E-mails from someone who refuses to identify him/her self

I have been getting e-mails lately from an anonymous sender who uses the handle "your friend". The first one that I got says that he or she is responding to my blog post but is unable to post the intended reply on my blog site. The person has been sending me bible verses about anger, love, and now, false prophets. In the previous e-mails, this unidentified person says that he or she is thinking about me as she reads those bible passages and sends them out to me. 

I replied several times asking who this person is but I never got an answer to my question. Instead, I would get several more bible passages. I have a suspect already and I did reply to this person's e-mails mentioning the name but as expected, my e-mails again were never answered. I have no proof of course if my suspect is indeed the person who has been sending me these e-mails. I am not exactly sure what this person is trying to tell me with all those scripture passages that he or she has been sending. I can just speculate. What kind of mind would this person has? If there are any profilers reading this blog entry of mine then I sure would appriciate your two cents.

Lessons on forgiveness and repentance.

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).


The Lord has been teaching me a lot about forgiveness lately. I was brought to a situation wherein my anger was aroused because I was provoked but the Lord used this situation to make me realize my own shortcomings. I have to much anger in my heart and the Lord reminded me to treat others as I would want to be treated. All to often, we sin when we are provoked, not realizing that we to have fallen short. We become so consumed by our emotions that we get blinded and judge others to quickly. 


Recent events in my life are tools that the Lord uses to teach me something. Lessons of value which I often fail to learn in the past. Lessons of value that I need to be reminded of. the Lord has been disciplining me and no discipline seems pleasant but God loves me so much that he has to spank me at times so that I would live according to His ways and not remain in the grip of sin which so easily entangles me.


The Lord wants me to forgive those who has hurt me because he forgave me first for I to have sinned and fell short of His glory. Forgiving those who have hurt you is not an easy thing to do but God's love compels me and I must follow. 

A song for all who feels broken.

All of us have had some experience that we are in a deep valley with no hope, but the good news is, Someone has gone before us. That Someone is Jesus. We must go through the valley to stand before the mountain of God.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgeMHHbFslk&feature=related

The Lord never gave up on me.

It's amazing how all the things that we experience would have a purpose and a good one at that. I have been down and out since Monday night because of an incident that took place which got me really consumed by my anger. The Lord has disciplined me because of the way I reacted when I was under fire. I have sinned and the Lord has rebuked me.

As I was reading through the book of Deuteronomy today, I was reminded of how stubborn I am like the Israelites were. Deuteronomy chapter 8 in particular reminded me to keep the Lord's teaching in my heart at all times. here is the passage that the Lord has used to speak to me.

¹ Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors. ² Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. ⁴ Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. ⁵Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

 ⁶ Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. ⁷ For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; ⁸ a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; ⁹ a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. -  Deuteronomy 8:1-9

After reading this passage of scripture, I realized that I haven't been really walking in obedience to the Lord. All the hardships that I am facing right now is a result of my stubborn will. I have been a Christian for many years but I haven't entered the promise land yet because of my disobedience. I have constantly relied on my own understanding instead of trusting the Lord with all my heart. 

The past few days may have been dark and gloomy for me but today, the Lord has reminded me that he still loves me and hasn't given up on me. I may have given up on other people and at other times It may seem that I have given up on the Lord but once again, he has shown me that he is still in the background of my life, watching over me and disciplines me when necessary. For those of you who are reading this, It is my prayer that God would continue to speak to you as he has with me. Pray for me that I will constantly focus my eyes on the Lord even as I go through hard times. he hasn't given up on me and I'm possitive that he hasn't given up on you.

A not so happy birthday

never in my 37 years of existence has somebody every ruined my birthday until now. Instead of feeling happy I am now full of anger in my heart because of one person who provoked like no one else ever has. Why did it have to be like this? This person whom I thought is my friend turns out to be one big bully. There is nothing that hurts more than being treated like trash on your birthday by someone you cared about. I will never forget this day and what that person did to me.

