God our Protector (Psalms 91)

In our daily family morning prayer, we recite the following bible passages taken from the whole chapter of Psalms 91. We feel and we believe that it really works. God is true to His promises: He protects and defends us wherever we go. He sends angels to guide us. Let's put our trust in Him as we recite these passages. Let's pray it daily as we start each day.

Whoever goes to the Lord for safety, 
whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty, can say to him,
 "You are my defender and protector. You are my God; in you I trust."
He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases. 
He will cover you with his wings, you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you.
You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day 
or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight.
A thousand may fall dead beside you, ten thousand all around you, but you will not be harmed.
You will look and see how the wicked are punished.
You have made the Lord your defender , the Most High your protector, 
and so no disaster will strike you, no violence will come near your home.
God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go. 
They will hold you up with their hands to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones.
You will trample down lions and snakes, fierce lions and poisonous snakes.
God says, "I will save those who love me and will protect those who acknowledge me as Lord.
When they call to me, I will answer them; when they are in trouble, I will be with them.
I will rescue them and honor them.
I will reward them with long life; I will save them.

It's good to start the New Year with prayer and ask the Lord to guide and bless us throughout the year. And better if we pray together as a family. Happy New Year 2013, everyone... God bless.... :)

Thank you, Year 2012

The year 2012 has given us so many blessings in our family. We are so thankful to the Lord for all prayers answered as well as the unanswered ones. God has manifested to us in so many ways how great His love is. A lot of unexpected blessings came, like grand vacations going to places which we thought only in our dreams would happen. I would like to reserve blogging about them one by one next year.

We hope and pray that the Lord our God will continue to shower upon us His abundant blessings. We pray  that others especially those who have less in life will also be blessed and experience His everlasting love.

Meantime, Media Noche is ready to be served and shared by our family. . Let us be optimistic that may the coming New Year 2013 give us more blessings, prosperity, success, good health, peace, and harmony. God bless the Philippines... Peace throughout the whole world... Happy New Year everyone...  God bless.... :)

My Canon Mission

     Year 2007… Go Internet Card had a raffle promotion. The complete desktop computer package being offered for the first prize caught my attention. The card being sold at SM Information counters served as an official entry. The product once used has to be placed in an envelope with the participant’s full details.

     I remember buying at least 5 Go cards during that time with the aim of winning the desktop computer. I prayed hard to win; and a few weeks later, I received a letter with a message that I won in the raffle. Yes, I won but not the prize that I wanted to. Instead, I won the second prize item: a Canon PowerShot A530. Though my desire was not granted still I was very happy that I won a Canon digital camera.

     A few days later,  my children had their school educational field trip. Our whole family went to the field trip full of excitement for we have a digital camera to capture the memorable moments of the activity. The Canon camera made our family bonding more intimate with the shots that never seem to end in every spot we visited during the field trip.  

    Canon camera is a very useful gadget as it captures and records special moments in life. Two such special moments in our family were vividly captured and recorded: The First Communion of my youngest son on December 8, 2009 and my eldest daughter receiving the highest award and delivering her address as Class Valedictorian during her school’s commencement rite on March 30, 2009.  

  

     God has a special purpose why he gave me the second prize instead of the first prize. I was suddenly appointed as official photographer in our Parish Pastoral Council for its photo documents. Instantly, I became the most sought-after photographer during activities in our parish. Then some parents of my children’s classmates and friends started to ask me to take pictures of their children during school occasions. This started my life of somehow earning a living through photography using my Canon camera.

                                                        

     I do not have any formal training in photography.  Since I’m not an established professional photographer in its strictest sense and my clients are my acquaintances, I cannot charge with the usual photographer’s rate. But I find myself enjoying photography as my own personal ministry of serving the Lord our God and witnessing to let others know the real meaning of Christianity. And this made a great impact as I share my blessings of having a Canon camera.

     I wish to have an improved digital camera or better still a Canon DSLR Camera so I can accept other jobs on special occasions such as weddings and the like. But I can wait for its right time to come.

