40 Day Project

(Feel free to use this Facebook Photo for your own
#40dayproject.)

Days before I lost my 3-month old Samsung Mega, the most reliable object that I have on Earth next to my laptop, I discovered about the #100happydays. I have seen this hashtag being used by my friends on Facebook and Instagram. I got curious so I Googled it. Apparently, it was a campaign to post on social media photos of anything that made the participants happy for 100 straight days. The campaign resulted to many good things as shared by the participants who joined. Some of the benefits include being in a better mood every day, starting receiving more compliments from other people, becoming more optimistic and even falling in love.

I thought it was great. Actually, two things popped into my head, when I saw it. First is The Happiness Project book by Gretchen Book, which I wasn’t able to finish reading. And second, the movie Julie & Julia. The movie is about the young New Yorker Julie Powell, played by Amy Adams, who aspired to cook for 365 days the 524 recipes of Julia Child, played by the awesome Meryl Streep. Julie documented her progress in her blog, which became popular.

These things amazed me. There was something in documenting someone’s progress in a specific measure of time that made me drawn to these materials. As a blogger, I have dreamed of starting a project similar to what Julie had – involves blogging and is time-bound. This is actually one of my motivations in buying The Happiness Project.

But who got time to read a book?

Of Death and Blogs

Coy posted this on his Wall last November 12, 2013.
I was encouraged to know that he was reading the Word
a few weeks before his passing.

I never really had so much close encounters with Coy Caballes when I was still in Globe. In fact, I only remember having a short conversation with him during the launching of iPhone 5 in Glorietta. But when I heard about his passing, a wave of mixed shock and sorrow hit me for a moment. I realized, knowing a person only for a short while doesn’t really matter in the face of death. Knowing that you have met the person and was able to talk to him while he was still alive, and then suddenly he was declared lifeless, is actually both saddening and paralyzing.

When I heard about Coy’s passing, I immediately buzzed the people who knew him to tell them about the news. Our reactions are the same. Sad and shocked. Death brings both, I realized. Truly, it was like a thief in the night. You won’t know when it will come.

Death, no matter how certain, is something that not too many people will talk about nor prepare for. It was so sad just thinking about it. But I also believe that thinking about death, as much as life, is brave and wise. Again, death is certain. Knowing that it can strike you anytime, there’s no point not reflecting about it.

Coy’s sudden death brought about too many realizations to me. Through his passing, I was able to think more about death and was also, to my surprise, did not feel uneasy about it anymore, unlike before. I am very thankful that I was able to meet the Savior around 2 years ago and after that, death wasn’t a scary topic anymore. In fact, that day, I decided to look at it closer and observe what will happen while it’s in the air.

There are 3 things that I’d like to write about in this blog post. These are the things that I have observed from the day of Coy’s passing until now.

7 Things the Bible, LOTR and other Books Taught Me About Life, Friendship and Adventure

I woke up tonight, around 6:00pm, seeing visions of some scenes in the Lord of the Rings movies. The visions went along with mixed feelings of deep sorrow for some people who are special to me but I’ve lost along the way, and also a deep feeling of gratitude towards God for the gift of life that is full of adventure. Afterwards, I found myself writing a prayer enumerating the reasons why I am so thankful for this life. My first few words are “mountains to climb” and “seas to cross”. The next second, I was brought to thinking about the book entitled “Wild at Heart” written by John Eldredge, which I read around 3 year ago. In that book, he said that in every man’s heart is a battle to fight, a beauty to rescue and an adventure to live.

The Bible, Tolkien’s works, the movie adaptations of them, Eldredge’s book and Coelho’s The Alchemist are my inspirations in writing this blog post. I really believe that life is a great adventure and I am more than thankful that the God that we have is a God who gave us the freedom to write the chapter of our lives. With His guidance, I hope that we’ll be able to write a great story out of it.

A Special Day

I spent almost half of my previous year in China learning how to speak Mandarin Chinese. I was one of the scholars of a foundation in the Philippines chosen to undergo a five-month training to learn about the language, culture and history of China. Every day, I will walk for more than twenty minutes from my dormitory to the teaching building in Fudan University. It was a long walk but I have no complaints as long as I get to eat my favorite Chinese bun every morning. After classes, I’ll have lunch with my classmates and then go back straight to the dormitory for my homework. During weekends, we’ll go to the church and then visit the must-see places in Shanghai. During my first few months, this has become my routine. It’s almost exactly the same every single day- until one day.

