Training Day

Point your kids in the right direction. Whey they're old they won't be lost. (Proverbs 22:6)

I saw Nikko turn from young to youth.

Yesterday, during his HS graduation he was cited tops in theology.

What is theology, anyway?

It is the wrestling of human hearts to understand the mind of God.

Ahh, the young man seeks to know. I am all too glad that He makes Himself known much more clearly than we care to understand.

Go True North, young eagle ... Pursue THEOLOGY 102.

Nikko Pineda / Prince of Peace Christian School: 2016 HS Graduation / Athlete-Scholar-Theologian

A Psalm for the City

O God,

You have given us our dwelling places.
Teach us how to live well within its boundaries.
Help us to learn the language of your concern for all peoples.
We seek your unction of peace and prosperity upon its borders.
We lift up our governors for anointed protection and wise endowment.
Grant us discerning joy to recognize your wisdom why we are where we are now.

Amen.

photography: Yen Baet / The Cocoon Tower, Nishi Shinjuku

Lil' Ricci

Ricci is my youngest sister. She was born when I was about done with college.

Back in Asia, our cultural indoctrination edicts the eldest son to vow assistance to his siblings until they are done with school.

I knew this was not going to happen as I was called into ministry.

How does one get called anyway?

Well, it begins with a relinquishing of all preoccupations and an accompanying reallocation of trust.

I went to seminary with a good prompt that divine fiat will handle all my omissions.

I see this unwrapped every single day.

The hands of God are infinitely larger than mine.

Ricci is shining bright in her iconic craft. 

I just know the source of lumens.

Marichelle Hills / Owner & Curator: MEUS

Barbaro

A decade ago, 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro shattered his hind leg at the starting bell at Preakness Stakes causing him complications leading to his death.

I often wondered why I cheer and mourn deep for race horses.

I remember often stealing my dad's 1965 Mustang and clock racing the gap in between towns. It was the unbridled expression of my adolescence, I guess.

I met old family in Chicago and history has it that my family tree harks back to stallion traders in North Luzon. No wonder, my aptitude seems equine. Ha! No wonder my youngest daughter still speaks of her fondness to own a horse, one day.

BMW enthusiast and mechanic, Jay C. took me for a spin in his souped-up M3 yesterday. His jockeying skill and machine sent me back to the race tracks!

While on top speed, I was merely hoping that the brakes had equal power to stop.

Funny, how horse sense kicks in while adrenaline is up.

I just remembered countless run-ins where failure to stop caused me some dying.

In my present trek, I choose fast just because the ONE who prompts me with urgency hits the breaks, grips the road without spill or break.

Pneumatology 101.

iBloom

Work has always been viewed with skepticism.

The ancient Greeks believed that gods enlisted humans for work and thus devoid of blessing.

Aristotle proclaimed that a genuinely worthwhile life is one that is free from labor. In Greek philosophy, the proper virtue is to be least involved in the tinkering of the material world.

The merits of this orientation somehow seeped into our present consciousness: we tend to view work as necessary evil. We frown upon menial workers and set into pedestal the thinkers and artisans.

God's example is diametrically opposed to this flawed understanding.

Philip Jensen is precise in saying:

If God came into the world, what would he be like? For the ancient Greeks, he might have been a philosopher-king. The ancient Romans might have looked for a just and noble statesman. But how  does the God of the Hebrews come into the world? As a carpenter.

Thus, a redemptive view of work is necessary.

I was crafted by the Creator for work to bloom for His glory.

There is no retirement from such endeavor.

Pneuma

The world sees a blur of truth due to the fall of human eyes.

The spectacle of life in Christ is in the endowment of a new sight.

God chose not only to live with us (Εμμανουήλ), but to live in us (Παράκλητο).

We now see the blur of deceit due to the bestowal of divine eyes.

photography: Yen Baet

Teacher's Accounting

My wife is an accountant who chose to follow the ledger of her heart. She has been a 2nd grade teacher for eleven years now.