CDO Ham and God's Everlasting Love on Christmas

     I am a self-employed family man and I earn a living as a private Math Tutor doing home service tutorials with an unpredictable income and as official photographer of our Parish Pastoral Council for its photo documentation. Obviously I do not have fix income especially during school vacation particularly christmastime and  summertime.  So, having no employer, I do not expect to receive Christmas bonus and 13^th month pay.

     When the school have its  Christmas break, I have to find other means of livelihood; i.e., photography being my alternative source. But it gives me a meager income as I usually do it as a form of service to my brothers and sisters in our parish. In other words I sell the pictures at almost a bargain price and most of the time I am not paid cash on time whenever I hand them their hard copies. Its even like a gamble because sometimes they don’t get the pictures when they don’t like the outcome of the shots.

     God has always been so generous to my family. He provides in many wonderful ways and we are caught surprised most of the time because of the unexpected manner of answering our prayers. The current Christmas season yields us another experience of His abundant blessings enough to supply our needs.

     My high school graduating eldest daughter attended a YMCA National Assembly in Baguio City for five days from December 26 to 30, 2012. Of course we needed to raise the amount of P4,500.00 for her registration fee which we have to shoulder personally plus her pocket allowance. We did our best for her to be able to join the trip. It’s a sacrifice leaving us in financial difficulty as we celebrate Christmas. But for my family the essence of the yuletide season is our being together in union with God’s love. That's more than enough for us.

     Just before the school had its Christmas vacation, some of my tutees surprised me with their gifts. I thought my family would celebrate Christmas for the first time without a ham during our Noche Buena. But one of my students gifted me with a box of CDO Pear-shaped ham. Others give accomplishment to my wish lists. My children witnessed how God fulfills His promise of never forsaking especially those who truly love and serve Him with gladness. He can never be outdone in generosity. He uses other people to provide us. Thanks to my dearest students and other sponsors. 

     Oh dear Lord, our God, what more can I ask? During Christmas You always give us nothing but the best! I pray that You bless, too, all those who have less during Christmas especially the suffering victims of calamities… Amen.

Red Ribbon... A Part of our Celebration

     Today, December 29, 2012,  me and my wife celebrate our marital bonding: 17th Wedding Anniversary!... We are so thankful to the Lord our God for our blissful marriage. We are blessed with 3 healthy and bright children. Spiritually, God has been with us guiding us in our journeys and struggles in life. He gives us strength  to overcome all difficulties we encounter. We are not employed nor with a business to rely upon but He is always there to provide us in our daily needs... our daily bread. In fact, we feel that we have been more abundantly blessed since I was laid-off from my job in 1997.

     So many things to thank of and I will try to blog them one at a time in the very near future. God must be glorified and exalted above our lives. Materially, we need more but we entrust everything to His care. He knows what is best for us. We are celebrating this day with a simple family sharing. Incomplete though because our eldest daughter is away in Baguio City attending a YMCA National Assembly.


     And through these years, Red Ribbon has been a part of a special occasion in our family - be it a birthday or an anniversary celebration. My eldest daughter's request is always a chocolate flavored cake but this time I am giving way to my 2nd daughter's choice of the Ube Macapuno cake.

     Red Ribbon has many bakeshop products to offer: cakes, rolls, breads, pastries, etc. Maybe a proper review of their various products will be given more attention in a future blog post. Meantime, my family must enjoy God's blessing to us this day... sharing together the full-size Ube Macapuno roll.

Kudos to JTB Tours and Travel, Inc.

           Very early this morning I accompanied my eldest daughter to the Quezon City Hall where she and the rest of the participants to the 24^th YMCA National Assembly of High School Students assembled together for their departure to Baguio City. The national assembly will be held for 5 days from December 26 to 30, 2012 at Teachers’ Camp, Baguio City.

      My daughter is not that excited anymore for the trip to Baguio City since this is already her second time to go there this year. She’s going there for the purpose of accomplishing and gaining something for herself and her school. We have tried our best to make both ends meet in raising her expenses for the trip. God has been so generous in providing us at the last minute for her financial needs (registration of P4,500 plus personal allowances).                                

