The human spirit was crafted to soar.
When we choose to crawl ...
the mountains roar.
Ascent to Mt. Mayon Crater / photography: Benny Dychangco
G-news
Just last Sunday in Manila I was honored with a most ordinary visit.
Genius in the house.
Gospel-news attracting a good friend.
Life is better with choc-nut.
Extra-ordinary.
Millennial Rhythm
The way I think is deeply oriented.
When people other than my age speak, I get distorted.
My two daughters have struck my head countless times.
Truth be told, their gravitas stuns me. They rise beyond my stars.
Listen to their soul.
They offer a most unique speech.
Diwa Dolls / NYC
Wildfire
Just what sets a fire wild?
A single spark from Pneuma.
Whoosh!
GCF Ortigas / Sixteen Spark Plugs Plus
Fish Wish
My brief sojourn in Asia unpacked the incredible promise of abiding joy.
I normally do vacations to singularly replenish myself.
God's mercy allowed me the vista of divine urgency to fish for souls instead.
Almost everyday, I asked to be led to hoist my net towards the hungry.
Almost every way, I staggered with joy in experiencing the potency of the Holy Spirit's hook.
Nabulao / Hinoba-an Negros Occidental
Prime
Of first importance in marriage is its source.
God introduced the gift to mirror Triune work.
Rested in the ground of promise, we find a most unique bliss.
Gaffney-Ngo Blessing
Holystic
Holistic refers to a comprehensive approach.
When the holy is granted to ordinary speech, the paradigm not only shifts ...
... the Glory of God becomes the utmost concern.
Theology of Fashion Forum. Manila 2016
Beautiful Beggar
I am married to a beautiful beggar.
Just like me, she found the Bread of Life.
She goes around joyfully telling others where there is Bread.
Family Feud
The war that looms against our families is not against flesh and blood.
The principalities and powers that mock our homes are unseen yet potent.
There is no psychology nor ballistics to match this insidious firepower.
Except for one: the incredible weight of pneumatology.
As the Holy Spirit leads the man of each house, this present darkness loses its hold.
Spark
The life that Christ offers provides for a most unique resplendence.
He guarantees the indwelling of the promised Pneuma within.
What does a person having God inside looks like?
A fired-up witness.
Sketch: David Talaguit / GCF
Super Ego
Sigmund Freud dissected the human persona with an incisive definition: we indulge in doing to please other people.
Jesus Christ forsook all others to honor none other but His Father.
Super Ego vs. Supra Ergo.
photography: Yen Baet / Venice: Carnevale di Venezia
Slow Motion
I spotted a man humped on the streets of Bacolod City seemingly oblivious to the fast twitch of time.
He was just there ... doing nothing.
Time was likewise there ... doing something.
When nothing and something meet, a choice is granted.
Live or die in the moment.
Theology of Fashion
We indulge in clothing based on the subscription of watchful eyes.
Do we ever ponder why we even bother to cover our nakedness?
My daughter Nika heeds a simple call to share her heart to the beautiful women of Manila. Her brief chat will deal with the question of dress.
Why do we clad ourselves with variations of fig leaves? Which spectacle do we truly seek to please?
If you are in the area, please come and join her at the Ortigas Centre, Pasig City at the Greenhills Christian Fellowship. On July 26 at 10:00 AM, a little gathering clamors to honor the Lord of True Fashion.
She travels all the way from NYC to uncloak the fraud and reveal the blessing.
Artist: Lisa Grosfeld NYC
Early Morning Catch
Rousing early to catch the pristine sunrise, an early-rising couple greeted me with some fresh haul from China Sea.
Quite a delight to experience diligence first thing in the morning.
An hour later, I was granted joy to fish for a longing soul: Fernando, a stroke-victim was on rehab routine at the beach.
The net of Christ's gospel was on point in leading him safe to shore.
Amaryllis Bloom
When opportunity beckons persons to a good conversation ... eternity stands still.
I am huddled away in the mountains of Negros Occidental. It is ironic but after about 4 hours of ascent, I find myself nestled in a quiet and sacred vista fronting the spectacle of a beach-themed sunset.
It is in this backdrop that I met a celebrated florist of Asia. In more than an hour of fascinating anecdotes shared through the ambiance of rustling breeze and enchanting waves, I was granted the privilege to pray for a man who was called to beautify heaven with floral wonder.
I will never forget Antonio. He promised to cross-stitch paradise at Nabulao Resort whenever my youngest daughter ties the knot.
Not in the near future, perhaps ... but soon enough for a bloom.
From Japan
From the land of the Rising Sun ... the Son of God rises!
photography: Yen Baet / Eyes of a Maiko. Gion Kyoto
Interruption
Today I fly to Manila with my bride of 28 years.
We enter into the intertwined gift of vocation and vacation.
As I anticipate unpredictable web connections in the next couple of weeks, I am ushered to hit the pause button to go further in.
I pray to reconnect as I am able to from Asia.
But through the interruption, the musings and thoughts will flow like rain.
Hitting the Pause Button
Sleep Surgery
While the first man slept, God performed the first surgery that facilitated rest.
There is something deep and sacred about sleep.
It allows for the conquest of our kryptonite.
Nomenclature
God handed man the prerogative to name all things. It is the imprint of vice-regency.
Adam was meant to be His faithful associate.
It is in man's psyche to practice dominion.
When such designation finds alignment with God's purposes, the intent to subdue takes on a holy form.
It becomes management according to the Creator's wise and infinite largesse.
photography: Yen Baet / Bohol: Philippine Tarsier
Suitable Relationship
God declared the ineptness of isolation.
From the vantage point of Triune existence, God creates a helper suitable for man.
Although man was created first, this does not imply an ontological issue of superiority or inferiority.
The word (עֵ֫זֶר) "helper" appears in the Old Testament sixteen of the nineteen times it is used and it poignantly refers to essential contribution and not to a diminished capacity.
Men and Women are equal co-bearers of the Imago Dei.
Emeka & Nika Ihedigbo at the Garden of Poetry Springs