Birthday Musings

I woke up this morning and realized that I am a year older. My goodness! I'm 37 years old already! Is this a dream or a nightmare? They say that we gain more wisdom as we grow old so I guess I am thankful for that. I still have a lot of things that I want to do and accomplish before I turn 40. Settling down is one of them of course. =) Other things would include winning a gold medal in the national judo championships, go sky diving, etc and do missionary work in Japan.

It only seems like yesterday that I was a young kid. Time flies indeed. I am an adult and I have set aside childish ways behind me. I am an adult with lots of responsibilities. I hope to draw more closer to the Lord as the days go by especially as I share the good news of the gospel to my fellow athletes. The experiences that I've had, the skills that I acquired, the friends that I have are all part of what I am today, a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. I look back over my years that have gone by and thank the Lord for everything that was and about to come.

The growing up years.

I love looking at old photos of me and the family. makes me want to go back to those years and re-live my childhood. =) I'm also fond of seeing how I looked back then and now.

This is me all through out those years. How I've grown up!

From infant to toddler to adult.

Sailing through a stormy week.

The past week has not been good for me. The struggles that I face has all of a sudden intensified. I had face several instances that really tested my patience and my life as a Christian and I failed miserably. Just when I thought things were going bad and I'm almost out of the eye of the storm, another one came this afternoon gushing in like a strong wave which got me depressed again.

Other people may ask me, where id your God in this storm? he has abandoned you! I have to admit that sometimes I would have those thoughts but I would be always reminded that there is a God who is with me every step of the way. I guess you could say that I don't want to give up hope easily. Today, God has closed a door for me but he will open a window for me to see that there is hope. That He is in control.

I have already proven to my self that time and time again I would fail whenever I would assume the position of the helm of my life but I would always end up crashing and burning. God is not finish with me yet, I am a work in progress and I would cling on to my hope in God and refuse my soul to be downcast.

John's homecoming E.B/Camp V5 Reunion.

Back in 1999 a group of young adults (maybe not all) started a movement to bring back a childhood classic on Television which is Voltes V. These people had a series of EB's (Eye Balls) because none of them know each other except through the internet. The group is called Camp V5, a Voltes V and other Robot Anime fan group. It has been years since we last saw each other until last night. One of our members, John Paras is here on vation from the states so we took the opportunity to have a little reunion.

It was great seeing old and not so old faces. I'm a little sad that not everyone made it to our get together. Some were stuck at work, some were out of town or the country and some we lost contact.

A few of us looks different now compared to when we first met, especially me and Francis. Francis has lost a lot of weight even though he didn't have much before., His hair looks different now as well as his eyes. He looks Chinese now.

I on the other hand lost a lot of weight and got rid of my thick Clark Kent type glasses in exchange for contacts. We had dinner at Shakey's El Pueblo and had a few trivia games courstesy of John. Correct answers to his trivia questions got prizes which includes, Voltes V and Mazinger Z shirts, Robot anime music CD's, posters, and a whole bunch of M &M milk chocolates.

I got to bring home a mazinger Z T-shirt, a CD and 4 packs of M & M's. John will be heading back to the states in a week or two so we won't see him again until next February. I am hoping though that the gang so is still here in the country can meet up regularly and do what we always love to do. Get together for dinner and talk and talk and talk, go to i.O. KTV for Backstreet Boys and Jackie Chung songs. Ahhh... those were the days and I miss them. Let's get together again my fellow Voltes V fanatics!

Athletes In Action at PLM

Yesterday, I once again had the privilege of serving the Lord through my ministry with Athletes In Action. We conducted a team building seminar for the Pamantasan ng Lunsod ng Maynila (University of the City of Manila). It was fun to see the students enjoy the difficult physical challenges that we had them do and discuss what they learned in the process. We did the same activities with other schools but this is the first time I have seen people get a little hurt from doing the activities. I am just thankful that no injuries were sustained and that we all had a good laugh afterwards.

Coach Arcenio Tado shared his experiences as a former member of the national cycling team and head coach, While Kuya Mon shared his life testimony as a cancer survivor and how the Lord is using him right now to make a difference by serving him.

