The Long Way Up

If you're eagle-eyed you're sure to notice From miles away with certainty There's no way that you'd be fooled by all this You've unwrapped all the mystery You see a player on top of his game Go scoff at all the fun he's had His method besmirches every man's name You just want to bury this cad Perhaps he's one who's nestled in her arms Feigning much sensitivity She is obviously smitten by his charms So sly, smooth, so velvety You say, "Hey, pal! I know what you're doing! Heartbreaker's what you really are! To you she's just fiery pleasure brewing To her she's a fragile, bright star!" Another one on the horizon far Looks like he's running, on the take Maybe he left a trail of lover scars You should tell him to have a break Tell this dude to quit while he is ahead Before the bitter overflows Or the dark comes and chokes the sweet instead What that looks like, only...

T-3 hours and counting Body fully parallel to the ground Almost eerily quiet; no sound Thoughts come flooding in; they're profound Of how I'd oft be lost and oft be found Recollections of cords that had me bound There was plenty of that to go around Errors were hammers; my soul to pound Their residue to this day still hounds For now allay them on this mound The others have in teardrops drowned Where once my smile was I have frowned But hope and promise now abound T-20 minutes and holding Eager to leave the world behind; this earthly blue The solid sphere of life that we all made of you A mix of good and bad and false and true Needing to live and breathe and thrive anew My mind meanders on someone that I formerly knew On things that we'd say and things that we'd do On how it all started and how it was all misconstrued On where it all led to and how we bid adieu Emotio...

So... aside from being bloggers, writers, film buffs, and music lovers, my girlfriend and I are also travel junkies. Like crazily-addicted-to-road-trips-and-sightseeing travel junkies. Between the two of us, we've been to, toured, and/or set foot on 14 countries of the world's 195 territories. That pretty much leaves us with 181 more nations to visit. During one of our daily phone conversations, she and I ended up talking about the places that would be awesome to travel to and the different relatives and friends living in each territory (for potential free accommodation). Our thoughts wandered through the varied exotic and popular tourist destinations that we wished to see with our own eyes and tread upon with our peripatetic feet. We virtually went around the world during our two-hour phone call. I mentioned to her that I came across a Facebook article detailing an intricate, 48-state road trip throughout the continental United States and our imaginations just lit u...

Sit and listen, then listen and wait Two years ago you were only eight Back then just colors, so little care Your life so simple, from here to there Opened to music both of your ears Heart full of wonder, mind filled with fears Hindsight would say you were wide-eyed still Decades from now you will have your fill Five years on down you will be fifteen Taking the path of somebody's dream Not yet prepared for choosing a path Never prepared for Science and Math In over your head, drowning at best Trying to swim, yearning to find rest Be not afraid when failures betide They soon will to your own dreams be guide Eleven more years ahead in time You first heartbreak will not be sublime Gave all your heart, you were quite naive Emotions misled, feelings deceived Teardrops you shed will teach what you need Relationships hurt, bring pain indeed Yet you become wise from here on in Every end is a chance to begin And furt...

If you ask me one more time I'll bite your head off In the nicest way possible I won't be overtly mean Instead, you'll just see me fade from the background Instantly sometimes In increments otherwise Insisting that I should be involved Is the quickest way to seal your fate Impatience as well Initiates the self-destruct sequence In what little explosive we have left Instead, learn to wait Investigate other champions, please Identify the nature of your conundrum Intensify your search and soul surrender Inwardly sort your mess, don't air dirty laundry or stress I implore: give others a break or more strands will be broken Inch your way to light at the end of the tunnel I've had to do that myself -- you'll be better for it Invite resistance to let others always scratch your itch I'm not always going to be a staunch stalwart I flip and peter out too Impetuousness, you must learn to subdue If you don't want it ...

In 2018, the Philippines had its fourth privilege of claiming the title of Miss Universe through the beauty, brains and boldness of Catriona Gray. Viewers of the pageant -- and the judges for sure -- were not only enamored by her looks and poise, but were also amazed by her wit and eloquence. In particular, Ms. Gray's answer to the competition's final question earned her the coveted crown as well as the admiration of most everyone who witnessed her speak her heart out with grace under pressure. "What is the most important lesson you've learned in your life and how would you apply it to your time as Miss Universe?" was the ultimate poser thrown at the three finalists of the beauty pageant. My girlfriend and I -- both writers and bloggers -- decided to take on this question as the topic we would write about for the month of April, albeit with a little amendment: "What is the most important lesson you've learned in your life and how would you appl...

Scrape the bottom of the barrel and run Look at the stars but don't stare at the sun Feel the gravel and the stones underfoot  Gaze at the planets and where they've been put Wade in the currents, in ripples, and silt Ponder the clouds and then how they were built Sink in the moment of silicone sand Fly through the sky, to the things that are grand Walk on the dust under heat, in the cold Under the light of the pulsars of old Travel across on terrain unexplored Wonder about all the quasars adored Stand on a hill, then look out up above Nebulae, black holes: space dust, they're made of Lowered you are, but their greatness looks down You are more majestic; you are the crown

As we journey throughout the span our lifetime, it is essential that we keep track of events that have marked our progression from one stage of life to another. There is an encouraging, edifying, and affirming corollary that comes out of reminiscing the successes, breakthroughs, and triumphs one has had in the past. We oftentimes call these markers milestones, and they serve as points of reference for potential future victories over unforeseen hurdles that may or may not announce themselves. I have just recently reminisced and evaluated my own set of milestones, having been in need of encouragement, edification, and affirmation. The last ten years are laden with these markers. 2009 Blessed with the ability to hear God calling me to pursue full-time ministry. Equally blessed to have gotten my parents' confirmation and affirmation of the path I decided to take. 2010 Made it through an intense year of family illness, death, financial need, healing, restoration, ...

