Ama

Ama… a tagalog word meaning “Father” in English.  This was the title of the song I wrote just a few days ago for the Lord and which I performed for my community (Elim) just this evening.

It was a Valentine’s celebration for the Lord and the theme of the entire show was “Love for God”.  So I composed a song just a few days ago which spoke of my awe and devotion to my Heavenly Father.

I prayed that through my song, God would bless each and everyone seated and listening… that they would feel the lyrics and relate to the emotions conveyed by the music.

The musical work talks about surrender… it speaks of overwhelming love… of following God’s will and his divine plan… of trusting the Father at all times.

I praise the Lord for he has blessed me with the gift of song… that he has entrusted to me a voice that can sing out loud to Him… to glorify, praise and worship Him.

My achievements are not for me… they are a testament to how the Lord works through people and individuals in order to bless others.  May the Lord be glorified all the more through my music.  For I am merely a willing instrument to be used by my Saviour anytime he so chooses.

Praise be to God forever.

Surrender

Tonight, I thank the Lord for another opportunity for me to prove my faith and trust in Him.

Earlier, I gave up and surrendered ALL of my pirated DVD and VCD movies.  You might think that “all” means a few of ’em sitting amongst a collection of original copies.  But in reality, it’s the other way around…!  There are merely a few originals (about a handful) sitting amongst close to a thousand pirated DVDs in a dedicated cabinet for it.

I took all of them out and was suddenly at awe as to how many bootleg (but very good) copies I was actually able to gather in 4-5 years. 

And it’s NO joke… I loved adored my collection… I used to scour the entire metropolis just to look for the highest quality (DVD copy; 5.1 audio) pirated movies.  Ask my wife… she can attest as to how obsessed I was with my illegal library.  I’d rather buy discs than spend money on important clothing or food.  That was then.

Anyway, I packed these discs in big plastic bags (I wasn’t able to obtain cardboard boxes)… and soon after, my wife started scouring her stuff for fake clothing and accessories which she also wanted to give up.

My kids soon followed… and to my amazement, they happily surrendered their China-made fake toys and other stuff.

I packed them all in the car and took it to our community’s home base for proper disposal.  The bootlegged discs will be destroyed and the bags, clothing and accessories will most likely be given to indigents and the needy.

This is a very BIG step for our family towards being totally and unconditionally righteous.

We vowed that from now on, we shall NEVER EVER patronize anything fake…!

Praise God for giving my family the courage to follow through and do what is right in order to be pleasing in the sight of the Lord.  I thank Him for making my children understand the purpose of it all.

I’m pretty certain that I’ll be able to find a few more unwanted stuff sitting around the house which I might’ve overlooked during earlier’s cleanup but I’ll be sure to gather all of what’s left and have them disposed of properly.

We are finally FREE of these things… All praise and glory to God!

Kidz Life (December)

It recently was the first Saturday of December and my kids are well aware that every first Saturday of the month means that it’s “Kidz Life” time!  The gathering started a bit earlier than the previous months (about an hour ahead).

Kidz Life, for those wondering what it is, is actually a praise and worship assembly made just for kids.  They sing songs, dance, participate in different activities and learn more about God.

Earlier, they sang a few joyous Christmas songs, they created cute paper candles with a birthday greeting to Jesus which they pasted to a big paper cake.

Here are some pics and videos of my kids during the recent event…

Sing a New Song Unto the Lord

Yesterday, I had the most pleasant surprise from my little boy, Ralph.  It wasn’t so much what he did, but what he said.

During one of our usual simple family conversations in the living room, he excused himself and announced that he was about to commence his private prayer with the Lord and asked that we don’t disturb him for the time being…

Then he continued on to say that the day before that, he already offered 2 songs to God.  I asked him, “2 songs?”… “Yes”, he replied.  I inquired again, “What do you mean you offered 2 songs to the Lord?”… “I sung 2 songs by myself during my private prayer time yesterday and offered it to Him.”, he smartly answered.

Wow!  That was all I could say during that moment.  Imagine that… a little boy offering 2 songs to the Lord, which I never taught him to do.  I never thought he’d actually think of doing something like that… but I’m very pleased with how he has seriously engaged on his prayer time.

The Lord delights in worship… in song and dance… very much, in fact.

My little kid has made me very proud of what he has done… imagine how much more the Lord in heaven listening to every tune that his breath lets out which comes from his pure heart.  This is a child who knows nothing about quietly singing to God and yet he thought of offering 2 songs to Him.

My wife actually snuck up on him during his prayer time to actually see how he does it… Ralph sits on the bed and prays intently, eyes closed, starts with thanksgiving and talks to the Lord about his concerns and shortcomings and asks for forgiveness… then he starts singing… it has been a regular thing for him already.  He offers songs everyday during his time with God.

I’m so proud of my boy!  Praise God for Ralph… May God bless him forever…

A psalm of thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; worship the LORD with cries of gladness; come before him with joyful song. Know that the LORD is God, our maker to whom we belong, whosepeople we are, God’s well-tended flock. Enter the temple gates with praise, its courts with thanksgiving. Give thanks to God, bless his name; good indeed is the LORD, Whose love endures forever, whose faithfulness lasts through every age.

– Psalms 100 : 1 – 5

Kidz Life

I am blessed to have found God this early in life… just when my kids are still in their formation stages.  It’s easier to instill the values of faith in them rather than when they are much older and have lives of their own already.

I have been bringing my children to quite a number of “Kidz Life” gatherings already.  If you are not aware, “Kidz Life” is somewhat a kiddie version of Elim’s, “Team Revival” night.  The little ones are taught to praise God and to worship Him in a way that is fun, kiddie-friendly and enjoyable.

Games, stories and movie watching are just some of the things that they participate in during the event.  Lots of cool activities and interaction with other kid dwellers as well.

I actually took a short video clip during our most recent “Kidz Life” gathering.

Here’s a snippet of it…

Fun, huh?!  If you’ve got kids of your own and would like to take them to the next “Kidz Life” session, you can contact me by clicking here.  Or inquiring via Elim’s website.

2 New Songs

I’ve been inspired so much recently as I have been attending Team Revival and Koinonia Group sessions. So inspired in fact that I have easily completed 2 new compositions which I am giving to my community. What better way to help and give back than by helping inspire others and bringing them closer to God by means of music.

I have always written songs for other record companies… secular material… but never did I really put my heart into creating music for my Lord and Savior… until now.

I felt this sense of overflowing and overwhelming love and inspiration which I haven’t experienced before… and so, I spent time considerable time praying, asking the Lord for guidance as I created these musical works.

I ended up finishing 2 contrasting songs. Both professing love and faith but in different approaches.

The first one sings of thanksgiving. Written in tagalog, the song is entitled, “Munting Awit” (in English, “Little Song”). The melody is easy to follow. A song that could probably be used during worship.

The second is upbeat and free-flowing. Entitled, “From Now On”, It talks about discovering God and the transformation it has brought about after living a meaningless life of worldly matters. Very contemporary in arrangement and melody. Something a non-practicing Christian-Catholic could easily pickup and listen to.

I thank my community, Elim, their elders and facilitators, for all the guidance and spiritual sustenance they have provided… I yearn more and more to know my Savior and to offer everything I have and all that I am.

The more I surrender… the more I am filled up.

To God be the Glory.