Preferences and A Work in Progress

A few weeks ago I watched a couple of movies titled The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2. Both of the movies were action-packed and was filled with violently insane stunts and action sequences. The protagonist uses a martial art called “Pencak Silat” and in my opinion it is one of the deadliest martial arts out there.

The Raid: Redemption. Bone-Crunching, Blood Spilling, Face Cringing movie.

The Raid 2. Same caption as the first one but in ALL CAPS

After watching these two movies, or rather, while watching these I just found myself cringing in some of the action sequences as I can hear bones cracking, blood spilling all over the place (and the fights usually occurs on an OCD-clean room which does not help at all) and the characters grimacing in pain. The thing is, I used to like these kinds of scenes. Before, during these sequences, I usually scream in my mind, “OHHH! Come on! Punch him to the nose! You deserve that! Haha! ARRRGH BREAK HIS BONES!!!“.

I guess I am beginning to have a different taste when it comes to movies I want to watch.

Also, I guess I kind of relate this experience into our, or should I say my walk with Christ. Since I began my relationship with Jesus and my journey as a Christian, there have been changes that happened to me, some small, some are big and dramatic. The things removed from my system are the ones that are not pleasing to my Father’s eyes and I began to do things that are according to His will and commands.

That being said, there are still things that I unconsciously or sometimes consciously do that are sinful and makes God do a face palm and say, “Really? Again, Cy?”. It makes me really sad and guilty when these things happen and sometimes I just want to go in a corner and mope and sulk saying “I do not deserve to be called a Christian so I’m just gonna stay here and cry.”

Thankfully I have learned to rely on God’s grace and continuous power in transforming us into becoming more like Christ-like. Through a lot of Bible-reading, prayer and company with friends who share the same faith, I began to realize that making the occasional mistakes does not mean you’re not being a bad Christian. The fact that you realized and repented about it than making excuses and setting it aside is already a fact that there’s progress in you.

With this, I believe that in due time you will be transformed into becoming a better person that has a heart after God’s own, always aiming to please Him and give glory to Him. You’ll be surprised when you see someone do something that is considered as a sin (say, robbing a bank, LOL) and then you’ll realize that you used to do that and even more surprised after realizing that you don’d even do that anymore.

Going back to my movie preferences, I guess I need to reduce my hardcore action movie-watching. I just hope I don’t get completely transformed into becoming a chick-flick lover kind of guy.

No. NO WAY.

 

Key verses

2 Corinthians 3:18

Philippians 1:6

Picture creds:

Here and here

#GrammarOCD

I’m really not that good in English but when these words are misused, my goodness.

Also, I posted it for my own reference. 🙂

Picture Credit

Wait (Actively)

 

By the time I post this, Valentine’s day is officially over. I guess it’s safe to say that everything will gradually go back to normal.

Now that ‘that day’ is over some of you single peeps will start to swear:

“promise, next Valentines hindi na ako magiging magisa”

Now I am in no way an expert on this as a lot of my friends know how many times I miserably failed on this part of my life. Just when I thought I already know it all when it comes to relationships and “falling in love”, God slams me with a huge amonunt of rebuke, discipline and straightening up.

In all of these, there one of the things I learned is WAIT.

James 5:7-8 (ESV)

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Most of us are rushing a lot things, especially when it comes to finding a partner. Whether we admit it or not, at the back of our minds we feel jealous when we see a married couple of even an ordinary bf/gf being sweet with each other. Of course that’s debatable but at least admit that once in our life, we experienced this kind of feeling.

God knows your season. No matter how He seems not involved in your ‘love life’, HE KNOWS. We need to be patient and listen to His voice on what to do next.

Now do we have to stay stagnant and idle while we wait? NO. Maybe He wants us to do something first for Him and while we’re doing our task, that’s the time you’ll meet him/her.

Example? Abraham. God had him do a lot of things first before fulfilling the promises God had told him. 🙂

Genesis 17:1 (NIV)

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty[a]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.