“Why don’t we organize a Filipino event?,” one of my fellow Filipino scholars suggested during a lunch time. “We are thirty-seven here. It is possible. We have artists, dancers and singers among us. I’m sure we can come up with something special to introduce the Philippines to everyone.”

Few months earlier than that, my classmates witnessed a presentation from the students from Mexico inside one of the buildings. Aside from some pictures, my roommate took home with him an overly sized hat that the Mexicans used as a prop during a dance. A few months passed, the Swedish had their turn. This time, they taught the crowd a dance for couples that the Swedish perform during festivities. It was a wonderful opportunity to experience the culture of other nations through those presentations. The amount of efforts they exerted fueled our passion to create our own "special day" for all of them.

A few weeks later, the Filipino Day was born.

For Janet Napoles

Dear Janet,

I don’t have much to say about you. I actually am one of those Filipinos who isn’t much into politics. We have different reasons for not being too involved. Some are just extremely busy. Some may just want to be ahead of the game by getting involved in other ways. Some just don’t get politics. Some had just given up. I believe I am a mixture of all four.

Janet, I don’t know if you have the slightest idea how popular you had become in the online world. I used to not really care about the lives of celebrities and politicians that appear on my timeline, but you had consistently been there in the past few days. Your name is all over the place. I think it even trended on Twitter too. Your photos had been used in so many memes. As a social media marketer, I know how difficult it is to make someone or something popular online. But yours was a curious case for me. You are hated. You are supposed to be “unpopular”.

Janet, you have angered the people.

You have touched a very sensitive part of their souls. Them, the taxpayers. They were just busy working for their lives one ordinary day. Until, your story.

Southbound

Dear Abba,

A few months ago, I was able to visit the South. Thanks to Geraldine, my longest-running high school friend who I still keep in touch with until now. It was a real treat that we were friends since I find it really hard to believe that an extrovert and an introvert can be friends like us.

But we are! And we still enjoy doing those dates together just like what we did during our CMLI days in Baguio. Those were the good times! She was my best buddy, my loyal supporter, my photographer and everything in between. How can I ever thank her enough? How can I thank you enough for her?

The day we went to Westgate, it was also a surprise to meet Harold again, our former batch mate during high school and now her schoolmate in the aviation school. She used to say that she never expected to be friends with him counting the many years of being out of high school where they also both barely know each other. How surprising life can be and how time flies so fast!

Abba, always be with Geraldine. You know the desires of her heart and I know how special she is in your eyes. She used to declare that she was "your" favorite. How many girls in the world have that kind of assurance in their hearts? I am amazed by her sometimes. You two must have spent too many good times together.

I know that you have in store so many good things for her. May you grant her the patience that she needs until the perfect time comes for her to receive the fullness of your blessings in her life. May she always seek your face, more than anything else.

Thank you for keeping these two friends of mine safe always.

Excited to fly soon with her in the aviation school,

Mark

Until My Voice Is No More

Dear Abba,

Yesterday, I got invited by my brothers to their Application Night in the Music Ministry. In Victory Ortigas, we call "Application Night" the night where the new members of the Music Ministry shall "apply" the lessons they have learned during the 3-week "training" with the leaders of the ministry.

My own Application Night is still fresh on my mind. At first, I thought that "Application Night" was the night when we'll know if we made it to the ministry or not. I can still remember how big of a surprise it was for me to know that I was wrong. There's no more cut off. It was a real treat from you, Abba. Thank you so much.

