DRESS-UP DAY

October 31, 2008
One of the FUN things we enjoy over here is DRESS UP day... there is an annual dress up day which culminates in a mini parade around the office for all employees who come in costume. NO TRICK or TREATING.. just plain fun and display of creativity. Dress up is not limited to rank and file employees but also includes top management level executives. The Kids have their own dress up day in their respective school as well which leads to an informal costume contest. Chester as MARIO shared the top prize with his good friend who happened to be in Luigi costume. Louie, as Luigi, lost out to a RUBIK's cube costume which he said is really nice. While many who can afford it can pay for expensive costumes... practicality dictates that we come up with costumes from things we already have or things we can easily make. Thanks to ideas from cyberspace.. we found a site with simple instructions on making our own MARIO/LUIGI hat. The rest of the costume are just things that can be used and worn on a regular day. To join the fun, I had to come up with the most simple costume sans makeup... except for the Homer Simpson rubber mask that I bought from a Party store... the rest are just things I already have like white polo shirt(from my old job as salad maker) and the ol' blue jeans... the yellow sweat shirt was from a sale bin in Walmart and will certainly be useful as the winter chill sets in... the last accessory are the yellow simpson hands which is nothing but dish washing gloves.

Some people find wearing of costumes as silly... well, next time someone tells me that costume is silly... I will just retort... "If you remove your scary mask.. I will remove mine" :)

MONDAY DRAG...

MONDAY, on my way home after work, my 3 year old van had a fluke of a breakdown. I was driving around 110 kph when right at the center of the highway I felt no surge when I was stepping the accelerator… my engine was not running. Seeing the next ramp ahead of me, I maneuvered towards the emergency service lane along the exit. From there, I stepped out of the car to arrange for a tow truck to bring my car to my mechanic and asked a friend the big favor of driving me home. Not only did I hitch a ride home, I even hitched on a Chinese food dinner treat intended for their visitor from Manila... call that DOUBLE GRACE!

On hind sight, that could have been my last driving stint if by any chance the usual rampaging trucks were behind me. Thank God for another day and the thought is enough to console me after picking up my van and the tab from the auto repair shop today. I told my office mate this morning that God still have some mission for me to do thus He guided me to safety and just before she completed her full agreement, I told her that part of the mission is to spend more on my car and keep the auto shop in business where her husband is the chief mechanic.

Seriously though, if we really think about the daily dangers we face each day, you wonder how we sometimes never give importance on what is eternal. I asked some folks when to their opinion ETERNITY will begin… the common response of course are mostly based on eschatology or prophecies and how they are interpreted. Many think that eternity is some time in the far future… well, incidents like what I was in yesterday gives me a closer look and the reality is that had I not made it out safely from the highway... ETERNITY would have arrived for me... READY or NOT!

Just a thought!

James 4:13-14

13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.

TULIPS and PRAYERS

(note: the photos from the left and the right were taken ONLY 4 hours apart)

I am so amazed by TULIPS… I do not mean the theological acronym from the Reformed Christian teachings but the real flower.

Coming from the tropical climate country Philippines where we could most likely see tulips only in picture calendars, post cards and from time to time in high end flower shops where only the rich can afford them, it is quite a pleasant change to see so many varieties and colors of tulips in Canada.

So, what is so fascinating about tulips? Last autumn, Elaine bought a couple of bags of tulip bulbs to plant in our backyard. In case you haven’t seen one, a tulip bulb looks no different from a dried avocado seed… yes, as ugly as a dried avocado seed. Autumn is the prescribed time to bury the bulb; plant it and forget it… the winter season actually helps you forget about it by covering the whole backyard with snow. The last winter that we went though was the harshest one in 39 years, you even wonder if any living organism in the yard will survive the seemingly unending below zero temperature.

Then comes spring… In Genesis 8:22, God promised Noah after the flood that as long as this earth remains, seasons will not cease… in the midst of the ugly winter, the hope of the coming spring will remain as long as the earth remains. Just a few days after spring officially started, a green leaf pops out from the barren ground where the last lump of snow just receded, a few days more and there is a bunch of leaves and the tulip buds begin sprouting out, then finally, a full blooming garden of tulips completed the miraculous cycle.

We were looking out from our dining area in awe of how beautiful the tulips were when the thought just hit me that the miracle of tulip is no different from PRAYERS.

