Posted by Sander in Anything Under the Sun, Christian Life | 0 Comments

BBT 48th Anniversary

Now that I am close again to the church that I grew up with, I am confronted with a myriad of emotions. I’m happy to see that most if not all the old faces are still there, I am also saddened by the way the church currently looks – it was remodeled into a 2 story building that was not properly finished. The church’s 48th anniversary just recently concluded and though it was fun to see familiar faces, everyone was shocked to see and actually feel the problem. Heavy Rain started pouring in the middle of the sermon of our good Pastor and water immediately came dripping through the unfinished roof and windows. It was a glaring picture of how the church has been left unfinished. The church has been a big part to the members lives, from teaching us through kiddie bible schools, to helping us create and give out our own wedding invitations! How can we let our church be left unfinished like this. Everyone was wet by the end of the sermon, and I’m sure God showed us an important lesson. The anniversary definitely touched a number of hearts and pledges of financial support were given by almost everyone. I look forward to serving God more through this humble church, and I also want to see it restored so that God can touch more people through the church and through the people that attend.

Posted by Sander in Christian Life, Daddy Essentials, Music | 0 Comments

Practice

It’s been a long time since I had an interview – not to mention an audition! So this week I have been practicing the songs that were assigned for the big day. There was mp3 and music sheet included so I at least have an idea of how the song was arranged and also know the chords that will be used. Just need to play it a few more times to be confident on the audition day. I normally play relaxed but I might stumble and tremble when I know that the likes of musical director Mel Villena is watching and criticizing! Looks like I’ll have to keep the porch lights on all night tonight for my last night of practice. God bless me and may I bless God in return!

Posted by Sander in Anything Under the Sun, Christian Life, Music | 0 Comments

Back in the music ministry?

I have been a part of the music ministry before, and I have been planning to get back to it again.  I wanted to give back to God the talent that He has so graciously given me.  I have been looking for opportunities to join the music team, and have not seen one until recently.  While others are worried about the side effects of diet pills, I wanted to give my spiritual life more – life. Good thing that our church has opened it’s doors for new musicians!  Of course I immediately saved the date and yes I attended the orientation.  They have scheduled an audition for everyone that was interested and gave us songs to practice.  I’ve been practicing the song, and have been practicing the life of a music minister.  If it be the will of God for me to serve him again, then let it be. Here is an old pic of me when I was younger and was serving as a church musician at a local church.

Posted by Sander in All About Z, Christian Life, Daddy Essentials | 0 Comments

Z’s Vacation Bible School 2010

Posted by Sander in Christian Life | 0 Comments

Stewardship of Life

Last Sunday’s sermon was about us being stewards – stewards of our lives. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior – we also give him our lives and everything that we have. Ofcourse everything belongs to God – but this is a gesture of choice, that we are giving our life and everything we have by choice to God. God then responded by giving them all back to us – but this time with a command to take care of our lives and everything that is entrusted to us, we are reminded that we are now His. This is a simple and yet profound reminder of where we stand. Are we still doing things as if we are in control? The message is clear – we have to be good stewards or managers of this life. So what have we done to honor the real Owner of our lives?

Posted by Sander in Anything Under the Sun, Christian Life, Myself | 0 Comments

John Mayer in Manila – Rescheduled

Sadly, our most awaited event for this summer has been rescheduled for the first of October. While looking at 7-dfbx reviews, I was surprised to see an announcement from the organizer of John Mayer’s concert here in Manila. Let me quote the official announcement below:

“Dear all,

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.”

So now, I have to worry about refunding the tickets. I highly doubt that John Mayer will come here on October, because looking at his tour page, he is somewhere in the United States in September, far from Asia. It’s sad but we have to move on. Anyway this gives me an opportunity to get a new acoustic guitar. A friend is coming back from the states, so might as well have him buy me that guitar that I’ve been scouting for and pay for it when he gets here.

