B.L.O.G

I can’t believe another year is almost over.  I’m going to be another year older and, hopefully, another year wiser.  I have a lot to be thankful for, for the past year.  The Lord has blessed me and my family tremendously!  I also have a lot to change for the coming year.  Changes that can hopefully make me a better man, husband, father and servant to Christ.  I also have a few things to look forward to for next year.  First, my trip to the Philippines with my family.  This is the first time that I will be going back home since 1988.  That’s 17 years!  I’m sure I will be "shocked" & excited at the same time to see all the changes that have taken place.  I’m excited to show my son the place where I was born and to see his reaction to the different places and the different culture that we filipino’s have.  I’m also excited to see my cousin’s and some friends that I only get to see here on friendster!
Secondly, I’m really excited about my second child coming in early July.  I just pray that throughout the pregnancy, the Lord will take good care of my wife and the baby inside her.  We’re also praying for a girl this time, and I hope that the Lord will provide.  But whatever He gives us, we will gladly welcome him/her with open arms. 

Psalm 107:1, "O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."

My wife has given me the "green light" to go get "something" for myself this Christmas.  But the problem is I can’t seem to find that "something" that I want…:(  I want to buy "something", but in the process of buying that "something" , it suddenly becomes "nothing".  As in my urge to have that "something" becomes "nothing".

My search has taken me to ebay, futureshop, bestbuy…and still…"nothing".  Because if I really think about it, if I analyze that "something" that I’m trying to buy, that I WANT to buy, I come to the conclusion that that "something" is really worth "nothing" to me right now.  Why you ask?  Because I already have "everything"! 

The one thing that I don’t have, but am not really searching for is…contentment.  Contentment means feeling or manifesting satisfaction with one’s possessions, status, or situation.  And from my standpoint, I shouldn’t even think about asking for anything else.  God has blessed me tremendously!  Not just from a financial aspect, He’s blessed me with a loving family, an understanding and loving wife, a very obedient, loving son, and a daughter (hopefully!) on the way.  And that’s not even half of what He has done for me.  He’s turned me from a "nothing" into a "something" in Christ Jesus, in whom I owe my life and salvation to.

So I guess that "something" I’m looking to buy for this Christmas turns out to be "nothing" at all….:-)

Talk about making a comeback!  I scored a scorching 70% on my Week 3 picks!

Big UPs to the Pats for a nice comeback, and Mike Vick for just coming back!

Hope to do as well or even better this week…:D

Well, I was out yesterday for a drive to get my paintball gun fixed and firing for the big game we’re having on October 1st. 

On the way to the store, I notice that almost all gas stations I pass was packed.  I mean, the lineups were sooo crazy, that people were lining up on the streets causing traffic.  I turned on my radio to the fan 590. Apparently they got a tip from some disgruntled employee of one of the refineries that supply our gas stations that upon midnight las night, the prices were going to double!  This caused the panic.  I myself panicked, not because of the prices being jacked up, but because my gas warning light was already on and I can’t find a gas station with an empty pump!  But, ALAS!, I found one, a Shell, no lineups only a few cars.  I pulled in, parked my car beside one of the pumps, opened my gas cap and was about to put gas when an employee rushed to me and said "No more gas!".  I was like, "What?!! No gas!"  How could a gas station run out of gas?  Then the employee said "The servers are down, our pumps are off line…"  I was kind of relieved, at the same time still panicking because I’m about to run out of gas. 

This got me thinking.  The end is coming.  The night before I was listening to 99.5fm, and the preacher was talking about the book of Revelation, and he’s saying that the signs are here…NOW.  Then I saw all the chaos that happened yesterday, when the news of a gas price hike was broadcast over the radio, couple that with the storm that was already starting. 

I was scared I tell you, but then again I thought, what’s there to be scared about?  We already have the victory in Christ Jesus!  Sure,we’ll experience some suffering before He comes again, but in the end He will take us up in glory to be with Him.

We should watch out for these signs of His coming, it’s a reminder that our time here on earth is slowly coming to an end.  It is also a reminder that whatever happens here, our Savior has already saved us and cleansed us, so that we could be with Him forever in His Kingdom.

Matthew 24:42 - 44 says:

⁴²"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³But
understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of
night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have
let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

I hope these events of the past few days, with hurricane after hurricane hitting the States, the rise of gas prices, the unrest in the Middle east, remind us that Jesus is coming again…SOON!

Judging by my Week 2 picks, one can say that I know nothing about football.  I can play it in a video game, I can even play flag or two-hand tag football, but the NFL!? Hmmm….On the other hand, if I was picking weekly NFL losers…I’D BE A GENIUS!