We have always heard how people referring to unanswered prayers would say “my prayers are all hitting the ceiling”. The insinuation is that the ceiling stops the prayers from going straight up to heaven where God would hear it.

And how are tulips compared to prayers? You say your prayers with faith and according to God’s general will and yet at times, we are almost tempted to question whether God in fact heard our prayers. No immediate manifestations that you are getting any answers. The long waiting time is similar to the winter season in between autumn when the bulb was planted and spring when the actual flower blooms which then can be compared to the answered prayers. Unfortunately, most of us get discouraged by winter because we want God to answer according to our desired result and time not knowing that His ways are always the best for us and He gives them in His perfect time.

Well, the tulips taught me a good lesson on prayers and just want to share them to everyone. Next time you feel that your prayers seem unheard... remember the TULIPS!

one... two... THREE!

April 21, 2008, a perfect 20°C spring weather!
Exactly three years ago today, we landed in Canada. “Time flies”, quipped one friend of ours when I shared the information. Time flies indeed. After counting three years, one cannot help but look back to all the blessings God has provided. I am not referring to wealth here… I mean more valuable blessings than tangible wealth.

In 2005, we came with FEAR and ANXIETY for the big change ahead… but God constantly provided assurance that He is in control. Through caring relatives and friends who share their resources and valuable advice, time and again, we get encouragement to go on every time worries start pushing us to sulk and give up. In His prefect time, God has opened up paths to provide clear answers each time we reach a crossroad… which house to buy, what car to get, what job to apply for, which church to make our home church… I guess that is how God answers prayers… when He opened the sea for Moses and the more than a million Jews... go forward or perish... as one clear soda ad says.. The CHOICE IS CLEAR!

The most significant updates on our third year in Canada are relating to two MOVES…

Elaine will be moving to a new company in May. The decision to move has been made few months back but again, God dictates the perfect time. The doors just opened up and in a very short time the offer was finalized giving Elaine sufficient time to submit her resignation in the current post and still stay on long enough to assist in the turnover during the transition.

The second move involves our Home church CECC (Christ Emmanuel Community Church). After 21 years, God has given us a building to house His church. With the money on hand several months ago, buying this building is ‘wishful thinking” but that is precisely how it works… it is when we know that it is beyond us that we then come to realization that is CLEARLY GOD WHO PROVIDED.

Finally, after 3 years, many would probably ask…“Any regrets?” I like to ask myself this because it is the same question I ask a lot to other newcomers as well. The answer to that question rests on our objective in deciding to move to Canada... the kids. The good report is, both of them are doing excellently in school, they enjoy and have adapted to Canada so well and so fast that you can compare them to fish thrown in the water. Household chores are one thing they never had to contend with back in Manila but even with that they would get A++. Independence is the new found strength that Lorenzo and Chester have embodied but above that character is the total dependence on our God Almighty…

Any regrets? NO!

Once again, to all our loved ones, friends and relatives who have constantly cared and included us in their prayers, THANK YOU. To God Be All the Glory!

SPELL 2008

The Canada Spelling Bee Regional Finals for Toronto was held today Feb. 24, 2008 at the Ryerson University Theater...
Elaine, Louie, cousin Alyssa and I watched Chester compete and I would like to share the photos and video that I complied... Thank You all for yor prayers!

winter videos

- -

- -

- -

SNOW etc...

Below are some samplings of passages that mentions SNOW and WINTER in the BIBLE...

I guess we do not have any reason to complain because unlike the people in the Bible,

we are blessed with snow blowers, wide sturdy shovels and street plowers to clear our roads... also posting a link for our 2008 photos which started with 3 snow storms in 2 weeks time... can't wait for SPRING!!!!

Winter Bible Verses

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!...
He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth His ice as fragments,
Who can stand before His cold?
He sends forth His word and melts them
He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
-Psalm 147:12-18-

While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And summer and winter,
And day and night Shall not cease.
-Genesis 8:22-

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout,

And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire.
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
-Isaiah 55:10-12-

"Out of the south comes the storm, And out of the north the cold.
"From the breath of God ice is made, And the expanse of the waters is frozen.
Job 37:9-10 (NASB)

Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
Is a faithful messenger to those who send him,
For he refreshes the soul of his masters.
Prov 25:13 (NASB)