Oil and Dew
Thoughts & Musings
My wife is a school teacher.
A few days ago her world was train-wrecked by a flood story.
An elementary school in Negros Occidental endured a major calamity leaving a few fragments of usable resources.
First graders were required to bring their own chairs and take home the same.
All that was left of the library was the capture below.
I wonder why the Bible Story was kept intact.
The quintessential film Whiplash spits succinct wisdom.
Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) poignantly speaks to his student Andrew (Miles Teller) about the worst two words in the English language:
Good Job!
We are indeed a generation of placated conformist. We settle for less when what we have been designed for is riveted excellence.
Wonderful and fearfully made are we.
I fight for this every single beat.
The main point is to know the Kingdom of God.
When Christ is known, leverage takes place.
Redemption becomes central.
The human spirit was crafted to soar.
When we choose to crawl ...
the mountains roar.
Ascent to Mt. Mayon Crater / photography: Benny Dychangco
Just last Sunday in Manila I was honored with a most ordinary visit.
Genius in the house.
Gospel-news attracting a good friend.
Life is better with choc-nut.
Extra-ordinary.
The way I think is deeply oriented.
When people other than my age speak, I get distorted.
My two daughters have struck my head countless times.
Truth be told, their gravitas stuns me. They rise beyond my stars.
Listen to their soul.
They offer a most unique speech.
Diwa Dolls / NYC
Just what sets a fire wild?
A single spark from Pneuma.
Whoosh!
GCF Ortigas / Sixteen Spark Plugs Plus
My brief sojourn in Asia unpacked the incredible promise of abiding joy.
I normally do vacations to singularly replenish myself.
God's mercy allowed me the vista of divine urgency to fish for souls instead.
Almost everyday, I asked to be led to hoist my net towards the hungry.
Almost every way, I staggered with joy in experiencing the potency of the Holy Spirit's hook.
Nabulao / Hinoba-an Negros Occidental
Of first importance in marriage is its source.
God introduced the gift to mirror Triune work.
Rested in the ground of promise, we find a most unique bliss.
Gaffney-Ngo Blessing
Holistic refers to a comprehensive approach.
When the holy is granted to ordinary speech, the paradigm not only shifts ...
... the Glory of God becomes the utmost concern.
Theology of Fashion Forum. Manila 2016
I am married to a beautiful beggar.
Just like me, she found the Bread of Life.
She goes around joyfully telling others where there is Bread.
The war that looms against our families is not against flesh and blood.
The principalities and powers that mock our homes are unseen yet potent.
There is no psychology nor ballistics to match this insidious firepower.
Except for one: the incredible weight of pneumatology.
As the Holy Spirit leads the man of each house, this present darkness loses its hold.
The life that Christ offers provides for a most unique resplendence.
He guarantees the indwelling of the promised Pneuma within.
What does a person having God inside looks like?
A fired-up witness.
Sketch: David Talaguit / GCF
Sigmund Freud dissected the human persona with an incisive definition: we indulge in doing to please other people.
Jesus Christ forsook all others to honor none other but His Father.
Super Ego vs. Supra Ergo.
photography: Yen Baet / Venice: Carnevale di Venezia
I spotted a man humped on the streets of Bacolod City seemingly oblivious to the fast twitch of time.
He was just there ... doing nothing.
Time was likewise there ... doing something.
When nothing and something meet, a choice is granted.
Live or die in the moment.
We indulge in clothing based on the subscription of watchful eyes.
Do we ever ponder why we even bother to cover our nakedness?
My daughter Nika heeds a simple call to share her heart to the beautiful women of Manila. Her brief chat will deal with the question of dress.
Why do we clad ourselves with variations of fig leaves? Which spectacle do we truly seek to please?
If you are in the area, please come and join her at the Ortigas Centre, Pasig City at the Greenhills Christian Fellowship. On July 26 at 10:00 AM, a little gathering clamors to honor the Lord of True Fashion.
She travels all the way from NYC to uncloak the fraud and reveal the blessing.
Artist: Lisa Grosfeld NYC
Rousing early to catch the pristine sunrise, an early-rising couple greeted me with some fresh haul from China Sea.
Quite a delight to experience diligence first thing in the morning.
An hour later, I was granted joy to fish for a longing soul: Fernando, a stroke-victim was on rehab routine at the beach.
The net of Christ's gospel was on point in leading him safe to shore.
When opportunity beckons persons to a good conversation ... eternity stands still.
I am huddled away in the mountains of Negros Occidental. It is ironic but after about 4 hours of ascent, I find myself nestled in a quiet and sacred vista fronting the spectacle of a beach-themed sunset.
It is in this backdrop that I met a celebrated florist of Asia. In more than an hour of fascinating anecdotes shared through the ambiance of rustling breeze and enchanting waves, I was granted the privilege to pray for a man who was called to beautify heaven with floral wonder.
I will never forget Antonio. He promised to cross-stitch paradise at Nabulao Resort whenever my youngest daughter ties the knot.
Not in the near future, perhaps ... but soon enough for a bloom.
From the land of the Rising Sun ... the Son of God rises!
photography: Yen Baet / Eyes of a Maiko. Gion Kyoto
Today I fly to Manila with my bride of 28 years.
We enter into the intertwined gift of vocation and vacation.
As I anticipate unpredictable web connections in the next couple of weeks, I am ushered to hit the pause button to go further in.
I pray to reconnect as I am able to from Asia.
But through the interruption, the musings and thoughts will flow like rain.
Hitting the Pause Button
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