Here are my WEEK 3 NFL Picks:

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Cincinnati at Chicago ==> Cincinnati

Atlanta at Buffalo ==> Atlanta (I’m hoping Mike Vick will be back for this one!)

Cleveland at Indianapolis ==> Indianapolis

Tampa Bay at Green Bay ==>  Green Bay (Ok, this is the 2nd chance I’ll give Brett…he’d
                                                                               better come through)

Jacksonville at NY Jets ==>  Jets (Chad is slowly getting in a groove, Martin and Coles will
                                                                  get into theirs soon)
Oakland at Philadelphia ==>  Philly (This was a hard one…Moss VS Owens…but the
                                                     way Philly embarrassed my  Niners last                              
                                                     week…I had to give  them this!)
Tennessee at St. Louis ==>   Rams (Another hard one, I was about to give it to the Titans because of their
                                                                    stellar defense last week, but then again they only shutdown the
                                                                    Ravens!)

Carolina at Miami ==> Carolina (I had to…they beat the PATS last week!)

New Orleans at Minnesota ==> Vikes (if Minnesota can’t beat N.O., their name should be changed
                                                                         to Yikes!)

Arizona at Seattle ==> Seattle (One word…Hasselbeck!)

Dallas at San Francisco ==>  Niners (You can expect this pick throughout the season, no matter
                                                                       who they’re against!)

New England at Pittsburgh ==> Pats (I’m going with the champs!)

NY Giants at San Diego ==> San Diego

MNF, September 26, 2005

Kansas City at Denver ==> KC

Even if I get both Monday night games right…I still end up with an average below 50%.  I won’t even bother to tell you the exact average, but I’m sure Mang Roy will blog about it sometime in the near future…:p

I’ll try to make more educated "guesses" for week 3.

This blog is specifically for Mang Roy…:)

Bagsak ka sa picks mo! hehehehe!! You got 4 out of 16…that’s 25%. 

Here are my picks for week 2:

Sunday Sept. 18

Steelers VS Texans  => Steelers
Lions VS Bears => Lions
Vikings VS Bengals => Vikes
Jags VS Colts => Colts
Ravens VS Titans => Ravens
Pats VS Panthers => Pats
Bills VS Bucs => Bills
49′ers VS Eagles => 49′ers (I’ve been a niner’s fan since…forever!)
Rams VS Cards => Rams
Falcons VS Seahawks => Falcons
Dolphins VS Jets => Dolphins
Browns VS Packers => Packers
Chargers VS Broncs => Chargers
Chiefs VS Raiders => Raiders

Monday Sept. 19 (MNF)

NYG VS Saints => Saints (Sentimental fav)
Redskins VS Cowboys => Cowboys

I hope I get a passing grade!

Well, just got back on Monday from my first trip to Cuba!  I went with my wife and son, along with my Mom and Dad, our Pastor, his wife and youngest daughter.

All in all it was a fun-filled vacation.  We got plenty of time to relax and just "lounge" around.  We swam a lot in the pool and by the beach, that’s why we all got a little darker and a little fatter!

But most of all, this trip made me realize how truly blessed we are living in Canada.  Talking to the resort employees, I found out that they basically make $1CAD/day working at the resort.  And the drive from the airport to the resort, really opened my eyes as to how the people there live.  Mostly, their houses are made of clay, with straw roofs.  Most of them have a little farm, with vegetables, banana trees, coconut trees.  Some of them have cows and goats, and very few of them have cars.  Most common type of transportation they had were bicycles, horses and really…really…really old public transit buses.  Some things that we take for granted here sometimes are very valuable there, for example toothpaste!  I mean, in Canada, you probably have 20 boxes of toothpaste stashed away in your linen closet, in Cuba a single tube meant a whole lot to the hotel employees because toothpaste there cost so much compared to what they earn.

Anyway, it was a fun trip!  Hope to do it again next year at a different location.  I just hope I got my point across, which is "COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS".  Let’s be happy and content that we are living in a country where opportunity is everywhere, as long as you work hard and go after it.

Maybe it’s due to lack of sleep!!  I just feel so laaazzzzy….

Well, it’s that time of the year again…March Break.  This year my son (Elijah) will be spending half of the break @ Brampton with his cousins. 

It’s really been quiet at home since Eli left on Monday.  My wife and I find ourselves looking for places to eat-out because we don’t really want to go home right away to all the silence that’s waiting for us.  I guess, we really miss the little guy.  But, I think he needs to be with his cousin’s once in a while.  It’s just that when he’s there and not at home, it’s not the same. 

On the other hand, me and my wife get to spend some time together.  Last night we had dinner downtown and tonight I think we’ll go out and watch a movie…

Can’t wait ’till Wednesday when we get Eli back!