I was so blessed to see my 2 brothers, Jhon and MJ, lead the song "Here in Your Presence". I told Jhon that he will always remember his Application Night every time he will step on stage to lead the worship services. The first time I led "Here in Your Presence" on stage, I still can remember how filled I was with your love that tears actually fell from my eyes. My heart was touched when the people started to sing even without leading them and I thought that is the job of every worship leader. To lead the people to worship you, and to not just lead the song. In fact, I felt that I can already go down the stage and worship with the people once they started singing but you are also the God of order, so we also observe orderliness during worship services and a worship leader can't just step down. But that's how I felt. Once the people started to sing, my job was done. The next thing to do is to worship with them knowing that you will always receive our worship, not because we are so good at doing it nor because we sing so well. It is because of the Son who you gave to us 2,000 years ago for the salvation of our sins, that whoever believes in Him shall be saved. And thus, your grace and truth flowed from him to us, covering us with his most precious blood. This is the reason why our worship is pleasing to you. It is because you see the blood of the Lamb in us, not because of any of our good works.

I thank you for the gift of music. I have told so many people how amazing you were when you allowed me to be admitted to the Music Ministry, even without much knowledge about music. I can't tell them enough how funny I thought of myself during my auditions that I even did prayed my own prayer of acceptance that it's okay if I don't pass the auditions. But you did it for me! You let me in the ministry! I can't believe you! You are truly the living wonderful and amazing God!

Whenever I think about your faithfulness, I can't help but cry. I want to shout to the world about your goodness and greatness and your faithfulness! When I can't, you always can. When we have seemed to have forgotten our own dreams, you will remind us of those dreams and you will use those dreams for your glory and honor and praise!

Abba, use me and my brothers for your glory. Use our voices, our knowledge and whatever we have to proclaim your greatness in all the earth. We are small, a speck of dust, a vapor in the wind. But because you are with us, we can do anything.

Thank you for being our God, the God of love and the only God. Forever and ever.

Will sing praises to you until my voice is no more,

Mark

Thankful Thursdays

Is there something that you want to thank God for? If yes, we hope that you can join us every week as we transform your ordinary Thursdays into Thankful Thursdays!

All you need to do is Like our Page at www.facebook.com/Letters4Abba and then watch out for the poster above where you will place your comment with the things that you are thankful to God for.

It's fun and you will be blessed for sure! Afterwards, we can pray for each other and then go to bed with a grateful heart.

Our first run is set this coming Thursday, August 29. I hope you can help us share this to your loved ones.

Thankful for your support,

Mark

A Prayer in the Desert

Dear Abba,

Thank you for the desert, the season of being in lack. I know that the path that I chose wasn’t easy. I left my job in the corporate world for the desire of becoming an entrepreneur. I have no savings, no business plans, no business partners nor investors- I only have you. And that’s why I feel I have more than enough.

What’s amazing about being the desert is knowing that you are there to watch over me. I know I have lots of things to learn yet in this life and the fact that I am feeling all sorts of difficulties right now is because you are still in the process of refining me as a person. I know, one day, I will become fully what you intended me to become- a mighty man of yours.

Abba, I remember how you provided for your people in the time of Moses as it was written in the Book of Exodus. In the desert, you provided manna, quail and water. Despite the discontentment and the sinfulness of the Israelites back then, you never ceased to care. The cloud of your care and the firewall of your protection remained with them until they reached the promised land.

I thank you for your faithfulness. I thank you for the desert. I thank you for the time of lack. If there’s a place that this season in my life had brought me- that place is my end, a place where I have met my limitations as a human being. I can’t keep my money. I can’t keep my health. I can’t keep my shelter. They aren’t my security. You are. And the more that you take away from me, the more that I learn how limited and fragile and helpless I am. The more that I know about it, the more that I become dependent on you. And the more that I depend on you, the more that I get near the truth- that you are the God who is the source of everything and that you are the God who is more than willing to provide for us.

I thank you for you are my God. You are the God who loves me no matter what. You are the God who provides in the middle of the desert, despite the disobedience after disobedience after disobedience after disobedience.

You gave and gave and gave and gave to us. What can you not give if you had already given the Son 2,000 years ago to be the fountain of grace and forgiveness for us? Because of him, we can now approach your most Holy of Holies anytime in the temple that you have built within our bodies. You have also written the law in our hearts and that law is called love.

Thank you for being the mighty provider in Ararat, in Sinai, in Calvary, in Zion and in the desert.