I also conducted a short lecture about the athlete coach relationship and showed the students how important it is to have the proper respect and understanding from both the athlete and the coach in order to make things work.

Coach Ryan then explained how someone can have a  personal relationship with Christ. It is my prayer that the message that Ryan shared will make an impact and a difference on the lives of the student athletes of PLM.

United we stand. maybe...

My initial book review of the book "How now shall we live" by Charles Colson

Different life systems compete for our minds. Unless we consciously and consistently choose a biblical system for seeing all of life, we will be influenced by destructive world views around us. - Taken from Charles Colson's "How now shall we live?"


This is a truth that we cannot deny.  The question is, whose voice are we listening to? Are we so blinded by the world's standards? Most of us don't see life and everything that goes on around us from a biblical point of view. We would rather see the world from our own understanding, from our own point of view rather than what the bible tells us. 


The human race have become so obscure to the ideas of Christian teachings; we see it as something that is not applicable or not to be followed at all because the teachings are old. Some would say that biblical teachings are not to be taken seriously. people who say such things are blinded by this world we live in. We only see what we want to see.


I just started doing a series of studies at church today on Charles Colson's book "How now shall we live?" The book shows us how to understand biblical faith as an entire world view, a perspective on all of life. I am still in the first unit of this book but it has already given me a lot to think about. How do you define world view? In order to answer that, we have to ask ourselves three questions to give more meaning to our own definition: 

• Where do we come from?
• What has gone wrong?
• What can we do about it?

Know the answers to these questions and you will come up with a clear understanding of your worldview. There are however two ways we can answer these questions. Do we answer them from a naturalist world view or from a biblical world view?  The study also tells us that Worldview controls what we see. Our worldview serves as the lens through which we see our circumstances and events. Our worldvieew controls the media of our minds. It filters information and colors what we perceive. Intriguing huh? I'm looking forward to studying some more as the days go by.

I'm guilty for craving for an SLR Camera.

Is it a sin to desire for something that you do not have? I am a person who is very much interested in the art of photography> I want to master immortalize life's fine and not so fine moments and be artistic about it. The best way to do this is with the use of an SLR camera which can do wonders for an aspiring photographer like me.

Since I do not have one, I just make use of my point and shoot digital camera which acts as my video camera as well. I am not sure if the Lord would want to bless me with a digital camera cause I have to be honest that it is more of a desire rather than a need. I  envy people who can take great photographs using an SLR camera and show off their work.

Lord, I am not demanding that you give me an SLR Camera to satisfy my desire. Only if it is your will, Oh Lord. May your will be done in my life. For now, I will try my best to be content with the blessings that come along my way.

Summer heat and Global Warming.

Summer hasn't started yet but most Filipinos can already feel the heat. The weird thing is there wasn't any gradual change in the temperature but an immediate one. It's like the weather suddenly changed at the snap of a finger. I wonder how hot it would be when march and April arrives. It looks like we are in for a long hot summer here in the Philippines.

The weird weather can be blamed on global warming I guess, our planet is not what is used to be partly because of the fossil fuels we are burning and of course, irresponsibility on the part of us humans. We have not been responsible enough in taking care of our blue planet. I am proud of the fact that I am not a contributor to this destructive climate change because I don't drive, I ride my bicycle wherever I go. I do my part to make a difference in this world we live in and I wish that more people would do so.

I wish I didn't react the way I did.

My day went to a bad start. Anger has gotten the best out of me today and I really feel bad about it. I have said some things which I never should have said. I am one of those people who really gets mad when provoked and would say and do nasty things. I envy people who can stay calm in the midst of a situation wherein his or her ego is bruised.

I have gained more patience with people as the years have gone but I am still a work in progress, I have yet to master my emotions so as not to let the hulk inside of me get lose. I wish I could just turn back the hands of time and undo the damage but I guess the Lord wants me to learn from my mistakes. I'm just hard headed at times. I regret saying the things that I said this morning. I was provoked yes but that doesn't justify the hurting words that I have said. No body deserves to be treated like a low life.