I am in no way saying that we have to be perfect (if we can then why not? Haha) in order to receive God’s promises. I myself am imperfect and flawed but the thing is I am acknowledging who is in control of my life and surrendering it every time to the Lord.
———————————————————–

So wait actively, God sees and He cares. Who knows, while we’re doing what He has commanded us to do, He will do something that we’ll never dreamed of.

Amos 3:7
“For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.

Valentines Day

Yup, it’s that time of the month again.

I don’t know if you noticed this but every year the hype on Valentines Day goes nowhere but up. It’s being too sensationalized by the mainstream and social media where in fact as far as I can remember during the late 90’s to early 2000’s:

“Hindi naman ganito dati yung hype nung bata ako ah”

I don’t know, maybe it’s just me or probably when I was younger I was not really thinking about those kind of stuff. But now, It’s just that everywhere I go and look people are going above the ‘right amount of crazy’ when it comes to this day.

I get it. Everybody wants and deserves to be loved. I too want and need to be loved. Being loved and loving someone is one of the greatest things that one can have and do in his or her life.

BUT…

If at this moment you do not have a special someone, a wife, a fiance, a boyfriend, girlfriend… Or if you just feel unloved, remember:

1 John 3:16 NIV

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that He was willing to die for you and your sins. He loves you so much that even if you do not deserve it, he still did it. I pray that this Valentines day you will never feel unloved and I hope that this verse will not just be a lame excuse for you because you have no date or a significant other on this day.

Oh and by the way, check out the 2nd part of the verse. If you do not a date then as a suggestion why not try to do some ARK or Act of Random Kindness to other people who need to be loved as well? You can offer your time, give something or if you have an extra, donate some monetary support.

How? Check out this links:

http://www.obphil.com/v2/volunteer

http://www.facebook.com/obphil

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Pwede Naman Pala Eh

Dumaan ang March ni hindi naman lang ako nakapag-sulat. At dahil matagal akong hindi nakapagsulat, magtatagalog muna ako. Pakiramdam ko sobrang nawala yung kakayahan ko na magsulat, Subukan ko ulit, istilong ‘Native Tongue’

Napakadalang ko manood ng mga pelikulang Pilipino. Lilinawin ko lang ha, hindi sa ayaw ko suportahan ang mga pelikula na ito, kaya lang yung mga tema ng mga lumalabas nitong mga nakaraang buwan, hindi maganda eh. Huwag na natin pag-usapan kung ano yung mga pelikula na yun. Basta, hindi sila maganda.

Pero, nitong nakaraang linngo, nakapanood ako ng pelikulang Pilipino. Oo nga may kasama akong napka-espesyal nung panoorin ko ‘tong pelikulang ito (siya pa nga yung nanlibre pero abonado ako ng 60 Pesos), pero pagtapos ko manood, naisip ko parang kaya ko siya mapanood kahit ako lang magisa. Sobrang na-enjoy ko yung pelikula. Ito yung ilan sa mga punto kung bakit ko siya na-enjoy.

Yung mga tao – Paminsan – minsan habang pinapanood namin yung pelikula, sinusubukan ko obserbahan o tignan yung mga tao na kasama ko sa panonood. Sobrang tutok talaga sila, tapos kung may nakakatawa o nakakakilig na eksena, kung humagalpak sila sa pagtawa, kala mo wala ng bukas. Minsan nga mas natatawa pa ako sa tawanan ng tao kaysa sa mga nakakatawang eksena sa pelikula. (Side note: May 2 bata na katabi yung kasama ko, at concerned na concerned siya sa kanla. Haha)

Yung pelikula mismo – Aaminin ko, nagandahan ako sa pelikula, oo nga nandun pa rin yung mga oras na “ay nakita ko na sa ibang pelikula yan” pero enjoy pa rin. Siguro taon na din ang nakalipas nung huli akong nanood ng pelikulang Pilipino kaya ko siya na-enjoy, siguro medyo naka-relate ako sa ilang mga eksena, hindi ko alam. Basta na-enjoy ko yung pelikula.