Holding on to you,

Mark

Children of the Island of Fire

Dear Abba,

I still don’t know how to thank you enough for the beautiful experience you have given us last July when we visited the island of Camiguin, the so-called Island of Born of Fire. You have blessed the island with so much precious gifts such as the warm and gentle-speaking people, the rich marine life, the beautiful bodies of water such as the fall and the springs, and the lanzones fruit which you know my mom loves so much.

What are the odds that in the middle of our “rest” during our second day, you will give us a special mission to fulfill?

That night you gave us the children of Camiguin who were playing beside the sea. I know how special is the place in your heart that you have given the children. The moment I saw them, I knew that you sent your Spirit to us to approach them and minister to them. This is something that I will never even think of doing during my old life. Indeed, you have made me your new creation.

I thank you for my brothers who have the hearts for the kids. We used to say in our church that the Kids Church is the best church in the world! I agree on this. I will never forget the story on how you welcomed the children in your arms when your disciples told them to stay away from you. How you talked about becoming like them, the children, to be able to enter the kingdom of God. How fiery yours might have seemed when you told the people about the penalty for anyone who will defile those innocent ones. The children will always have the most special place in your heart.

And while we are sinful and undeserving of your grace, you allowed us to minister to your little ones and prayed for them during that night. I thank you for bringing my Spibu (spiritual buddy), Marvin, with me to whom you endowed so many talents. He taught the kids new worship songs as well as the dance steps that went along with it. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

And before the night was over, you poured out your Spirit unto me. PB had always encouraged me to ask for higher gifts, for that was your will for us. You take delight in giving us your blessings as our loving Father. You take delight in giving us gifts for you know that these are seeds that we’ll use, in turn, to bless the church.

I have never asked for higher gifts before but that night I knew that you wanted me to prophesy for the children. You wanted me to speak words of blessings and protection and hope for them, for it will help them be lifted up from the hard life that they have in the island. You are witness to their pains and poverty and I thank you for using me, small as I am, to bless them. They will grow up to be fine young men and women who fear your name.

Your Spirit was with us during that night. Beside the calm sea and above the velvety sand of Camiguin, we uttered a prayer for the children. A few moments more, we heard them sobbing altogether. At the innermost room of my heart, I praised your name. For how many times may we be given the chance to pray for the children and then hear them sobbing while at it? I knew that you were with us that night. You were speaking directly to the hearts of your little ones while we pray to you.

Abba, you are amazing. Words aren’t even enough. Tonight, my heart goes out to all the children in the world. Thank you for always being their protector, their defender, their banner. Send the evil ones out of their way and guard their hearts for always.

Your child always in awe of you,

Mark

Her Secret Place

Dear Abba,

A few weeks ago, Jie Jie (Chinese for big sister) and I had a date in her “secret place”. It’s called Casa Roces in front of Malacañang Palace, where the president of the land lives.

It was a joy to see her. I told her she is blooming. In Chinese, she’s “yue lai yue piaoliang”. I was being sincere when I said that. She looked really calm and happy that day.

She asked me to pray to you for her new venture. I think that she’s really built to be an entrepreneur. It delighted me a bit when she told me she already resigned from her previous post in the government, not because I don’t want her to serve the people. But because I think that she’ll be able to serve more people if she’ll do what she does best. I think she’ll be a good businesswoman.

When I visited her family business in Camiguin, there’s a writing on the wall that said “Profit with honor.” When I asked around for the person who wrote it, they said it’s the owner. I knew it. It runs in her blood.

That night, she treated me with really good food, the names of which I can't remember anymore. I know though that when I ask her about it, she’ll know right away. It was her “secret place”.

Thank you for giving me a big sister. Because of you, I have an older sibling in Spirit.

Thank you for always being with her anywhere she goes. You have been to all of her “secret places”. This gives me the assurance that you’ll always know where to find her whenever she calls your name and no matter how "secret" is the place where she can be found.

Thank you for being the good shepherd who constantly looks after us.

One of your sheeps,

Mark

The Letters 4 Abba Project

Dear readers,



If you will write a letter to God right now, what will it be about? Is it about you, your family, your church, your community, your country, the world? Will you write in the form of a note, a prayer or a song?



This is how the idea of creating The Letters 4 Abba Project came to me. My dream is to compile 100 letters written to God by different people and then publish it into an e-book.



