desc Walking in Fields of Grace: April 2006

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Rise Up!

Energy level to the maximum. Singing, jumping, grooving, enjoying good music. Learning, praying, rededicating, celebrating and simply reveling in God’s loving presence. That’s what “Rise Up” is all about.

Held at the Imus Institute covered gym, this revival concert was participated largely by the youth and even the youthful. Some 20 young people from our church participated. Several friends from WIN-Manila that I invited also jammed with us.

This event was spearheaded by the young people of our church in Imus, better known as the “Youth of Zion”. They invited the Rise Up band (headed by Pastor Roman Guevarra), whose ministry is to reach the youth and bring them to the knowledge of God. Some of their band members actually came from the bands that are quite familiar to us, such as the “Passage” and “Tribe of Levi”. Music is what these people do for a living, but when it comes to God’s ministry, it really doesn’t matter if they don’t get paid.

Once again, I was overwhelmed by the rich talent these young people have shown, be it in singing, dancing or playing the instruments. But what touched me the most is their humility as well as their passion to serve God through those gifts.

The crowd’s energy level was contagious the whole time. Being there actually made me forgot what the word exhausted meant. There’s just no stopping especially when the all-time favorite songs were played: Lakewood’s “You are Good” and “It’s all about You” and of course the evening’s theme song, Hillsong United’s “One Way”. We just never get tired singing and jumping even if it was sung for the nth time already. I could just imagine how many pounds I’ve lost. Hehehe…

As what Ptr. Roman explained, we sing and make music because Life is beautiful and we must celebrate it. Their band performed several songs that depicted life and love: “Love will save the day” (Whiteney Houston), “Ordinary People” (John Legend), “Weak” (SWV), “Changes in my life” (Gamma Ray), “Change the world” (Eric Clapton) and “Forevermore” (Side A). I just love that last song.

Truth be told, it’s not about happy experiences all the time. But even with the most difficult of circumstances, life will still be beautiful as our hope is placed in Him. The band gave a beautiful rendition of “Take me out of the dark”, and I know most of us were indeed touched by it.

It’s never easy to organize events like this. But nothing compares to the joy of seeing most of these young people come to give their lives to the Lord. It’s just priceless.

We left the venue still with a rising energy level. I think that somehow explains why I’m still awake until now. Good thing, it’s a no-work day tomorrow. Yey! (“,)

Thursday, April 27, 2006

What-a-cool Art Pad!

I saw this link from Alwyn's YM status message this afternoon. Clicked on it and tadaaah! I just found this cool site that allows you to paint, frame your painting, place it in a gallery and even send it to friends.

What I especially like about this tool is that, it allows you to replay how you've created your painting. I'm not a good artist but I decided to give it a try. There's not much work to do anyway. So here's what I came up with while taking my afternoon break:

You may click on the paintings to see how I painted them.

Enjoy!!! (well, hopefully you will. hehe...) (",)



Sunday, April 23, 2006

Jolli-birthday

We joined Ritche's family as they celebrated Royce's 1st birthday at Jollibee Green Meadows.

I left immediately after the service to meet Anne, Thet and Vanie at Glorietta at around 2pm. Tabel was kind enough to volunteer and pick us up. We're the ones assigned to buy the gift for the birthday boy. Though we had a not-so-happy experience buying that kiddie slide, the gleeful smiles at Royce's and Ashton's faces were more than enough to compensate for all the hassles we went through.

It was also a great time to see my officemates bringing their cute little kids. It's like seeing their gentle aspect, especially the dads who appear tough when at the office. hehe...

the daddies and their kids


Royce "the bday boy" w/ Mommy Au & Jollibee


Eating. Please do not disturb. hehe...


smilin' w/ the kids :)


Family picture beside the kiddie slide! :D

Friday, April 21, 2006

Friday night get-together

It's good to see them again and to just get updated with what's been happening since we graduated from college. Though Friendster is quite of help, still nothing beats hearing the news straight from the horses' mouth. hehe... It was a fun night of chit-chats and picture-taking at Seaside, Macapagal as we feasted with a bunch of sea foods. totally yummmy! (",)

the early birds - me, Tabel, Jonki, Winston, Richard & Chelle (taking the pic)


reunited :)

A week's worth of entry

I wasn't really expecting the week to be busy after a relaxing Holy week vacation. Not just with office work but with some other extra-curricular activities. Sounds like school huh? But yes, school is included somehow.

