THE KOENIGS' WEDDING

"She is not interested in any guy; I think she has the gift of celibacy!" so I told a guy who confided he was interested in her once, five years ago. I was wrong.

She married Morris Koenig last Saturday. And despite their difference- cultural, age and physical stature (he's 6'4" she's 4'6")- they fell in love and decided to tie the knot.

Brenda was a senior in Bible College when I entered as a freshman. But I think she was already in her thirties when I enrolled, and I learned from her batchmates that was being groomed to become registrar of the college. The year I was going to graduate, she'd enrolled at the Asian Theological Seminary. She met her a couple of years ago through a common friend. He liked her, she liked him back, they fell in love.

It was a simple ceremony and dinner attended by, maybe, around 100 people. And because it was almost exclusive for family and some really close friends, I wondered how and where I fit in in both categories-- other than the fact that we went to the same school, I can't think of any other way we got close. Given that fact, the invitation came as a surprise. I knew she was getting married last Saturday and I really didn't even expect to get invited. But I'm thankful, I did get an invitation.

The wedding ceremony felt like it was just a sideshow to the actual event, a Bible college alumni homecoming- for me, at least. But of course, that evening was for her and her husband, Morris. Morris invited Brenda's friends to coffee at the ground floor of the hotel where they were to spend their wedding night after the simple dinner. And again, I was counted among that number.

The coffee time with some Bible college alumni following the wedding was a delight!

Sad-- I wanted a venti dark chocolate cherry drink, I got a peppermint latte

Girls from Bible college.

My niece uploaded photos of Thursday night's Thanksgiving dinner! That turkey looks amazing-- but what's a Filipino-Chinese feast without pansit (left foreground)!!!!

THANKSGIVING DAY

Until around Tuesday night, I still hadn't decided what passage to preach on for Thursday's Chapel service at Faith Bible College. After some praying and a walk around Greenhills at 12:15AM, the Lord led me to thoughts about developing an attitude of praise and gratitude, since after all it was Thanksgiving day, although the Philippines does not observe Thanksgiving day officially. I was led to preach on Psalm 105:1-7, a great psalm of thanksgiving and remembrance.

I once saw a bumper sticker that says, 'If you can read this, thank a teacher.' Well that is true. But let's think a little bit deeper about that bumper sticker. If you can read it, it is because you are alive. It is because your heart is beating. It is because your eyes can see, and all of those things are nothing less than a gift. Every time we give thanks for something we will find ourselves ending up thanking God- from whom all blessings flow. And so authentic worship and authentic living for Christ always begins with gratitude. Give thanks.

As I was studying and writing the sermon, my mind kept racing to thoughts of communion. The Greek word for "thanks" - efcharisto is the root word of eucharist - a widely recognized word that refer to communion. I felt that having communion on Thanksgiving Day after hearing a sermon on gratitude would be so appropriate. I called the Bible College chaplain and asked permission if I may officiate the ordinance of communion at chapel because I'm preaching on Thanksgiving, and it would be great for the students to gather around the table of Thanksgiving-- a eucharistic celebration. With the permission of the chaplain, I tweaked the worship order by inserting something that had not been planned for.

Yesterday morning, the Bible college community gathered around the table of thanksgiving by partaking of the symbols of Christ's finished work. It was a unique way of observing Thanksgiving! I wish I was able to to take pictures of the meaningful chapel service but I couldn't since I preached and presided over communion.

After lunch, I received an important phone call from Canada for which I am grateful. A church in Canada is sending someone to Manila just to fellowship with me!

Another feature of my day was having had the privilege of spending time with some Bible college alumni who were there for an afternoon denominational district meeting. It was fun hanging out with them, update each other with the happenings in our lives and ministries.

Arriving at GCF at 4:30 for my worship planning meeting, I couldn't help but be thank God for the people who are a part of the team- kindred spirits.

