I am a beggar.
I found bread.
I tell others where there is bread.
Word Of God unleashed. Photography: Paul Lim Supelana
Holy Frat
It was circa 1985.
With mere faith in the veracity of Christ's calling, I resigned from all my then current preoccupations and headed to basic seminary training.
The grant of unforgettable friendships moved me to a place of reckoning on who I am as a child of God.
It is incredible how one gets transformed through the grit of others.
Iron sharpens Iron.
Thank you Al, Chris, Edsel, Alvin, Rommel ... to name a few.
Boot Camp
Training requires unadulterated concentration.
By the mercies of Christ, the years spent at the furnace ...
... focused on removing my personal dross.
Reverse Mentoring
As the song goes: "Teach the children well ..."
I have found a most fascinating twist ...
Our children have tons of curriculum to teach us well.
Hoopin' with Coach Julian
Made
We were not engineered to become things.
We were fearfully and wonderfully made in God's Image.
We are beings paired with life.
Platform
Our primary task is to speak the truth by what we do.
Joy is sourced from this.
Speak well.
Nika Diwa-Ihedigbo speaking at Nineteenth Amendment NYC
Corner
Life is a fight.
Moments logged in one's corner determines the flight.
I turn to Christ who always stands.
My Pentagon / Biblical Community Church
GAP
Good.
Acceptable.
Perfect.
Not quite in reference to wheels.
Romans 12:1-2 speaks on God's Will as the singular touchpoint of what I must turn to 24/7.
First Class
First Class service is never bought.
It is given from the heart.
The hand simply follows.
Jofi Goco / First Class Volunteer / ETS Biblical Community Church Camp 2016
Image
My will-power always wanes.
It is when I subscribe to an image etched in deep truth that I stay the course.
Imago Dei brings life, indeed.
'Fro
Yesterday morning, my daughter calls from NYC with panic tone:
Bianca: Dad! Are you the one with a 'Fro and a funny looking clown tie?
Me: Yup.
Bianca: Ha ha ha! How did this happen?
Me: ( A thousand thoughts racing back to my chaotic past.) I just got a hair perm.
Bianca: Why?
Me: I was a big fan of Cassius Clay, Walt Frazier, Stevie Wonder, and the Commodores.
Ahh, all the things we do in search of identity.
Papa (standing far left, checkered jacket) / Mama (seated far left with my youngest sister Ricci) / Ate Cheryl (standing fifth from Papa) / Tommy (seated at the couch-arm far right) / MJ and Ces (seated at the floor directly in front of Mama / Lolo & Lola (center) / Uncles and Aunts and Cousins shown / + The only guy with spectacles, afro hairdo, organic beach tan, clown Pierre Cardin tie, and super-high waist slacks: In Search of Identity Me. Early 70's
Wired
I lived disconnected
... until I found the syllabus.
I was never the same again.
Sketch: David Talaguit / Read: Disconnect at russelldiwa.com
Hole
When all is said and done ...
All our stuff goes through a hole.
It is not ours.
All is God's.
Training Ground
Practice equates success.
Preparation spells victory.
Perfection derives from equipping.
Vision Cast / Biblical Community Church / Come and See!
Father's Line
There are only two kinds of prayers.
Prayers to a revered icon
or
Prayers to the Father.
It is either the Religious in chatter or a Christian rudely rousing his Papa for some bread at 3 AM.
Sketch: David Talaguit
Color
God grants the array of colors.
We used it to build walls.
Christ came to redeem the palette.
Stranded
Solomon understood the strength of strands.
Christ commanded the need for such twine in discipleship.
I am held tight while I clasp another hand.
1995
The year I set foot on the ground of faith.
Once in a man's life, God calls to uproot.
And then, He plants.
With Little Bianca, my research assistant.
Trek
I am training for a triathlon.
Discipline.
Perseverance.
Excellence.
Gear up.
Photography: Paolo Esquivel
Home Church
Where is my home church?
Was it the one where I grew deep in faith?
Was it the one where I soared high in hope?
Was it the one where I scaled wide in love?
It is wherever God's people dwell in the quiet expectation of His staggering loyalty.