Posted by Sander in Christian Life, Family Moments | 1 Comment

How to get the most out of Giving

Last Sunday, the preacher was the comic Pastor Bong. If you attend CCF St. Francis in the afternoons, then I am sure you know and you love this guy. His stories can really reach out and touch your heart because you know he is honest and sincere. He is also full of energy when he preaches, makes me wonder where he gets his energy from, probably multivitamins for men? Nah, it can only come from the heavenly Father himself! Anyway the preaching was spot on – about giving, and giving with what you currently have and not with what you want to have. I pray that God will guide me and my family and give us the grace of giving. It’s time that we invest in things that are of eternal value. Check out the sermon (Audio / Video) here:

Posted by Sander in Anything Under the Sun, Christian Life, Myself | 2 Comments

A sincere question to God Part III

Continued from here,

Let me go into detail. The first part of the chapter (verse 1 to 3) are verses that encourage and it also shows that my main enemy is actually fear. Quoting verse 1 which is my favorite verse in the whole Bible: “The Lord is my light and my salvation?whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life?of whom shall I be afraid?“. And it made me realize that yes – I was being afraid – maybe because things are not going as good as I would want them to. This chapter made me realize that my family’s security does not depend on my job, but it depends on God who gave it to me in the first place. It made me realize that no matter who or what goes against me, or if something goes wrong, as long as I am for God – I should be confident.

The second part of the Chapter is where it gets interesting. God pointed to me that what I was looking for was inside my heart all along – let me quote verse 4: “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” All along I knew what was missing, and it was my ministry service. Ever since I had my own family, I have set aside ministry and now it is calling me back. What type of ministry you might ask, it’s crystal clear to me now – I am being called back into music ministry. On verse 6 the Psalmist says: ” Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.”

Having learned this, my next question, is when and how. God quickly responded as I read the rest of the chapter. First thing I should do is to “seek His face” which means to pray and study the Bible more and look for opportunities to serve God. And then ask for forgiveness for my misgivings. And finally – quoting verse 14: “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”

I will wait and it shall come to pass.

Posted by Sander in Anything Under the Sun, Christian Life, Myself | 0 Comments

A sincere question to God Part II

Continued from here…

What I got from God was total silence, but I felt His warm reassuring presence, and I was glad because I think it’s been ages since I felt that, and probably because I haven’t really opened up to Him as much. And so I was sure that God will answer my question, it’s just a matter of when.

So the answer came yesterday. Before going to sleep, I was again thinking of my question, hoping that somehow I would see a sign, or maybe someone would just knock some sense to me, so that I know what I should do. And then I remembered the song Lead me Lord by Gary V. As it plays on my memory playlist, I realized that it is exactly how I feet, I want the Lord to Lead me to where I should be. So I searched for the lyrics and read through it. It’s a song created with the same question or request in mind – Lead me Lord. But it hasn’t answered the question yet – lead me Lord – where? After reading the lyrics I was curious as to where the term “lead me Lord” came from, and if that was in the Bible. And when I searched for it – I was in for a very funny surprise. My search led me to my favorite chapter in the Bible, which is also where my favorite verse is located. I was led to Psalms 27. Upon reading, I slowly realized that I need to know where I am and what my current status is before I can grasp the idea of where I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to do. And there on that chapter – God answered my questions…

To be continued…

Posted by Sander in Anything Under the Sun, Christian Life, Myself | 0 Comments

A sincere question to God Part I

The “Parable of the ten talents” got me thinking – am I a good steward? Am I increasing what God has entrusted to me? After careful consideration – I felt that at this point in my life – I am like the servant that buried his talent in the ground. And of course I want to be like the productive servant and I have to know how.

So last Sunday, I asked a sincere question to God. – what am I supposed to do, where am I supposed to go? Because lately I’ve been feeling down and tired, my work schedule is not helping my cause and add to that the daily stress that I have to deal with. Everyday is like a grueling battle, even getting decent sleep is hard… when I am tired and have little sleep – how can I be productive – I feel that I am not where I am supposed to be, and/or I am not doing what I am supposed to do. So I asked…

To be continued…