Before my day ended, I got a text message from a friend inviting me and another close friend to watch TWILIGHT (again)! But before the movie we have dinner together-- sort of a thanksgiving dinner at Burgoo. They didn't serve turkey there so I had steak instead, and again, I thanked God for friends.

When you think back over the year on what all many blessings God has bestowed in ones life, through the hard times and many good times, there are many ways to be thankful.

Life can be hard but through even the tears of struggles that fall one can always draw a sigh of comfort and say YES! I am blessed to be thankful for this and for that in my life. God has truly blessed many blessing on me. I sing Praises to him for many things he has deliverd me through and will still deliver me through.

And at home last night, I spent time thanking God for my family, and everything else.

I am thankful for the gift of life and the capacity to find joy in it. I am thankful for finding my little piece of this wonderful earth and the ability to tend and enjoy all the wonders of growing things. I am thankful for my family, my home church and the warmth and safety and support they provide me. I am thankful for the love of my family and of a few good friends. I feel blessed. I am thankful that I am free in Christ.

TWILIGHT

After my meeting with a new clergyman friend, I went and saw Manila's advanced screening of Twilight tonight with Lennie and her friend Greg.

I was just chatting with my nephew in Tampa about it and how the vampire-human love flick fever has swept across America. Apparently, in my chat with Josh, he too has contracted the fever.

While standing in line waiting to get into the cinema, I realized I was surrounded by mostly teen-aged girls-- who were obviously there just to see Robert Pattinson. Because of them, for the first time in a couple of years, I felt like a kid again!

It was a fun movie-- largely due to the fact that every appearance of Pattinson, or a romantic phrase or act, there would be what I could only described as a cacophony of teeny-girly-cheesy-giddy noises accompanied by occasional foot-stomping! I can't blame them, the movie is cute. I would not be surprised if the makers of Not Another Teen Movie-type stupid flicks come up with a spoof of it!

Twilight is a young adult novel written by author Stephenie Meyer, an active Mormon church member. It was originally published in hardcover in 2005. It is the first book of the Twilight series, The novel is followed by New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.

The story goes: Isabella "Bella" Swan moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona, to rainy Forks, Washington, to live with her father, Charlie. She chooses to do this so that her mother, Renée, can travel with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, who is a minor league baseball player. In Phoenix she was a bit of an outcast, so it surprises her that she attracts much attention at her new school, and is quickly befriended by several students. Much to her dismay, several boys in the school compete for shy Bella's attention.

When Bella sits next to Edward Cullen in class on her first day of school, Edward seems utterly repulsed by her. He even attempts to change his schedule to avoid her, leaving Bella completely puzzled about his attitude towards her. After tricking a family friend, Jacob Black, into telling her the local tribal legends, Bella concludes that Edward and his family are vampires. Although she was inexplicably attracted to him even when she thought Edward drank human blood, she is much relieved to learn that the Cullens choose to abstain from drinking human blood, and drink animal blood instead. Edward reveals that he initially avoided Bella because the scent of her blood was so desirable. Over time, Edward and Bella fall in love.

The seemingly perfect state of their relationship is thrown into chaos when another vampire coven sweeps into Forks, and James, a tracker vampire, decides that he wants to hunt Bella for sport. The Cullens plan to distract the tracker by splitting up Bella and Edward, and Bella is sent to hide in a hotel in Phoenix. Bella then gets a phone call from James in which he says that he has her mother, and Bella must give herself up to James at her old dance studio, to save her. She does so, and while at the dance studio, James attacks her. Edward, along with the rest of the Cullen family, rescue Bella before James can kill her. Once they realize that James has bitten Bella's hand, Edward sucks the venom out of her system before it can spread and change her into a vampire. Upon returning to Forks, Bella and Edward attend their prom and Bella expresses her desire to become a vampire, which Edward refuses to let happen.

No, I won't theologize the movie this time. Sorry to disappoint my theologian readers! Maybe in a another blog entry!