When friends bail out of your life.

When I was watching episode 6 of The TV series the walking dead, one of the characters said something that struck me. When one of their companions decided to quit in life and die, her friend told her that "It is not fair for you to make someone care and then bail out." This was exactly what happened to me a couple of years ago. I met someone who became close to me, she even called me her big brother and we spent time with each other. We met in a conference while vacationing from the states. She made me feel so special, It was like having a younger sister who cared. All was going well for a couple of months then something strange happened.

A month before she left for the states, I didn't receive any communication from her. I even texted her when something happened to me that really got me down but she already a different person at that time; I was already getting a cold shoulder treatment from her. Days turned into weeks and I hardly heard from her until she left without even saying good bye. My birthday came and there wasn't even any greeting from her. I asked my self what was going on but I didn't have any answers. More than a year has passed, she came back here for a visit but she never bothered to contact me. She was in and out of the country without letting me know that she as here.

I sent her a message through facebook asking her if I did something wrong and that I was sorry for anything that I could have done. She said that I didn't do anything wrong and that she was sorry for not touching base with me but she didn't answer my question about why she didn't say good bye when she went back to the states. I then found out that she was already going steady with a common friend. Don't get me wrong here, I wasn't jealous or anything, I treated her like a younger sister and she calls me kuya. There was even a time that she said that I will always be her kuya whenever she is here in the country.

I am jealous over the fact that I was forgotten. She made me care for her then she bailed out of my life without any explanation. Call me sensitive but it really hurts. It ain't fair. I moved on and tried to forget about her but the memory of her still haunts me till now. I have a younger sister but she treats me like trash, my own flesh and blood. Then there was her who made me feel like I had a wonderful, younger sister; but the feeling only lasted for a short time. Why did something like this had to happen? I don't have the answers and I might never get them; I'm just holding on to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who promised never to leave of forsake me. Friends may come and go and forget all about you but Christ never will.

What does the bible say about suicide?

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He knows that this life is difficult, so He wants to remove the burdens we carry. We may suffer for a little while, there may be great pain at times, but Jesus will carry us through the hard times. He promises, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Heb. 13:5b). Remember that, no matter how bleak a situation may appear, it is only temporary in the scope of eternity with Christ. Rest in that hope, that promise.

Taking your own life because you are in despair only means that you have failed to put your trust and hope in the Lord. God created us so who are we to say that we know better? Can the invention say to the inventor how he is suppose to function? Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. 

The Bible may not directly say that suicide is a sin but what are your motives for doing so? Some people may say that it is the honorable and courageous thing to do but the ones who say this are only basing this on their own understanding.

is suicide an act of bravery?

I was watching the news earlier and a former president said that Angelo Reyes' action of taking his own life was an act of bravery. I hope that someone can tell me that I need to clean my ears cause if what I heard was correct then that person is actually saying that suicide is the right thing to do in some cases. Has that man lost his mind? Taking your own life will not solve anything! Now pardon me for saying this but suicide is an act of a coward!

What does someone do when he is faced with forces beyond his control and the pressure piles up? He takes the easy way out is that it? Some people are just to afraid to face the music. What does that say about them? he Filipinos can be to kind when something tragic happens to someone by paying our respects. Are we so kind that we are not mindful of our words anymore? Are we to kind that we would say something nice about something that is bad?

Now I don't know if Secretary Angelo Reyes is guilty or not of the accusations made against him but bailing out when the going gets tough is not an act of bravery. He has chosen the easy way out by killing him self without regard for his character and without regard for his family. Angelo Reyes is not a Samurai who can redeem his honor by taking his own life though he might have seen it that way. Your guess is as good as mine.

. I am sad that something like this has happened and my heart goes out to his family. Bravery is not the absence of fear, Bravery is doing what is right in the presence of fear. Has Secretary Angelo Reyes truly done a brave and honorable thing by taking his own life? I think not.