Basically, this is how my "work- slash- extra-curricular" week looked like:

Monday morning meeting for tasks delegation (Got out of the conference room confused rather than enlightened. I somehow felt like a ball on a juggler's hand. Just glad that I finally became sure of my assigned tasks before going home)

Preparation of test tools/environment (this somehow was the easiest part)

Long hours of testing activities (w/c is synonymous to reporting early for work, less snacks and restroom breaks)


A 4-hour English Proficiency Exam (I had a terrible headache after taking this exam. It somehow subsided when I received the results after an hour. whew! Thank Heavens I passed!)

First session of Music Workshop (So blessed to have a great teacher and cool classmates. I really enjoyed our first meeting. Looking forward to the coming sessions)

On the lighter side, here's what I have:


WWCF's Easter Cantata: "The Borrowed Tomb" (Watched it last night with Tines and Ron. It just gets better every year. I wasn't able to catch it last Sunday because we went to the province for our Family reunion. And because my hands are full almost the entire week, I'm only posting the reunion pics now. So here you go...)



Nike Sale (Not much choices for ladies. Good thing, I was still able to get myself a replacement for my nearly-wornout rubber shoes - 40% off. yey! Also found a nice dri-fit shirt at 20% off. Really suitable for badminton.)

Moved deadline (Thanks to Arlene for bringing this good news yesterday. yipee! That's basically the reason why I could blog right now. hehe... But I still wanted to finish as much as I can for the sake of a clear mind during the weekend.)

Get-together with some college friends tonight (At last, this will finally push through after several failed attemps of having a mini-reunion. hehe...)

And that summarizes my week in a single blog entry. Just glad to catch up before the week ends.(",)

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Circling the Island once more

Early morning, we head to Circle Island just as planned. It only took us 10-minutes to get there, but we waited for a good 30 minutes to get inside the resort. It's the first time I saw the place with that many people. (btw, I've been there 7 times already. hehe...)

The water's refreshing and my nephew, Kiel enjoyed it the most. He almost didn't want to get out of the water. Mom and aunt did the grilling. It was a yummy lunch. :) Elaine, who decided not to swim, brought Bhing's laptop only to find out that it already ran out of batteries. There was no power outlet near our table. too bad, hehe...She just comforted herself with food and sight-seeing. As for the rest of us, we took advantage of the cool water, nice view, yummy food and of course, bonding moments. (",)

Friday, April 14, 2006

A Day with the Cousins

Auntie Linda and my cousin, Jen just arrived from Kalibo and they’d be staying with us today until tomorrow. We only get to see them during summer, though we oftentimes see my aunt’s other kids. Their place in Manila has always been my shelter whenever I couldn’t make it to the last trip going to Cavite.

So it’s a day of bonding with my aunt and cousins and with a good friend, Ate Lucille. We couldn’t go anywhere so we just settled for a couple of DVDs and played Text Twist and Family Feud at home for almost the entire day.

Grabbed “Secrets of the Vine” before going to bed. We all slept early since we just decided to visit the nearby resort early in the morning. (“,)

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Birthdays Celebration

Spent the morning doing a little laundry and afterwards helped dad to prepare the ingredients – mostly peeling, slicing and chopping the veggies. Sis volunteered to do the house cleaning. (nice!)

Sis and I had to go to Church after lunch for the Music Ministry rehearsals. We’re the ones assigned to lead worship for the evening’s midweek service. Good thing, the practice ended quite early. And since there’s still ample time left, I grabbed the chance to prepare some stuff needed for the coming DVBS.

At around 5pm, the one that all of us have been waiting for finally arrived – food! They’re courtesy of the April birthday celebrants (Tito Sandy and her daugther, Carlyn, Me and my sis, Elaine). It’s our joint birthday celebration and thanksgiving. I realized our dads did all of the cooking. Wow! What more could we say? We’re really proud of them and we hope to somehow get their cooking talent. :D



It was really a fun afternoon celebrating our special day with our bretheren. Midweek service began at 7pm. Thank God I managed to sing inspite of an itchy throat. Tita Susan delivered a message about being a true servant of Christ. Very enlightening, indeed. (",)

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Personal Assistant

My Holy Week vacation officially started today and that meant having the right to wake up a little late. (yey!) Had breakfast at around 9. Mom already left for the gym and sis was preparing to head to the mall. After breakfast, Dad asked me to help him do some cleaning. So it was a father-daughter bonding alongside the broom, rags and other cleaning stuff.