I hope that you are one of those people that I am looking for. Our goal is to encourage others amidst the darkest of times and to let them know that God is just a prayer away from them.



To join, please submit the following to markjosephdelgado@ymail.com:



• Your letter to God using no more than 1,000 words

• A title for your letter

• Your photo (preferably in landscape format)

• Your short bio using no more than 5 sentences

• Your nickname



Please help us spread the word by sharing this to your family and friends.



You are loved,



Mark



P.S. Special thanks to Jenny for helping me refine the idea for this project.

First Letter

Dear Abba,

Thank you for creating this blog with me, for me. Make this piece an everlasting prayer of praise for you. Thank you for loving me no matter what.

Sincerely,

Mark

A Chapter Ahead

Today, just like any other day, there are just too many reasons to be thankful to God. First, I was able to attend the fourth session of my Foundation 4 Victory training. I know that this is a great blessing already because of the many changes that occurs with my schedule at work every now and then. Just this week, my rest days were changed from Tuesdays and Wednesdays to Mondays and Tuesdays. My F4V trainings happen every Wednesdays. Thank God it starts at 6:30pm and I’m off from work by 4:00pm. By next month, for all I know, I may be transferred to another work schedule again (we operate on 24/7 schedule) and I may not be able to attend the nexy training but still, I thank God that I was at the session earlier. Every session counts!

The old One 2 One book. The latest version
was made available this year, 2013.

Second, the fourth session was led by Pastor Nuel Nanez and the topic is about Discipleship. I thank God for the many learning I have acquired in just a single session (which lasts for only about 3 hours) that I want to go home immediately to blog about them. Pastor Nuel is such an animated speaker. I am deeply honoured to be sitting inside his class. I thank God for Pastor Nuel and for all the pastors at Victory Ortigas!

Third, I am back to blogging again. After a long time, there will be another blog post for Passion 4 Jesus again. Looking back, my last blog post was written July of last year. That’s around 7 months ago and a lot of things had happened already. I just became a born again Christian around 9 months ago and a lot of things worth sharing had not been shared in this blog yet. I thank God for every single moment that I live as a Christian. A lot of times I say that I “searched” for God and “found” Him but because of the session earlier, I realized that God was the one who was actually searching for me and found me indeed. It’s not the other way around. God was not lost. I am. I am more than joyful that I responded to His call.

 Discipleship is about responding to God’s call. From the time Jesus started his mission on earth and said, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) to the time that he ascended into heaven and left the apostles with the Great Commission when he said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19), we knew that his core mission was to “call” people.

My second One 2 One buddy is Dan. 

As a Christian, I know that this is not an easy task. Even the seemingly simple task of inviting my friends and relatives to Victory Ortigas even just for a time had proven to be a very daunting task to carry out. But if you will ask God for grace and if you will continue to cultivate a meaningful relationship with the people that you want to reach out to, victory is at hand. This is one of the reasons why I am so glad that I belong to a church that puts a very high premium on creating relationships. Victory actually encourages us to make meaningful relationship with others, one soul at a time.

I thank God for the One 2 One book. This book had not only changed the lives of many by leading them closer to Jesus, but it also created many meaningful relationships around it. Through it, a Christian is not anymore required to become a very fluent public speaker in order to share the Gospel. A Christian only needs to know how to create meaningful relationships- and this, I believe, is common to all human beings. 

The One 2 One book had truly given everyone a great opportunity to introduce Jesus to others in an easier way. By simply being a chapter ahead, everyone is given the power to change another person’s life.

To know more about Discipleship in Victory Church, please visit www.discipleship.ph.

Five People You Meet In A Small Group

The Let Us series of talks at Victory Ortigas emphasized the importance of having a small group who shall act as your spiritual family on Earth as you move along in your walk with God. A single Christian was compared to an ember which needs to be with other embers in order to survive longer through the heat that they can produce altogether.

The series allowed me to realize how blessed I am to be a part of a small group which is very instrumental in my growth as a Christian. Because of my small group I am constantly reminded that God designed us to be in fellowship with others and that it pleases Him to see us praying, singing and carrying out tasks for Him altogether.