We Filipinos claim and are proud to be called the only Christian country in Asia; but is this really true? What does the bible say about suicide anyway? Life belongs to god. It is never our place to take our own life or someone else's life.


Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Are we honoring God by taking our own life?




What should we do when faced with life's difficulties? I can tell you right now that the solution to despair is NOT suicide, but FAITH in God.


We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him, our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His Holy Name. may your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. - Psalm 33:20-22


Jesus also promised us that he will give us rest from our problems. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest - Matthew 11:28. All people who professes to be a Christian should adhere to Christ's teaching. Do we really put our hope in Jesus or take the easy way out? 

An Unwanted Visitor.

We were awaken this morning at 3:30 by a loud crash. When I jumped out of my bed to investigate, I saw my two cats fighting with a stray cat that fell from a portion of our second floor our ceiling. Our ceiling was torn like a cardboard. Apparently, that's why the cat made it inside our house. It looked like he was trapped on our roof.

The cat ran in panic right under my legs and towards my bed in a vain effort to get out the window which was of course closed. he went back outside and ran through my two cats who were waiting for him. There was a chase all through out the kitchen and the living room until I opened the front door and chased the unwanted "cat burglar" with a broom outside the house.

I got scared for a moment when I heard the crash for fear that my Mom may have fallen down the stairs. I called out her name and I was relief to hear and see that she was in her bedroom safe. This little incident was somewhat scary and funny at the same time. We all went back to bed and looked for a carpenter later on to fix our ceiling.

Life lessons from the past.

Don't you just wish sometimes that you can turn back the clock and correct the mistakes that you have made? I have done a lot of things in the past which I am not proud of and I have often wondered what would my life be like right now if I have done things differently in the past. All the things we did would have a profound effect on how we live today right? The decisions we have made, the way we conducted our selves, the kid of food that we ate, the friends that we had etc.

Michael J. Fox's character in the movie back to the future had a chance to set things right when he traveled back in time when he came across a time machine. When I saw that movie I was like Wow! I wish I could get to do that! But then again the sad truth would always hit us right in the face. We have to learn from our mistakes. Now that is reality. All the things that have happened before are suppose to shape us for our future. We can't just snap our fingers and fix the things that we have done wrong; there is a lesson to be learned. A valuable lesson which we can only learn from the past.

Losing my temper when I'm provoked.

If there is one area in my life that I really need to work on, it would have to be my temper. My patience is being put to the test almost everyday. I have a short fuze for people who constantly nag me about things that are way beyond my control. Just a few minutes ago, I lost. I gave in to anger and I wish it didn't have to happen.

In moments like these I just feel like I want to run to a secluded place and scream to the top of my lungs instead of losing my cool in front of someone. I don't claim to be a person who has mastered my emotions yet, often times, I mange to calm my self but other times it's different. Sometimes, I am like a plastic bottle that breaks when squeezed hard.

It is human nature to sin when we are angry and I am no different. I wish that I can be angry and not sin and say things that I will regret later. I have to admit that once I give in to anger, I find it difficult to pray immediately. I don't like getting provoked to the point of rage and lose control. Lord I ask for your forgiveness for giving in to sin. Bring my joy back and be at peace. I lost it my Jesus. Give me the strength that I need to overcome the rage inside me.

Another act of violence against innocent people.

This afternoon a bus exploded along Edsa and Buendia Avenue killing a few and injuring others. Investigators said that there was an explosive device that was found in the remains of the bus. As I heard the news earlier, I was left thinking who and why would someone do such a violent act like this. I was also wondering if there are anyone there on that bus that I know.


I'm just glad that there were not many fatalities but I'm also sad that this these few people who have died didn't know what was coming. They are victims of murderous people who doesn't have any conscience whatsoever. Who were this people and how many lives have they orphaned? Such a terrible act may get away but they will be held accountable to God for their actions. Vengeance is the Lord's and he will be the one to repay.

