Eid al-Fitr

Today is a National Holiday here in the Philippines because of this "Eid al-Fitr" events. It is the "Festival of Breaking the Fast."

Ramadan ends with the festival of Eid al-Fitr, which in 2009 occurs on Sept. 21. Literally the "Festival of Breaking the Fast," Eid al-Fitr is one of the two most important Islamic celebrations (the other occurs after the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca). At Eid al-Fitr people dress in their finest clothes, adorn their homes with lights and decorations, give treats to children, and enjoy visits with friends and family.

A sense of generosity and gratitude colors these festivities. Although charity and good deeds are always important in Islam, they have special significance at the end of Ramadan. As the month draws to a close, Muslims are obligated to share their blessings by feeding the poor and making contributions to mosques.

Eid al-Fitr!

Inter-Ministry Family Day

Living Word Christian Ministries
Banawa, Cebu City
Philippines



This picture was taken during our Inter-Ministry Living Word Christian Ministries Family Day on August 25, 2008. It was a whole day fellowship.
Front Row; Zed, Melissa, Me, Mariel, Ivy
Back Row; Normie, Sydel, Maileen and her Mom.



Exhausted. I have to close my eyes for a very short while after the lunch. I never knew that they stole me some shots. (he-he-he)

"Live in harmony with one another." Romans 12:16 b

I hate Mondays!

It's Monday again. As usual, I found my day having hard time dragging myself out from the bed to the bathroom. After taking a bath, my cozy bed lures me back on it. Arriving at the workplace, everybody is late. (Oh yeah, it's Monday.)

I hate Mondays. I work from Mondays to Saturdays. On Sundays, I have my Children's Ministry on daytime, and also, of course, going to church on late afternoon. Getting back to my room at about 9:00 p.m. Day's end.

They're Sure To Come

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

The world have many questions about why are there sufferings, calamities, wars and death. Before the creation of the world, God already set these things on earth to happen. It is up to us on how we handle them. There's no way avoiding them, they're sure to come. We all need to have a peace in mind so that whatever happens to the world, we will not be shattered. They're sure to come.

"Sells Like Popcorn"

People around the world have their eyes on the TV news report on this one particular US issue . When I turned on the radio early in the morning, they are talking about the same thing. The preacher in the Sunday service was talking about the same thing. Newspapers are talking about the same thing.



The impact of the wrangling bailout plan was felt across the board, from equities, to credit markets, to the energy pits, where oil prices edged lower as doubts cropped up over whether the plan to prop up the financial system and broader U.S. economy would be pushed through.

Tonight, the two presidential candidates has agrees to debate. All of us are have questions, and we just hope that some of them will be answered tonight. Let's all see what will happen then...

In Trouble?

Every residents in United States of America must have knowledge about Dial 9-1-1. It is the number that you can call anytime when in emergency situation. Their staff is online 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Their call center agent are all attentive to every call. They give careful instructions and send aids and rescues.

I think it's not only the residents in USA know about that very popular 9-1-1. There used to be a documentary TV shows about their previous incidents aired in the Philippines, too. And some of them are really amazing.

But here is another number that you can depend on in times of spiritual or emotional trouble. Psalm 41:1 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

Are you in trouble? Dial (Psalm) 4-1-1

Let Your Fingers Talk!

Few years ago, my best friend, Grace and I had the chance to study Sign Language. It was fun. We learn the basic Sign Language Alphabet. We learn more than a hundred basic words. We learn how to turn it into sentence. We learn how to translate songs into signing. We were only on level one though. We were not able to proceed to the next level because we became very busy then.

Studying sign language is a gesture of a desire to reach out those who are mute and deaf. It is showing that we are connecting ourselves to their world. Don't you know that the mute and deaf are practically talkative persons, too? (of course, i mean they do that in signing) Yes, they are. They even love gossip. :) They just love to express what's on their mind. They are very expressive and straight-forward.



Sign Language can also be useful to the people who don't have problem with hearing and talking. Like, when two people trying to say something from a great distance. Or when you are conversing in the middle of a very irritating and unbearable noise. It can also be useful to maintain needed silence.

Sign language is not only for them, it is for everybody as well.

Laugh Out Loud!

Ha-Ha-Ha!!!

Hi-Hi-Hi!!!



Laughter is an instant vacation!. ~ Milton Berle
Laughter is by definition healthy. ~ Doris Lessing
Laughter is part of the huan survival kit. ~ David Nathan
Laughter is the best way to make somebody's heart beat. ~ Robert Holden
Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of the heart. ~ Mort Walker
Laughter need not be cut out of anything since it improves everything. ~ James Thurber
Laughter is inner jogging. ~ Norman Cousins
Laughter is the jam on the toast of life. It adds flavor, keeps it from being too dry, and makes it easier to swallow. ~ Diane Johnson, Zen Soup, 2003

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

The Future Belongs To The Children

Islamabad Marriott Hotel Bombing

Another suicide bombing was in the news this morning. Very tragic and depressing.

Al-Arabiya television said the group that claimed responsibility for the attack demanded an end to Pakistani-American cooperation against the militants and a halt to U.S. military operations in Pakistani tribal regions.

"This was a heinous act that was committed by terrorists who have no interest in anything other than maiming and killing innocent civilians. And we're going to step up our efforts and work with the Pakistanis to do what we can," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.


(photo taken from Yahoo! news)

We often heard this qoute: "The future belongs to the children." I can't help but wonder what kind of future these children of today will have. And what kind of person they will become if their environment is chaotic, violent and full of hatred. The planet's natural ecosystem are being severely degraded.

One of the rights of children is "the right to play". IPA/USA qouted; "Play empowers children and reaffirms their individual right to develop at their own pace."

Keep Running!

Life is like a marathon race. It's either we're running, walking, taking a rest or just stopping somewhere. But whatever we are doing, let us always remember that there is a price set for us in the finishing line. Keep running, my friend.


"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1 NIV

God's Promise For All Time

I had my 2 days and 2 nights prayer and fasting at the "Cloud Of Glory" Prayer Mountain.
I was seeking for God's guidance and message for me. And this is what He gave me.

Deutoronomy 6
1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

13 Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said.

20 In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?" 21 tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders—great and terrible—upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers. 24 The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."