Below is a list of the Five People You Meet In A Small Group, inspired by the title of Mitch Albom’s novel “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”. This is also inspired by what Mr. Anthony Pangilinan shared to us during one of his talks that I attended. He said that we should meet quarterly five people who we look up to so that we can learn from them and eventually be like them.

For people who are in a small group, this can be a fun way to spot “who’s who” among you and you can also use this as an opportunity to know more about each other by opening up to the group the roles that each one of you play.

You can also use the list as a springboard to other names/titles that you can come up with to describe the other members of your small group. If you were able to do so, please feel free to share it with us by using the comment box below!

Please download the image above to tag your small group friends on Facebook! Don't forget to share this
to your church-mates too!

1. The Leader is the person that you personally look up to when it comes to his faith in God. You are inspired by the way he lives his life as a Christian and/or by the way he relates to others in the group. You, at some point, would want to emulate his ways.
   Keywords: Inspirational, Role Model, Servant Leader


2. The Teacher is a great sharer of God’s Word. He normally cites biblical verses during discussions and his insights are remarkable and worth listening to. He can be a great pastor.
   Keywords: Bible, Instructor, Pastor, Teacher


3. The Prayer Warrior is the first person you would turn to when you are in need of prayers. He blesses others by the way he prays and is probably the first one to ask for any prayer requests from the group during meetings. He can also be a great source of encouragement.
   Keywords: Encouragement, Prayer 


4. The Confidante is the one who knows most of your innermost thoughts and feelings more than anyone in the group. He can also be your activity partner, best buddy or bestfriend.
   Keywords: Activity Partner, Bestfriend, Buddy, Secret Keeper 


5. The Lil' Bro/Sis is the one you have once reached out to or would want to reach out to give any kind of help such as advice or guidance. You have been or has the potential to be a Leader, Teacher, Prayer Warrior or Confidante to him/her.
   Keywords: Advice, Guidance, Help

Are you interested to be a part of a small group in Victory? Please check out this link.

On Readiness and WikiChurches

The greatest challenge that I have encountered when I was still starting to build this blog, Passion 4 Jesus. Net, is the concept of “not being ready yet” to share my Christian experience to others. Everytime I think of a new topic to write about, a voice inside of me says that I am “not equipped yet” in sharing the Gospel through my blog.

When I attended the worship service at Victory Ortigas last Sunday, something extraordinary happened.

Last Sunday’s preaching was focused on how Victory Christian Fellowship was founded. I have learned that a man named Steve Murrell along with other missionaries from the United States came to the Philippines during 1984 to share the Gospel especially to the students who are attending classes in colleges and universities within the University Belt or U-Belt. I knew that during those times (1984 to 1986) a lot of rallies were staged to express the opposition of the Filipinos against the dictatorship of Marcos. In the middle of the rallies, imagine a group of American missionaries sharing the Gospel in front of “rallying-mode” students inside the old Tandem Cinema.

When Steve Murrell came to the Philippines as a missionary, he will describe himself as “idealistic” and “unprepared” for what was in store. Perhaps, his whole experience as a missionary in Manila is what became his motivation to write the book WikiChurch. In his book he said that today’s churches should be “WikiChurches” or use Wikipedia’s successful concept that people of all ages, backgrounds, expertise, and cultures (and not just paid experts) contribute. [Source: http://bit.ly/yqvIAe]

WikiChurch by Steve Murrell
[Source: http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com]

He further explained that the Bible didn’t speak about “being ready” in terms of sharing the Gospel to others. Jesus did not necessarily call the “experts” to be his followers but instead he called the common people- the fishermen- and even the “sinners”.

When I became a Christian, it occurred to me as a blogger that one day I can use my knowledge and skills in blogging to share the Gospel to others. In one of the previous worship services at Victory Ortigas even a young pastor said, “If you want God’s best for your life, find out what God is doing in your generation and throw yourself into it." Blogs and other social media sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) are some of the greatest communication channels ever invented during our time. And clearly, these tools can be used to share the Gospel to others.

This is how I came to the idea of creating Passion 4 Jesus.Net. My goal is to inspire as many young people as I can to be passionate about Jesus.