A GCF SUNDAY TOUR

This is designed to give provide any one who has yet to visit GCF a perspective of what to expect when one attends for the first time.

Every maturing believer in Christ needs to be growing in three simultaneous relationships: with God through worship and trust; with fellow believers through love, edification, and accountability; with unbelievers, conveying the gospel message in word and deed to the end that they would become disciples of the Lord Christ.

These three relationships - with God, the church and the world - involve three distinct actions on our part: worship, nurture, and outreach. These three actions develop in the Christ-follower simultaneously. At GCF, our worship celebration services try to embody all three areas.

Worship comes in many forms and sizes. Worship isn't just about music-- we can worship God by singing and the arts, but there are so many other acts of worship. We have come to understand worship as an expression of our enjoyment of God. In other words, we best glorify God when we fully enjoy him. “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” (John Piper).

Part of our worship is helping people to see God's hand in their lives, caring for them, providing for them-- and also helping them to understand that there is little else as rewarding than full abandon in worship everyday, not just on a Sunday morning but living our day to day experience and lives under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

One enters the building and is welcomed into a grand lobby.

Friendly people will smile at you, shake your hand and make sure you feel welcome!

You take an escalator to the worship center.

A door is opened for you by our friendly ushers.

You choose a seat which is most comfortable to you...each seat is positioned in a way that it provides a full view of the chancel (stage).

Our services are usually 90 minutes long. In all five services, you can expect to interact with people who are glad to see you. We generally spend time singing together, praying, reading from the Bible, and listening to truth about how we can better love and live for God and others. The messages you'll hear about are both deep and practical, dealing with everyday issues.

We begin our time of worship with singing songs of praise and worship led by a team of vocalists and a band. Music at GCF can be best described as a fusion. We are a contemporary church that remains in love and attached to Christianity’s historical expressions and elements of worship. It has become our goal to span every musical genre and worship expression. At any given service, we sing songs by modern worship music composers after a grand rendition of an ancient hymn, or Jazz praise side by side a Baroque anthem. The primary benchmark for choosing songs however is the Word of God, upon which our faith is founded, and should point to the person and praise of God alone.

As a way to encourage others, people who have experienced God's salvation, healing touch, and faithfulness stand and tell their story.

We join our hearts in prayer. We invite people who have praise items or a prayer need to stand. A church member or a pastor/leader stands alongside them to pray with them.

We give our offerings to the Lord while we sing a song of worship.

The choir sings a song of worship!

A benchmark of GCF is our commitment to preach the Word as it is. We believe in handling the Word of God carefully and rightly; preach what it says, live out what it teaches. Whether behind the pulpit at our large corporate worship times or small group meetings, Sunday school classes or mentoring, our primary tool is and will always be God’s inerrant Word.

At the end of the homily, the pastor pronounces God's blessings on people.

We often incorporate other elements into our services such as a drama, dance, video, or musical selection that helps drive home the theme or topic we're discussing. We celebrate communion every second Sunday of each month and celebrate baptism every third Sunday.

We have a library you can spend time in with a good book.

We have a counseling center for those who need someone to talk and pray with.

We have a prayer room where one can spend time in solitude with God.

People fellowship with each other at the lobby and fellowship hall over coffee.

We hope you'll join us this Sunday and we look forward to meeting you. Attending a new church can be intimidating at first, so we want to make you at ease as possible. We encourage you to arrive early to look around the building, get acquainted with others, locate the cry room/nursery and classrooms for your children, and find a good seat in the auditorium.

Our Welcome Center staff and Greeters are eager to help you in any way possible. Please stop by the Welcome Center for a cup of coffee and cookies after the service. Also, feel free to contact us ahead of time with any questions or for assistance with driving directions.

GCF is teeming with life and activities all week-- small groups, Wednesday worship, Bible studies, Saturday youth worship, and many more- take place, all designed to provide venues for the worship of God, and the growth of His children.