Who decides the value of an individual being? Who makes the judgment call to determine which persons deserve to live or die? Who has the right to take another human life? Looking at the way our global society has trended towards self-rule and relativism, the answer to these questions is ringing loud and clear: Apparently MANKIND is the one who decides the value of an individual being; MANKIND determines who lives or dies; MANKIND has the right to take another human life! THIS IS THE WORLD WE ARE LIVING IN NOW! It's a world that has decided that each one of us can now do as we please based on our own preferred version of the truth, and often regardless of how each of our choices affects other people in the vicinity of our individualistic bubbles. It's a world that has decided that the life of an unborn -- but already living -- child is not valuable enough let out of the womb alive. Or if they, by some fluke of medical procedure, make it ou...

A few blog posts ago I mentioned that the nature of my job has an ebb-and-flow, peaks-and-valleys kind of set-up: sometimes task as few and far between; sometimes they come in droves. In the last few weeks I've been feeling more of the latter, which has kept me from writing new material for my blog -- been wanting to continue my Japan-based tech-thriller of a short story for some time now. In view of this circumstance, you could probably understand now why I've been bring out some of my old stuff from an ancient blog of mine to sort of keep the momentum going on this current blog. This one is yet again another entry in both my parental and throwback series, and was written over 10 years ago. - - - - - Last Saturday the cell group discussed the topic of discipline using Hebrews 12:7-12 as the springboard. The Lord gave me this word to share to the guys just hours before and I really believe it was a "now" word. I see in the spirit that many young m...

It's become a habit of mine lately to get really old articles from one of my past blogs, and re-post them here under my 'throwback' series . This time around, however, the article I chose also fits into my parenting series category, so I guess this entry is going be a two-birds-with-one-stone kind of deal here. As an introduction to this blast from the past (for my Parental Guidance readers), the Bible clearly instructs fathers and mother in Proverbs 22:6 to "train up a child in the way he should go" so that "when he is old, he will not depart from" whatever lesson or principle his parents have taught him. I wrote this blog entry over ten years ago keeping in mind the dynamic between the two generations in the body of Christ -- the old and the young. Nevertheless, having read it again a decade later, I realized these truths were super-applicable in the parenting arena. God bless you as you read! - - - - - This is part of the Great Commis...

When I was just a fledgling preacher/teacher speaking in front of lots of people from a pulpit,  printed or written down outlines were a necessity since I hadn't had a wealth of preaching experiences to draw from and speak out of. This is one of my earlier 'teaching' outlines that I used in our now defunct Saturday night service. - - - - - Text: 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of Judah and the son of Asa. As one of David's descendants, he had a lifestyle of devotion to God, seeking God, crying out to God, and instructing people in the ways of God. 2 Chronicles 17:3-6, 18:4, 31, and 19:9, 10 give glimpses of this. Here are seven things we learn from Jehoshaphat's life, particularly during an impending war described in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. 1. WAR WILL ALWAYS COME UPON YOU (v. 1-2) Life is a battlefield between two kingdoms -- the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God. Whether you seek it or not, ask for it o...

We human beings come into existence in this world through no choice of our own. When we are born many things have already been decided on our behalf: our birth date, our birth place, and our birth parents. Our parentage is one of the choices we never make at the commencement of our lives. If we could have made that decision prior to birth, I think many of us would have chosen quite differently since not everyone has been born to loving and responsible parents. Growing up, a lot of us really don't get to see the value of our fathers and mothers because, at the time of our youth, we viewed them from the lens of immaturity, impatience, and ignorance. As an adult, I have come to realize how infinitely blessed I have been to have the parents that I got. I expressed this gratitude for having been influenced by my father in an article I wrote over three months ago. Today, in honor of my mother's birthday, I decided to express how grateful I am for her and how she broug...

I have a lot to get off my chest about parents and parenting. A lot! My perspective and opinions, however, do not emanate from a firsthand experience of raising biological children, as I am not a biological father... yet. The beliefs and principles that I espouse about parenting come from another vantage point: the broken children at the receiving end of parenting gone wrong. As an introduction into this series of articles on parenting  that I have been desiring to write since last year, I want to issue these preambles in the interest of making my intentions clear, and my motives evident. (1) I AM NOT A BIOLOGICAL PARENT God only knows how daunting and challenging the task parents are faced with when they have kids, and when said kids grow up and start having minds of their own. These articles are not experiential from the point of view of a father or a mother, but they are experiential from the point of view of a son who grew up watching (and later on, learning from) ...

I'm still really astounded how some "believers" do not see nor understand the value of patiently waiting for the fulfillment of God's sovereign plan in and for the affairs of human beings. In the course of the last month and a half, I have repeatedly shared with different circles of my family and friends the story of how God orchestrated the events of my life that led me to the point of asking one of my best friends to become my girlfriend. In each telling of the narrative, I have emphasized the fact that we were first and foremost really good friends for about 16 years, and that the last three of those years were seasons of watching over our friendship, evaluating my attraction to her, contemplating a possible relationship with her, and praying to God for guidance through my emotions and in my decisions. Time and patience were always key elements in the story I was telling; that regardless of my chronological age and the level of my spiritual maturity,...