Yung may kasama ka habang nanonood – #Foreveralone ang porma ko pag nanonood ng sine. Pakiramdam ko kasi mas na-eenjoy ko yung pelikula at mas naaabsorb ko siya pag magisa lang ako. Sabagay, yung mga pelikulang pinapanood ko naman pag magisa ako eh yung mga tipong feeling ko ako lang mag-eenjoy (Die Hard 5). Pero iba yung may kasama ka eh, lalo na kung pwede mo siya gawing Wikipedia kasi alam niya lahat yung mga nangayari sa mga nakaraang pelikula (3rd movie na ito) at sinabi niya pa sakin na medyo kabisado niya yung mga linya. Ayan tuloy nagkaron ako ng ideya kung ano yung mga nangyari noon at humantong siya sa ganitong setting. At saka libre niya, yun yung importante dun. 🙂

Pelikulang Pinoy? Pwede naman pala eh. 🙂

Love in the Midst of Loss

For your information, this is the second time that I am making this blog entry because for some unknown reason my first one posted but after a few minutes it disappeared somewhere in cyberspace.  Weird, I know.

Last February 12 right after attending the Tuesday service from our church I received a text message from my aunt saying that her sister, my other aunt is about to pass. Her last dose of medicine to help her breathe was administered.

Yes, you got that right, I asked questions to God. Lots of it.

“Lord, you know that I don;t like going to hospitals, right?”

“What will happen now to my restday plans?”

“Lord, blah blah blah blah?”

To make the story short, I still went to the hospital but I went home before my aunt expired, I just don’t like seeing people in general take their last breath. Anyway, my aunt passed away February 13, 2013, 3:18 am and went home to her Creator.

I don’t know if it’s weird but since Feb. 13 up to this moment while writing this, I felt this unexplained peace in me and I was just prompted to see the situation that I am in right now in a different perspective, that in situations like this, you can still find love. Let me share some points

1. Reunions are forged – Now do not be butt-hurt telling me why reunions only happen when someone dies, at least reunions still happen. I’ll be worried if a relative died and nobody decided to show up to honor her/his memory. I’m pretty sure the Hi-how-are-you spiels will be used up so much and a lot of catching up with long lost relatives (some of them you do not even recognize anymore) will happen. Yes, There’ll be still some crying here and there but I’m sure this time is the time to honor and celebrate the life of our dearly departed

2. Reconciliations happen – Relatives with longstanding feuds end with just a short hug and a simple handshake. And instead of thinking ‘ why someone has to die before reconciliation happens’, why not think ‘Lord thank you for the life of *someone who passed* that you still use him/her to make reconciliation of my other relatives possible.

3. Random friends/people suddenly encourage you – Now I don’t know about you but this is something that I believe only God can do. As of this writing, friends have been an encouragement for me during this tough time. A couple of times a good friend ‘rescued’ me from giving in to sadness, I consistently read inspirational and humorous posts from Facebook and Twitter and that too I believe is being used by God to make my situation better, way better.

In the end, God is still the boss. I remember a verse in the Bible that bad things happen to us so that “the work of God can be displayed in our lives” and in turn be an encouragement to other people who are experiencing the same thing.

PS: I said earlier that this is my second attempt to post (and I hope the last) this entry and I think I know the reason why because God wanted me to add more things. People from my other aunt’s workplace, Christian Broadcasting Network – Asia visited last night and held a funeral service. After that I had the chance to catch up with some of them and exchange stories. God is good. 🙂

John 9:3

Romans 8:38-39

I’m Still Yours

When my life is not what I expected
The plans I made have failed
When there’s nothing left to steal me away
Will You be enough for me?
Will my broken heart still sing?