Played my “Point of Grace” CDs (which I haven’t listened to for a long time) while sweeping and mopping. It feels great to sing those songs once again and even groove to some of their up-beat music. “Sang like nobody’s listening and danced like nobody’s watching”, that’s exactly what I did. Hehe… Talk about multi-tasking! I didn’t even notice we’re done with the chores just before lunch. Our finished product? A whole new house! Shinning, shimmering, splendid! :D

I did my cleaning-assistant job fairly well. *wink, wink* Then, it’s time to accompany dad to the grocery. We picked mostly ingredients for pancit and vegetable salad. We’ll be having a little get-together tomorrow - my post-birthday celebration and a pre-birthday celebration for my sis. My sis and my cousins promised to bring the rest of the food for tomorrow’s event. (sweet!)

After being the best dad’s personal-assistant (hehe…), I rewarded myself with some afternoon relaxation. Thanks to Tabel for lending some DVDs for me to watch during the holidays. My first pick was “Moulin Rouge”. Believe it or not, I haven’t seen this movie yet. I find the song/dance numbers fascinating. Great casting, too. “Your Song” and “Come What May” instantly got added to my favorite songs list.

“Truth. Beauty. Freedom. Love. – The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is to love and be loved in return.” I agree. Though the latter part doesn’t seem to happen all the time. But I believe one truly loves when he/she just loves the other person without expecting anything in return. I was just a bit sad that the movie didn’t have a happy ending. That somehow reminded me that part of loving is allowing yourself to be vulnerable. Hmmm…

Before calling it a day, I continued reading the book that Tina lent me, “Secrets Of The Vine” (by Bruce Wilkinson – the man who wrote the “Prayer of Jabez”). Hit the sack with a happy feeling that I somehow had a productive day. (“,)

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Thank You for the Cross

dayspring.com

Thank you for the cross, Lord
Thank you for the price You paid
Bearing all my sin and shame
In love You came
And gave amazing grace

Thank you for this love, Lord
Thank you for the nail pierced hands
Washed me in Your cleansing flow
Now all I know
Your forgiveness and embrace

Worthy is the Lamb
Seated on the throne
Crown You now with many crowns
You reign victorious

High and lifted up
Jesus Son of God
The Darling of Heaven crucified
Worthy is the Lamb


A blessed Holy Week to all...

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Birthday Treat @ North Park

Lunch is on us (Vanie and I). It was a joint celebration for our birthdays with the whole Integration and Support Team. Again, the "manongs" made sure they have their cameras ready. hehehe...Happy Birthday Vanie! and Thanks to our team mates for making our birthday really special. (",)

food!!! :D

tres marias :)

hay, sino ba yang nasa likod ko? :P

peace Cheli!

Ritche, wag na magtago...

before squeezing the calamansi...

mag-daddy? hehe...

Last Men Standing

Unbelievably, me and my partner Andrew were able to make it to the Badminton Championship round held last night. We're the only tandem left from the Yellow team. I wasn't really expecting that. I was betting for Noel and Ms. Marivel from our team to reach the finals. But from the turn of events, we're the only ones left standing, still fighting until the end.

I have no expectations whatsoever for us to occupy any place in the top 4. Right after the draw-lots, I was all the more convinced of that. Ask me why. Well, it's just that we picked the pair that everyone else is avoiding, the toughest opponent in town - Jeremie and Tabel. Now who says life is fair?! Oh well, that's fate. I just decided to "get it over and done with". No sweat. haha! I guess there's no need for me to say who won.

And so that was the end for us and our team. sad... Good thing is, there's comfort food afterwards. yey!!! But overall, I did enjoy this sportsfest thing especially last night while watching the best of the best. There are times I noticed I stopped breathing. hehe...

The battle for the champion and first runner-up will be held tomorrow night. Exciting it is! But I'm positive it will still be Jeremie and Tabel. :D

Here are some pics from last night, courtesy once again of you know who. (",)


the girls...as always

nag eemote si Rommell. hehe...

ang mga magagandang scorers

sila ang tumalo sa amin. waah!

with my badminton partner, Andrew (smile pa rin kahit talo. hehe)

battle of the best

syempre ang winning tandem :D

class picture :D

Monday, April 03, 2006

My Heartfelt Thanks


To my loving family, relatives and friends (here and from afar) Thank You So Much for all the warm greetings, well-wishes and gifts. You've made my birthday a really special one! Above all, I thank my Heavenly Dad and my Best Friend for His unfailing love, goodness and faithfulness to me in my 26 years of existence. Thanks Dad! Love you! :D

I'm also blessed to share my special day with two wonderful persons:

Apaul (Mommy Butch's sweet daughter)

and Jaira (Mommy Weng's little princess)

A lovely birthday to you, girls!