ON AUTUMN, AN AFTERNOON AND AN AUTHOR

Autumn is absolutely beautiful! Well, all seasons for that matter, are beautiful. Too bad seasons are what we people living in the tropics miss out on. Manila has four season too, so a friend said, dry and drier and wet and wetter!

I got this two amazing photos from a new friend on facebook. But I'm pretty sure things have changed since these were taken. I was on the phone with some folks from Wausau, Wisconsin and was told that it's been consistently 20degrees F cold in the area. Winter has come quite early this year.

At any rate, I love the colors of autumn, and cold weather. I have said on many occasions that I have, since high school, concluded that my body is not made for tropics! That's why I look forward to going to Baguio! It's 15-degree C weather is always a welcome change for me.

This afternoon, I went for a walk around Greenhills-- looking for a place to have my first meal of the day. First meal? You ask. Since the semester began, I have not had a full day off and so I devoted my entire Saturday (today) in bed, to literally take a sabbath, otherwise, not resting will take its toll, eventually. So back to my walk. I wore a shirt, shorts and slippers, but even then, I was perspiring like a three mugs of water had been splashed all over my head!

I love--miss--cold weather! Thoughts of it make me conjure childhood memories. I remember biking around my hometown about this season as a kid needing to wear a sweat shirt. As a kid, I looked forward to the "ber" months because it meant a change in temperature-- waking up in the early mornings I would walk to the window and see a blanket of fog covering the rice paddies across the road from our house. The fog extended its cover from the road and up to the hills of the Sierra Madre which provided a beautiful backdrop to the rice paddies. Before breakfast, I would wrap myself with a quilt and run out into the yard and take a few big breaths of fresh cool air-- fascinated with the smoke that came out of my mouth each time I exhaled!

After school, I take my bike out and ride around town with a friend. Each armed with 20-peso bills, we had merienda (snack) at the nearby bakery near the town hall, wait the sun out and begin biking again to admire the homes with amazing Christmas lights and to check out the cute girls who would normally hang out at the street corner close to the general store!

On Saturday mornings at 5:30, my friends and I would ride up the hills where another friend lived. He would invite us for a special breakfast and we would bike around the surrounding hills. Last I heard, the hills we used to bike around in has been developed into a nice residential subdivision called Timberland, but still largely unoccupied.

The hills of San Mateo- Timberland

When we reach the valley at around 8, we would unload our knapsacks which always contained baon (food and drinks) to share with each other. We would sit close to the banks of the stream and eat our baon. We would wade in the water and before 10:30, we would all be back home watching TV.

San Mateo-Montalban River

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A friend I have not seen in a while, Ben Khoo has recently gotten married at the Hillsong Church chapel in Baulkham Hills. My goodness-- all my friends are getting married!

Ben and wife in the convertible infront cute modern Hillsong chapel

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Cool thing- one of the authors of the book UNChristian, David Kinnaman left a comment on my wordpress blog! He is the president of the California-based, internationally-known, Barna Group.

I was elated to find out it was really him who commented and immediately sent him a reply. Al though, I wish I could tell him that I have read his book, but I haven't. Ten weeks ago, I placed an order on Amazon.com and they actually confirmed the order. Now I wonder where my copy is. It hasn't arrived. I'm not sure if it's coming. If it doesn't arrive before Christmas, I'd have to place another order.

This is what the website has to say about the book:

Christians are supposed to represent Christ to the world. But according to the latest report card, something has gone terribly wrong. Using descriptions like “hypocritical,” “insensitive,” and “judgmental,” young Americans share an impression of Christians that’s nothing short of . . . unChristian.

Groundbreaking research into the perceptions of sixteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds reveals that Christians have taken several giant steps backward in one of their most important assignments. The surprising details of the study, commissioned by Fermi Project and conducted by The Barna Group, are presented with uncompromising honesty in unChristian.

Find out why these negative perceptions exist, learn how to reverse them in a Christlike manner, and discover practical examples of how Christians can positively contribute to culture.