– Kutless, I’m Still Yours

 

I was disappointed recently because I was not able to get the things that I wanted. There was this event in our church where Bible Study group leaders and potential leaders got together on a single location to honor and worship God. The thing is it was optional for the Bible Study leaders to bring one or two members who they think has the potential to be leaders. I did not get an invitation from my leader. Why? I have no idea.

Later that day I went out to write a feature story for a non-profit that I was volunteering to and I really struggled to finish  the task. I was gathering my thoughts  so I decided to put on some music from Youtube to calm my nerves. I was already finished listening to several songs then I stumbled into this song I’m Still Yours by Kutless. Right then and there I was rebuked, big time.

I was focusing on the wrong things. Again.

I won’t deny it being there for sure was an awesome experience, but it doesn’t mean that they will be more favored than to those like me who were not there. It’s not like Christianity is measured based on the number of events like that you attended or to how many Christian songs you know or  you have in your mp3 player or how many #nameofeventhere you can tweet. Hey reader, if you just attended to an event, no offense meant.

Heart.

That’s what is important to God. What fills your heart? During the peak of my disappointment, I admit that God was set aside to a tiny little corner in my heart. My heart that time was filled with questions, confusion, doubt and sadness because I  thought that I missed half of my life by not going there. Don’t get me wrong if we can rewind the time I will be more than happy to go there but it did not happen, so…

Plan.

I did not made it there because God has a different plan for me. What is it, I don’t know. For sure it’ll be something awesome. I guess the reason why He does not reveal all of His plans so that we will continue to trust and hold Him high up there because if he happens to reveal all of His plans for us, it’ll be boring and there will be complains here and there. Yes complain, because if once we know all of God’s plans for us, and we don’t like it, we’ll complain.

Test.

I was tested, and miserably failed. I shared this to someone and she told me that maybe this was God’s test to a potential leader. Probably He was seeing as to how will I react to disappointments. Boom, I was exposed. Epic fail as another friend said. Good thing God is a good God.

This event of my life really reminded me on to whom I belong to, and God thank You so much because again I know and again I’m telling you:

I’m Still Yours

 

Colossians 3:2

Jeremiah 29:11

Proverbs 4:25

1 Peter 1:7

May Nagbirthday Nanaman

Well, ayun may nagbirthday nanaman.

Okay, since we are both working in the same industry I’m going to try this in English.

This is for the one who I met a long time ago, about 2 years ago, election period. We did not establish a relationship immediately, but we know we both support the same presidential candidate. He didn’t win but, oh well.

This is for the one who has a heart for missions, especially for the Dumagats. The woman who does not care about the distance the struggle of going to that community as long she can share and give God’s love to them.

This is for the one who does not have any reservation or inhibitions on mingling with the Luneta kids, never minding their appearances or where they from.

This is for the one who in a short time, has become my sister-in-Christ, my mission mate and someone who I can confide with.

She is Ces Enriquez, and today is her birthday.

Happy Birthday and I declare more blessings to you and your family and may God’s face always shine upon you and His abundant grace be always upon you.

Apir!

Send it Up!

Uy, Merong May Birthday.

Ngayon ko lang nagpagtanto. Dumami pala yung mga kaibigan nang sobrang dami. As in sobrang dami.

Tapos yung isang nakakabatang kapatid/kaibigan ko kay Christ, nagbibirthday ngayon.

Yung lagi nagtetext pag may ganap ng grupo. Yung paminsan-minsan nagtetext ng encouraging SMS sayo na sakto naman lagi kasi kailangan ko nga ng encouragement.

Yung tao na lagi excited pag nakikita ka na parang balik-bayan lang ang peg mo. Yung laging benta yung mga jokes mo sa kanya.

So Kathrine Dyan, maligayang kaarawan sa’yo at ang aking panalangin ay lalo ka pa lumago sa pananampalataya at hayaan mo ang sarili mo na gamiting ng Panginoon para sa kanyang kaluwalhatian. Isang text lang ang kuya pag may kailangan ha. 🙂

Happy Birthday pows, Hihihi. 🙂

– Kuya Cyril