For more info and updates regarding the blast, check out the link below:

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/211427/4-killed-14-others-injured-in-makati-bus-explosion

The New TIN ID Card

I got my Tax Identification Number ID Card today from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and I was surprised that the card wasn't what I expected. The card was just made out of simple brown cardboard. No lamination whatsoever. No wonder my photo wasn't taken when I requested for my id card. They said that I have to provide my own photo and have the card laminated.

Some friends told me that my TIN Card is an old one and that I should request for the new digitized version. But what I got today was the same as the one that I had. This got me confused so I had to ask the clerk if this is the new one and she said yes. The digitized ID was an old one according to her and that the one that I got is the new one. I guess I will just have to take her word for it. The card that I was expecting was kinda like the SSS card which is similar to a drivers license but I guess I was wrong.

A Cool language Translation Site.

I was looking for a free software or website that would translate full sentences into Japanese or Korean and I found this really cool website which can translate into other languages as well. http://www.systranet.com

The nice things about this site is it can translate full sentences, not just words or phrases. It can translate from English to languages like Italian, spanish, Chinese, portugese, russian etc. It can also translate from those languages to English.

I've only used this a few times and there is one flaw that I already noticed. Every time I would translate phrases from other languages to English, the translation has very poor grammar and doesn't make sense at times but after careful thinking, I would understand what it is saying.

Try it for yourself and let me know what you think

Spanish

Buscaba un software libre o el Web site que traduciría frases completas al japonés o el coreano y yo encontraron este Web site realmente fresco que puede traducir a otras idiomas también. http://www.systranet.com

Las cosas agradables sobre este sitio son él pueden traducir frases, no apenas palabras o frases completas. Puede traducir de inglés a las idiomas como el etc. italiano, español, chino, portugese, ruso. Puede también traducir de esas idiomas al inglés.

He utilizado solamente esto algunas veces y hay un defecto que noté ya. Cada vez que traduciría frases de otras idiomas al inglés, la traducción tiene gramática muy pobre y no tiene sentido a veces pero después de pensar cuidadoso, entendería lo que está diciendo.

Inténtelo para sí mismo y déjeme conocer lo que usted piensa.

Japanese

私はフリーソフトを捜していましたまたは日本語に完全な文を翻訳するまたは韓国語および私は他の言語にまた翻訳できるこの実際に涼しいウェブサイトを見つけましたウェブサイト。 http://www.systranet.com

この場所についての素晴らしい事はそれ完全な文、ちょうど単語または句を翻訳できますです。 それは英語からイタリア、スペイン、中国、portugese、ロシア等のような言語に翻訳できます。 それはまたそれらの言語から英語に翻訳できます。

私は数回これだけを使用し、私が既に気づいた1つの欠陥があります。 私が他の言語からの英語に句を翻訳する度に、翻訳に非常に悪い文法があり、が、意味を時々成していません注意深い考えることの後で、言っていることを私は理解します。

あなた自身のためのそれを試み、私に考えるものを知らせて下さい。 


German
Ich suchte nach einer freien Software, oder Website, die volle Sätze ins japanisches übersetzen würde oder Koreaner und ich fanden diese wirklich kühle Website, die in andere Sprachen auch übersetzen kann. http://www.systranet.com

Die netten Sachen über diesen Standort ist es können volle Sätze, nicht gerade Wörter oder Phrasen übersetzen. Es kann von Englisch zu Sprachen wie italienisches, spanisches, chinesisches, portugese, russisches etc. übersetzen. Es kann von jenen Sprachen zu Englisch auch übersetzen.

Ich habe nur dieses einige Male verwendet und es gibt einen Fehler, den ich bereits bemerkte. Jedes Mal wenn ich Phrasen von anderen Sprachen zu Englisch übersetzen würde, hat die Übersetzung sehr schlechte Grammatik und ist nicht sinnvoll manchmal, aber nach dem vorsichtigen Denken, würde ich verstehen, was es sagt.

Versuchen Sie es für selbst und informieren Sie mich, was Sie denken.