       

         Foremost in my consideration is my daughter’s safety as she travel to the destination. I remember that the last time we traveled to Baguio City, the van we were riding almost had a road collision with a speedy truck along the ravine area. But seeing the many JTB buses upon arriving at the assembly area, I feel that my daughter is in safe hands. Obviously the trip is handled by JTB Tours and Travel, Inc.


        JTB Tours and Travel, Inc. is a company which aim to give only the best travel experience. Its management is always working hard to maintain best quality and fast services as its main concern. I have witnessed this morning the harmonious working relationship of the staff: They were so organized, accommodating, courteous, and hospitable. Most importantly, just before they departed for the trip, they gathered together in circle holding hands together as they prayed and asked God’s blessing and guidance for the safety of the travel. It vanished all the fears I have in me about the trip. Kudos to JTB!...

                                                        
                     

  Immediately upon arriving home, I searched for the official website of JTB @ http://www.jtbtoursandtravel.com/ and found the following information which may help anyone who wishes to contact them:

  

	Office Address:	8116-C Dr. A Santos Ave. Sucat Road, Paranaque City
	Telephone Numbers:	825-2534 825-2982
	Telefax:	825-2273
	Email Address:	jtbtours@cablelink.com.ph
	Garage Address:	Lot 6 Blk 3-B Naga Road Pulang Lupa, Las Pinas City

                 

The 4th Philippine KPOP Convention

     What is K-Pop? I asked this question to my children last night during our Noche Buena because I am interested to join the current blog contest on K-Pop. Honestly I don’t have enough knowledge about K-Pop. I often hear some people uttering the words “gangnam style.” In most parties, I hear a lot of requests for the horse kind of dancing style. It’s not that I am not inclined to K-Pop music but it’s just that I don’t have time anymore to focus on this particular genre due other priorities that concerns earning a living to raise my family well. In fact, I used to compose pop songs and join contest on this field. 

     Last night I had the chance to really listen and appreciate the sound of Gangnam Style because of a neighborhood videoke birthday party. Usually I got irked as I consider it a noise pollution whenever I hear videoke parties around. But the music seemed to be somewhat different that fascinated me. It captured my inner senses as I attuned myself to listen seriously. Then I kept on asking my children more questions about it. I discovered through them that the music made a world record especially on the “You Tube.” It heightened my curiosity; and so I decided to research further on the internet. As if to answer my queries, a newsfeed suddenly flashed to my twitter account about Gangnam Style making it to the YouTube review as the most-watched video in 2012  http://www.youtube.com/user/theyearinreviewPH. As I watched and listened to the music video, I couldn’t help but get awestricken. What a music that I should have missed in my life!

     No further question about it as I browsed into the evolution of K-Pop in the Philippines. K-Pop has captured the souls of many Filipinos as evidenced by thousands of fans who have attended the previous K-Pop conventions. Hooked by the addicting head-bopping music, young and old alike have come to embrace the K-Pop culture. I myself am beginning to be cultured. The melody of the songs appeals to anyone of any age and inclinations in music. It is able to relate well with the emotions of the Filipinos due to its prominent themes on love and heartbreak. 

     The K-Pop singers themselves attract many Filipinos with their high-energy performances. In fact, young ones nowadays adopt Korean’s fashion statement imitating their K-Pop idols. No doubt the music has even strengthened the diplomatic foreign relationship between Korea and the Philippines. Music, indeed, is a universal language as it breaks the barrier of trying to understand each others languages.

     K-Pop has given me enough reason to feel excited about the K-Pop Convention 4 on December 29, 2012 at PICC Forums 1 - 3. The line-up of activities for the event rouses interests among fans as I checked on the KPOP Con’s Facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/philkpopcomm with the all-out support of its sponsors: Globe website, Standard Appliance website, Pond’s FB page, Basic House FB page and http://www.lioeleph.com/. Tweets are also viral in @KpopConPh as it actively promote the grandest and most prestigious event that revolutionized the Philippine KPOP fandom. If given the chance, I want to personally witness and integrate myself to the convention. I want to see it, hear it, feel it, and experience it so I would know how it is to be captivated by the so-called K-Pop craze. And what better way to capture, record, and immortalize some highlights of the event than with a Nokia C7 from Globe?