Last year, we had this conversation:

Wife: Honey, I think I've reached my limits. I am afraid I have nothing left to offer the kids. This year is just impossible. I have in my list, Rupert (not his real name). There is no way I can handle his indifference and dysfunction. I think I am ready to quit.
Me: Stay the course, my dear. I will walk alongside the furnace with you.

Last week, she had this conversation:

Rupert: Mrs. Diwa (while teary-eyed), I really don't like summer because I like school more ... school is so much fun!
Wife: (Sigh). (No words) (Just hugging the little boy).

Incidentally, Manel was just awarded the prestigious Educator of the Year for what is clearly the Lord's hand of extended grace and mercy.

Soli Deo Gloria.

 

 

 

Spelling

When my daughter was 5, she drew a family portrait which conspicuously did not include myself.

When I asked her why it was only her Mommy, herself and her sister, her reply was candid: "Daddy is always out somewhere ..."

The thunderbolt hit home.

I coveted God's mercies and was granted a new lease. I began to spell love with tangible involvement.

The following year, a school project required another family sketch.

The colors of her rendition narrated grace.

StairMaster

Led Zeppelin was on to something with Stairway to Heaven.

Rock music trying to figure the puzzle of eternity.

Jesus Christ was on to everything with Kingdom of Heaven.

Rock of Ages untangling the muzzle of eternity.

Nika and Kara's steps follow His lead.

It is of no surprise that prime time TV took notice.

Lord willing, they will soon show their walkway on airwaves.

Pursue the Upward Walk, my daughters!

DiwaDollhouse on CableTV coming soon.

Intersecting Voices

The flood of voices rummaging through my head calls for a halt.

Do we ever ponder why we think rather quickly without much thought?

There is deep revelation when God speaks of a "small still voice" that beckons.

But how can I even hear this whimper while I load up with Beats and other cacophonies of Indie narratives.

My soul longs for quiet.

I find this most strongly in the midst of social tsunami.

Hush, my soul.
There is God who seeks to speak.

Photography: Yen Baet / Shibuya:Tokyo

Laundry List

The definition of sin is repugnant to human sensitivity. It is in our nature to hide the ancient malignancy. And so, we roam boulevards while clad with stench that is merely aired from makeshift alternatives.

All have sinned.
All missed the mark.

The proper understanding of life does not begin with cognitive apprehension or affective recognition.

The way to deal with internal laundry is through God's detergent.

He beckons us to obey Him, first.

He then grants wisdom to affirm the willed initiative.

In my faith journey, I am most stuck when I do laundry on my terms.

I am both convinced and convicted that my sins are only removed when the stain of Christ's love drops.

photography: Stella P. Sison

Habitus

Our countenance reflects the sum total of our involvement in community.

We tend to think that we are what we are by our private personal picks. Such seem real but far from truth. The cloud of humanity that surrounds us subversively intrudes with much force, albeit invisible.

I glance over my past and the reveal overwhelms.

I find that most of my fears had been anchored with duplicitous companions.
I gathered victories with veritable friends.

No wonder, when I turned my life over to Christ, the first thing introduced was a new context for habitus.

The community of faith thus informs my heart, my mind, my soul with kernels of daily certitude.

photography: Paul Lim Supelana

Joy Bond

It is impossible to imbibe joy in solitude.

The Godhead presents the model: Father, Son, Holy Spirit,

No wonder, the shine of these two young ladies beam holy:

Thank you my daughters, for seeking the Kingdom of God in your bond as sisters.

Joy has come.

Diwa Dollhouse, Manhattan NYC

Jewel In The Cracks

The land of 7,107 islands is but one of God's myriad wonders.

The Philippines settles as the Pearl of the Orient Seas.

Today, the nation faces the choice of her leader.

How does one leverage God's will towards His own creation?

It is way too late to even conceptualize this inquiry.

It has has been already decreed and committed.

Through the cracks, the Jewel of Christ keeps all our lands in place until He comes ...

... to remove all flaws.

There is only one true Lord of All Nations. 

His first name is Goodness. His last name is Mercy.

photography: Renchi Arce

 

 

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