 | SAwadee | Oct 25, 2005 |
The year 1986 was the year I surrendered my life to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I was just an 18 year old kid when i walked into Anson Arcade when Pastor Steve preached about the young rich ruler,( except for being young, the other two words did not described me at all,... BTW) , but i was touched with the challenge to surrender everything to enter into a relationship with God. And I did.. and have been following my JESUS ever since... I'm glad i did, and still love Him more than ever..What you see here is Just a glimpse of all the good things He did for me...enjoy
Its the time of the year when we have our 3 week break. Things we look forward to .... meeting friends relatives ... refueling retooling inner healing ... visiting thriving chruchs ortigas , greenhills, alabang and etc... time to be refreshed , time to buy 60 pesos 9 in one DVDS . SM mega mall . and my all time favorite... jollibee palabok...SEe you later manila
 1986..as a young christian in VCF , i would always hear this biblical phrase " Fulfilling God's purpose in your Generation". And so at the age of 18 i began to dream the pontential of a life totally commited to God's plan and purpose in my life... a few years later i heard someone preach that one generation is about 40 years.So i began to imagine what i could accomplish and what i would look like before I reached 40.
Well in a few days i would be hitting that age, and i Thank and Praise my God that I am living that dream , a beautiful wife, 4 great Kids , and a church planted in missions.the only thing i never imagined is how hard it is to maintian yourself physically, gone are the days when i could eat 5 bars of Mars (chocolate) and still "look good". Well the good thing is my wife still thinks im cute.. at 40 and Im just excited again for the next 40 or more years.
Proverb 29: 18 without vision people perish
  Had a chance to meet The Pinoy Rock legend Mr. Pepe Smith . wont forget how he shook my hand and said his classic line" Rock and Roll..." picture with his wife Ella and daugther Queenie
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pray for us as we move to a bigger venue EN Praise.wmv (6.2 MB)
Travelling back from ministering in Pattaya Video_101207_008.3gp (5.4 MB)
Check out this person, you would think she is a professional artist click HERE
I kind of got this idea from Dennis Sy's latest blog about his goal for next year. And it seems like a lot of pastors and pastors wives are very health conscious these days,, not to mention figure consious too. Is it only me but I noticed that a lot of these poeple in thier 40s look very young and very fit these days . Take for example guys like P. Ferdie Cabiling and Julius Fab. These guys were already my older "kuyas" way back when i was an usher in Ansons Arcade, but looking at them now you will not notice a trace of " Love handles" or fats around thier waist. amazing isnt it ,considering i will be 40 in a few months, it left me wondering how old they really are.... It is a challenge for us pastors to stay fit and to look good since our job requires us to stand in front of people week after week. Personally I dont want people looking at me when i am preaching ,looking at my belly and thinking " so thats where our tithes are going" .. Just my thoughts>( not to offend our " anointed " bRos out there"... It would also be nice to have people say that we look younger than we actually are and not the other way around...Tama ba?
 I will never forget the piece of advise that Ptr Ross Rosuello gave me when i started pastoring (1992) " As a senior pastor you need to always be THINKING..." and i got what he meant thinking of ways to improve self ,church, ministries in the church , how we can better disciple people , and on and on, the list wont just stop.well 15 years , and an inch of an expanded forehead later, you kind of develop that habit, how can we improve this ,how can we be more effective, think think, pray ,pray. It will actually come to a point that most of what you talk about is MINISTRY... Thank God for an understanding wife of 12 years, who would always remind from time to time, " could you stop talking about minstry ... for a day". Well today was that day.... and it was good! I guess thats the reason for the sabbaht , more than just a day off, its a time when you put work (or minstry) aside and not think about it, but to enjoy ... what He has done , resting , just enjoying Him, and all he has given me the best of which is my very own family. now was i really able to do that completely for a day...not think and talk about ministry..? what do you THINK. . or maybe we have the same tendencies?
Ptr Fer and Joy of VCF Cebu, just recentlly came to visit us. THey were a super blessing and a fun couple to hang out with. The first time i met Fer 15 years ago, i thought he was just too old ( sorry Fer) to be a pal 
. But throughout the years he has really been one of those guys who is just fun to be with. A REAL real FRiend...many dont know but he is actually the original " laki sa Layaw" Jeprox.."luv u brotha".. If you wana know more ask Ptr. Robert or Ptr.Marc C.
 .. wherever we go, we always have fun retelling how our third child was born and the purchase of the infamous washingmachine ( read previous blog).. wana know what actually happened to that piece of appliance ?/...the story goes... just before our transfer to bangkok, The Lord spoke to me about doing somethin really radical that is to GIVE ALL OUR THINGS AWAY, mainly house stuff , the sofa , our bed ( actually koochun lang), house appliance which incuded.. the washing machine.. the original plan was to sell our stuff and use the money to buy new stuffs in bangkok ( my estimate maybe the would be around 20 thou or less) probably less..anyway upon hearing from the Lord i proceeded to share the word i had received to my wife ...only to recieve an IN YOUr FACE, " no thats not from GOD!" .. well so much for the revelation..that was that...until the same night after much prayer she approached me with tears in her eyes saying " The Lord spoke to me too..." women and their appliances,its still a mystery for me, but i understood it more considering the context of our washing machine... that was a Saturday, the next day without telling a single person of what we were about to do..a businessman approached me after the service and said " The Lord told me to give this to you.." It was a check for 200 000 pesos!! ...10 times more than if we would have sold everything!!! now thats how Great My God is!!! He will provide for all OUR needs!! that was probably the greatest confirmation ( at that time) that God has called us to move here..
 Back in the days when many pastors where living "by faith" financially.. meaning limited.!! having our third child presented its challenges.. a lot of preparation, saving up money for the big day. The biggest surprise came when Janice (my wife) decided to give birth at home, ... you read it right the first time... in our very living room! the reason??... since our first and second child were born in a hospital relatively easeeey, she found no reason to spend all the money we saved for hospital bills, but rather would have it spent to buy her dream fully-automated WASHING MACHINE..so after consulting our doctors .. we had a go.. good thing is both of my in-laws were a doctor and a nurse... so when the time had come .. my second daugther was born Janel Joy... i can still remember the moment just before Janice gave the final push.. i yelled " WAShinnng MACHINEEEEE!!!", and out came the baby in a record time of just 30 minutes...It was quiet an experience for all of us, but the happiest of all was Janice with another bundle of joy beside her ,and ofcourse when i came home the very next day with.. you guess it right .. our very own washing machine! Whew!! Praise God i didnt have to go through that again. God Is gooood as we have seen Him provide for all our needs from cars , vans, houses. But those have their own stories as well...
 Its That song that Jon Owens sang in EN 07.. just keeps on playing in my mind and heart..for me that was the moment , the highlight for me, when we were all powerfully swept in His presence.. and suddenly out came that phrase.. for me that probably sums up what we are all about and something worth living the rest of our lives for..how can a four chord progression song that repeats itself again and again be that anointed unless it actually reflects the very heartbeat of God. Lift up your eyes and see the Glory of the Lord is on the earth ARIZE ARIZE...now thats what these Thais are singing here too
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