Give!

“All that is not given is lost” – so says a book that I’ve been reading.  Having been born to a borderline middle class family, I am well aware of how hard it is to earn money.  I hated how my mother would give her money to our relatives and then say that we can’t buy the things we want. I grew up thinking that money is better spent on myself or invested somewhere safe.  But there is something about giving that captures my imagination.   I’ve been intrigued by “giving”, wondering how it would feel to give.  I even prayed that if God would make me rich, I would give the “excess” away.

As blessed as my family was, I always thought that our finances were just enough.  I thought giving was for the rich.  But I have been always curious in trying to give, mostly due to the promise of “return”.  At first we were a bit hesitant, but my wife and I knew that we had to try to give.  After giving whole heartedly for the first time, a great sense of success and accomplishment engulfed us.  Knowing that we just gave something that was valuable to us and that it will help a cause that we believe on – gave us great joy.  We never had this joy when we buy things that we think we need or want!  That in itself is more than enough reason to give!  Giving truly is a priviledge!  Now I understand that I don’t need to have excess to give, I can give what seemingly little I have – and in any situation.

Like an icing to a delicious cake, we even started to see more opportunities to earn, so the promise of “return” was indeed there. Now we can give even more!  Having experienced the priviledge of giving – I am eternally greatful, and through God’s grace, may we continue on the right track.

Social Security Disability Insurance

If you are unable to work because of a disability then you’re eligible for ssdi. Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI is a program by the federal insurance. It gives people with disability a way to provide for themselves when they’re too ill to work. Their disability can be permanent or temporary. If it is temporary then the insurance will continue until they are able to get back on their feet and work. If the disability is permanent, however, SSDI will provide guaranteed income to the person.

A person is considered disable if he can not do the work he’s previously doing, is unable to do other work because of your condition, and if his disability has lasted for a year .

A Tribute to Dads

Dads spend their lives thinking about their families. They allow their own preferences to play second fiddle to others at home. They slog hard at work so that they can bring home the bacon. And they routinely forgo their own happiness to bring a smile on the lips of their children.

In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson declared Father’s Day a holiday, to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June. Father’s day presents a wonderful opportunity to celebrate fatherhood. It’s a day to reflect back on the special, if often unacknowledged, role dads play in our lives. It’s a time to remember the innumerable sacrifices fathers make for us, and repay them by saying those simple words dads love to hear, “Thanks dad, I love you.”

Here are some great ideas to to make our Dad’s smile:

1. Dad doesn’t have to wait for his next birthday to feel special. If there is a shirt, a watch, season tickets to a game or simply a bunch of Insinkerator disposals that dad has wanted to buy for a long time but just never had the time for, let him know you took the time to care.

2. Dads may not be sentimental around the house but they love to display their Father’s Day cards at work with pride. Give your dad a card. If you have the time, you can even make your own card, letting dad know how much you love him.

3. Spend some quality time with your dad. Make the day a special family occasion by watching a movie together or playing some of his favorite music.

4. Treat your dad to dinner at a fine restaurant. Better still; surprise him by cooking up his favorite dish at home. (If you don’t cook, order out from his favorite restaurant and have a quiet intimate evening with dad.)

Above all, remember, it’s not the gift, as much as the thought behind it that counts—especially, with dads.

Gig Gig Gig

Busy weeks coming up! I got an invite to play on 2 consecutive nights, one with the songwriters group, and the other one is a solo acoustic style gig. I’m also thinking if I can squeeze in another gig on Sunday night. There is also the other band that I’m playing guitar on. I haven’t even began writing down the songs that I’ll perform for the gigs – let alone practice. I will be using this coming weekend to rest and to prepare for the coming gigs. I already have specific songs in mind, I will just be cleaning up some songs and probably think of things that I can talk about while on stage (I’m bad at talking…). This time I also hope I don’t forget to bring my camcorder so I can see if there are improvements and areas for improvement.

Science against Evolution

I’ve always doubted the long age dates and the “blob to you” principles that evolution was proclaiming. The sad thing is that evolution is being taught in schools as if it is an undisputed observable fact. While checking out cyberpowerpc coupons, I’ve been researching on evolution and came across this website. I found that it was both educational and entertaining. Try to read through these sample thesis and maybe you’ll rethink if your ancestor really was an ape. To quote the site: “We didn’t see it happen, we can’t make it happen again, and we don’t know how it could possibly have happened, but it must have happened somehow!” is never a satisfactory scientific explanation.

Lost in Makati

Last night we went to Greenbelt Makati to watch a movie. We rarely go there, and with the many confusing “one way” roads, I was concerned if we could get to the right parking near Green Belt Mall. When we got near Greenbelt, I did not realize that there was a new mall parking and I missed it. I braved the traffic congested road to find a U-turn slot but there was none. I had to go back to Ayala Ave. and go back inside Glorrietta area to see if I can do another turn. When I was about to do a left turn towards Green Belt, I was confronted with a no-left turn sign, which meant that was not the right route and we had to go another round at the same traffic congested road. Finally we found a nearby car park entrance on a mall that I haven’t heard of before. At least we were able to see the nice faux wood blinds and other displays while we walked our way to Greenbelt. So much for our plan to park in Greenbelt, this incident reminded me to always check wikimapia for directions before heading to unfamiliar locations.

Jonah – Part I

Last Sunday’s message was about Jonah. I’ve read that book and have heard his story countless times. It was the first time though that I heard a Pastor say that this is not a story about a big fish and that it is a story of God’s Love. How God loves imperfect persons, and how God’s love is above our human love which was what Jonah embodied. Jonah would not want to preach to the people of Nineveh because he knows that they might repent and turn from their ways. Jonah does not want these people to be saved! And Jonah went through a lot just to avoid his mission, he even thought that he could run away from God but obviously he could not. So if you are studying at a medical assistant school to go abroad and to earn decent money, and you suddenly hear God call you to go elsewhere – what would you do? If we are being called by God to go to Nineveh and we selfishly go to our personal “Tarshish” – God will bring in the storm and he will calibrate it to go as strong as it needs for us to realize that we need to follow his leading.

Car Registration Procedure

We’ve recently registered our car for 2010 at a nearby LTO extension office. What we thought would take us a day took 2 days because their computers went “offline”. I wish they had better document scanning software, the whole thing would have been easier and quick. Anyway for those of you that want to know how the registration process is done, here is how we got through it:

- Ready your old original registration (get a xerox copy as well)
- Go to the nearest LTO office
- Renew your yearly TPL (Third Party Liability) insurance (P850)
- While waiting for them to use their old type writers for the insurance, look for the emission test cashier and pay for the bill (P410)
- Once paid, go to the emission test center and wait for your car to be called.
- They will assist you to set up your car in front of the machine that will test it. They will rev the engine to check for smoke and then will wait for a few minutes of testing. They will then take a picture and will give you the receipt.
- Head back and get your TPL insurance
- Next will be the “Stencil”, or the part where an LTO personnel will stencil your engine and chassis number into your registration form.
- After all this is done, go to the evaluator again one last time so they can check your documents and then they will forward it for approval.
- You will then be called by the Cashier to pay for the remaining bill (around P1.7K).
- Wait for your name to be called at the “Releasing” window and finally get the receipt and the stickers.