generation. I am learning to be illogical. Living with a God who is not logical, who puts twists and surprises in your life, puts your carefully layouted life schedule on the shelf. But at this point in time, I am contented, going with the flow of God. I have experienced it, 'Give us this day our daily bread', His provisions just right for today, and lacking nothing. Lord, may the only One that I will please is You, may my heart only crave approval that is Yours.

This site boasts some good photography of Ilonggo colonial churches.

Sunday service na sunday service...