I couldn’t describe to you the feeling that I felt when I realized that I can actually bless others through blogging for Jesus. I also couldn’t describe to you the experience of being tempted not to continue writing anymore each time I sit in front of my computer to start an article. But I thank God that I can always ask for His grace to keep me going and to rely on faith that it is Himself who is supplying me with the strength and wisdom that I need to share my experiences to others. I realized that when you start getting closer to God, that’s when more temptations come in. Knowing this, the more that I felt more blessed. It gave me the slight nudge that at least I am actually doing something for Jesus and that I am also getting somewhere near Him.

Another line that I will never forget during last Sunday’s worship service goes like, “God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.”

For me, this nailed the message that Steve Murrell is wishing to impart to everyone through his book. God doesn’t call the “experts”, instead he calls every one of us, even the weakest among us, to share in the building of his kingdom.

Whoever we are and wherever we are in the world, we are welcome to share our Christian experience to others and to encourage others to start their own walk with God.

Just like how Victory puts it, “Honor God. Make disciples.”

To God be the Glory!

Keeping The Fire Burning

God gives timely answers.

Saturday night. My event at SMX just ended. I decided to taste the famous Pares that can be found in Retiro in Quezon City. My officemate lives near the site of the famous Pares restaurant so I decided to go with her.

As we get near Sta. Mesa area, I realized that it was a Saturday night and in my phone it just turned a bit past 7:00pm. The youth service at Victory Ortigas had just started. While inside the taxi, I looked around and saw that there appeared a bus in front of us that I used to ride going to Victory Ortigas. I knew just exactly what to do.

Since my officemate knew about my faith, I need not use much words to explain to her that I need to postpone our Pares night for another time. I need to go to the church.

In the middle of the road, with the taxi going to a halt and the stoplight burning scarlet, I jumped out of the taxi and hopped inside the bus that shall take me to Victory Ortigas.

Victory indeed!

Inside the bus, I was contemplating to myself. I was praying to God that may He help me keep this passion for Him alive inside my heart forever. This passion that is so strong that without much thinking I can postpone pre-planned activities and decide to seek for His word.

Once again I was reminded of the same youthful passion that used to intoxicate me way back in high school. I was a typical overachiever during my high school days. I just really love going to school every day. Back then, while most of my classmates are happy during holidays and weekends, I was the saddest person in the planet. I can't help it. I just love being at school! Achieving at school is what wakes me up early in the morning and what makes me sleep late at night too. I just love the life inside the campus! The school was a home to me!

This passion that I am currently feeling right now because of my renewed relationship with Jesus reminds me of how afire I was for school during my younger days. And I just prayed fervently to the Lord to never ever let this fire inside me die down and instead keep it burning, and keep it burning hotter and hotter each day that the person next to me will be able to feel it too! I want to affect others with this fire!

I reached Victory Ortigas. As I entered the service center, the words of the youth pastor blew me away.

The topic was taken from 2 Timothy 1:6-7. It says, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

Fan into flame the gift of God. Fan into flame the gift of God.Fan into flame the gift of God. The youth pastor was talking about passion for God!

Source: www.christthekingwaco.net

This letter of Paul to Timothy incredibly blew my mind and clearly this was God’s answer to the prayer that I said to Him while I was inside the bus. Right then and there, I just wanted to thank Him for giving me the chance to catch the youth pastor's preaching, though halfway through it I arrived, I was able to catch the main essence of what he was talking about. Passion. Keeping the fire burning. 

As a new Christian, this was a real blessing to me. I couldn’t describe to you how much I felt so blessed by God that Saturday night. I just literally wanted to sing for Him and shout His name filled with gratitude and praise! I wanted to write about it immediately and share it to you just like what I am doing right now through this blog.

I believe that we have an indescribable God. He works in ways that we won’t expect and once we put our trust in Him, we can expect to be amazed by His awesome power from that moment on! If you are a new Christian or a long-time Christian, my prayer for you is to keep your passion for God burning forever. May God keep it ablaze so that you too will be able to cause fires inside the hearts of others. May your passion for God never die away but instead continue to inspire others and affect as many people as you can to do the same!

God bless you!

Jesus In My Generation

The Youth Service at Victory Ortigas is being held
every Friday starting 7:00pm.

I went to the Youth Service of Victory Ortigas (4/F Robinson's Galleria) last Friday. I couldn't miss this service because the energy of the youth is unmatched! Once you started singing with them, you will be unstoppable! (Insert Chris Tomlin's Our God song at the background and sing!)

I prayed that moment that may our loud singing and fervent prayers be worthy enough to be heard by the Almighty Father. I also prayed that He may use my generation in order to form an army who shall win souls for Him and fight for His glory.

The preacher last Friday told us that we are young and we are living in the most exciting part of our lives. He quoted someone who said, "If you want God’s best for your life, find out what God is doing in your generation and throw yourself into it."

Looking at the present time, I believe that God is using three important resources in making Himself known to the world - music (Chris Tomlin and Planetshakers); social media (blogs, Facebook and Twitter); and influential people (Manny Pacquiao and Jeremy Lin).

Words can't describe how grateful is my soul to God for allowing me to use my talents in both music and social media for His glory. When I already have the time, I am planning to audition for the Music Ministry of Victory Ortigas and get ready to sing my heart out for God! (Auditions are held every Wednesday, 5:00-6:00pm.) And as a blogger, I am determined to use my skills in order to spread God's message of love for all of us. This is the reason why I started this blog- to inspire the youth to be passionate about Jesus!

How about you? What special skill or talent can you use to give glory to God?

"Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy." -Psalm 33:3

Chef Hasset's Top 5 Favorite Desserts

So what’s your favorite dessert?

We can’t help but ask this burning question to Chef Hasset Go- undoubtedly one the youngest and one of the most awarded pastry chefs in the country.

I’d say we never expected his answers. While we imagine highly complicated desserts and ultra expensive chocolates in our minds, Chef Hasset gave us answers that left us all in awe and lost for words.

Instead of expensive cakes and pastries, Chef Hasset gave us for answers ordinary desserts that we can practically find anywhere in the Philippines- something that continually reminded him of what used to be back in his hometown.

And so, ladies and gents, presenting Chef Hasset Go’s Top 5 Favorite Desserts!

Favorite Dessert #1: Leche Flan

Is this all-time Filipino dessert part of your list too? Chef Hasset confesses that this is on top of his list. Leche Flan, as we all know it, is a custard dessert with caramel syrup. It’s made of egg yolks, milk and sugar and is widely eaten throughout the world.

"Halayang Ube"
Photo Credits: www.atetesskitchenette.blogspot.com

Favorite Dessert #2: Halayang Ube

Now this got me nodding at Chef Hasset Go. Definitely, Halayang Ube is on my list too. Halayang Ube is a kind of jam made of purple yams that were boiled altogether with milk, coconut milk, sugar and for some, vanilla. My favorite Halayang Ube are the ones that can be bought in Baguio- made by Golden Shepherd.

Favorite Dessert #3: Buriki

Wow! Too bad we can’t find a photo of this one over the internet but Chef Hasset said that this one is a native dessert in Mindanao. It’s a kind of kakanin that is shaped into a thin saucer topped with some latik or caramelized coconut. (Please, if anyone of you have a picture of this yummy native dessert, please do send our team at once. Thank you.)

Favorite Dessert #4: Bolanghoy

"Nilupak"
Photo Credits: www.capalonga.blogspot.com

In our province in Batangas, we call this one balinghoy. In some areas it is also known as kamoteng kahoy. In Mindanao, Chef Hasset Go said they used to call it bolanghoy. This goody made of grated cassavas  were being steamed and topped with bukayo or sugared coconut.

Favorite Dessert #5: Nilupak

Nilupak sounds familiar but I realized me and my teammates haven’t eaten one yet. Nilupak is made of mashed saba banana mixed with grated coconut. Yum! We should be knowing where to get some of these right? Or better yet ask Chef Hasset to make some for us?

There you have them all- Chef Hasset Go’s Top 5 Favorite Desserts!

Were you as surprised- even a bit?

Chef Hasset Go may be widely known as a chef who creates mouth-watering cakes and yummy-tasting pastries, but his personal taste is very much Filipino.

I can’t wait for the time that he’ll be able to incorporate his love for native Filipino desserts into his future creations! I have a gut feel that this is going to be a great idea!

Good luck, Chef Hasset!

-Mediactiv8 Team