Da Vinci Code

I thought I am not going to write something about the Da Vinci Code but the coming movie somehow intensified the stirring of intrigued of the people around me. So here is my take regarding this matter, I have been familiar with this conspiracy long ago, long before the Da Vinci code was written. I have read about it and dig a bit about it in both the evangelical and gnostic perspective. And like most of the people who has read about it in the Da Vinci Code, I was intrigued and it actually kept me thinking... for a long time.:) And yes.. it got me doubted in the faith that I was trying to pursue.

The whole conspiracy thing was just so hard to ignore. Something inside of me felt divided, I wanted to believe the Bible and Jesus as what the church says they are but there was a part of me that wanted it to be true. A part of me wanted to check out the conspiracy theory of Christianity. What if the conspiracy is true? This is the very question that kept nagging my head. And I'm sure some christians out there is also experiencing what I had experienced.

I am not writing as an expert because I am not. So I will not say the been-there-done-that line. The documents I've read is just a processed meat made for public consumption. It was made to propel the reader to a point of the the writer's choice. One person calls that "canned good reading". So as a canned good reader I will not present any document or any argument based on history that will prove that my point is correct.

A lot of people has been debating on the Da Vinci Code issue. But buttomline is, it's all about FAITH. If Jesus Christ is who Dan Brown says He is, then the Jesus I know is a fool claiming to be God. But I guess even Dan Brown himself doubts his own words. And if Jesus is who the Bible says He is, then believing on Him and accepting Him as Savior and LORD is the most important thing anybody should do. How can we be sure then? Well, if we will not believe in Jesus and give Him a chance, we will never be sure and we will always doubt. But when we believe in Him and pursue a relationship with Him, we will be sure by the testimony of the Holy Spirit. God Himself will show Himself strong and true. God Himself will testify that He loves us thru Jesus Christ.

As I've said, all of these things will boil down to faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Believe first and then you will see. Believe first and then you will be sure. It somehow sounds funny and even unfair but that's how God moves and God is God.

There's something about the faces..

Study shows
I remember reading something about a study conducted not so long ago about the odds that a male human being would pick female mates who looks like their mother. And they found a high percentage (not sure probably 90-99%) of their sample population who pick ladies who looks like their mother. They found this also true for females. Females tend to favor males who looks like their father. :)


There is a related study where their sample space are males and they let these males see pictures of women one of which is a female version of themselves. They found that high percentage of guys considers the female version of themselves as attractive. They theorized that males are narcist. They also found this true for females.:)

Point being?
I have heard of statements like, "hey your wife looks like you?". Or "your boyfriend looks like your father" Or "He is a female version of her". And it made me think that probably studies like the once I've mentioned before have some point; That we, men really prefer women who looks like us or who looks like our mother.:) This might also be true for women. :)

Practical Application
Does Joyce looks like me? Uhmmmm... I done think so.:) But I have heard few people comment that they thought she is my longer sister; Thus connotes resemblance. (??????). Does she look like my mother? Definitely not.

Do I look like Joyce's father? Uhmmm.. I heard 2-3 people say so.(?????).


I leave that in your skull.:)

What's Your True Color?

Joseph, your true color is Black!

Your color is black. The color of night. Serene and mysterious, black conjures up images of elegant evening gowns, dashing tuxedos, and gleaming limousines. Traditionally a symbol of success, black also represents power and an uncompromising demand for perfection. Not surprisingly, you tend to set challenging goals for yourself and do whatever it takes to achieve them — your strength of character is second to none. This unfaltering determination, along with your natural elegance, impresses people. But keep in mind that your personality might be intimidating to some. Try to temper your demanding side with a little softness — trust us, it won't kill you. Overall, though, black is the color of professionalism and achievement, which means it's clearly the color for you.


This is funny cz I just knew 2 of my friend's color is black. Hmm.. I'm thinking that people of the same color come together.:)

Notes

Picture of the week
Birds like this is commonly seen here nesting. I noticed that they started appearing when spring started. They just nest on this lamps outside the houses in the Inn.






What's in for today?

It's Sunday!!! And I'm very excited cz it's church time.:) I like the church here, it's much like Praise Cathedral, only bigger and the service is short. Bigger doesn't mean better though. But I feel like this is the church I feel connected to in Lx, KY.:)

I basically stayed all afternoon in my room. I tried sleeping and watching TV (Oh!! what an unhealthy lifestyle). I dont feel like I'm getting fat though but it's unhealthy and I need to exercise.

I had the pleasure of watching NBA playoffs live - in TV.:) T'was cool... I enjoyed games of Kings vs Spurs and Cleveland vs Washington. :) I don't have any plan of watching the real game.... TV is enough for me. :)

It's a psycho thing... baby!!
It's interesting that I no longer feel "home sick" this week. It seems that knowing that I feel that I got "home sicked" make me feel that I should not feel home sicked.

I still miss home and my family though. I still miss my girlfriend. I still miss the people that I used to hang around with.

I just learned that people can get "winter depression" here. I am observing my emotion and see what changed and what adjustments I should take. In my situation right now, I need to be on top of my emotions and not just allow it guide me. :) I'm sure if I'm going to do that, I would avoid being depressed and get nuts.

Weather you like it or not.
It's showering here and its a bit cold. The temperature is 54 F = 12.223 C but its cool I can take the temperature. It's my kind of weather only that the rain would stop.:)

Young

We just came from a moviehouse and watched the movie, Silent Hill. When I was about to buy the ticket, the lady asked me for an ID. Then, I remembered that this movie isRated R. I checked my wallet for an ID and found my SSS ID. I gave it to the lady and she was looking for my birthdate. I pointed to the date below my name and told her, "That's my birthday, right there." Then she said, "That's your birthday? Oh my god...". I said, "Why? Do I look younger?". "Yeah, you look like you are...(forgot what she said but surely it sounds like I look like I was born way earlier than the date she saw in my ID :))" replied the lady. All I can respond is, "Well, thank you!" with a wide grin in my face.I really look younger than most of the people of my age here. My sister's sister in-law told me, "You're Jacky's brother? Well, you look like a very young man." Hehehe... all I can say is that..."Well, thank you." with a wide grin.:)

Sweet home Alabama

Alabama

Keenland moments..

Bai Alein's Keenland moments..

I tried to take a shot of Alein when there two beauties showed up.... :)

Duh??? Ain't it ibvious???? hehehe.. I'm just b ored guys.. and I need some color for my eyes..:)

Finally, after 3 tries... I got the gwapings... the comeback. But who is the man behind Mules? Hmmm... abi nku pinoy ra ingon ana? hehehe

Last last week.. we went to Keenland.. and here are some of my pitures..
Here is piture #1... I call this - Southern Beauty...


She's just pretty.. zip it...:)

sweet home Alabama

I just came from Alabama... sweet home Alabama. My sister took me shopping to a good store. Good, meaning, they sell cheaper compared to other stores.:)

It will take 5-7hrs of driving from where I'm at to Alabama. It was just so tiring and right now I'm just very sleepy...zzzzzzzzzzzz

"Hubagang ate oi... "

"Hubagang ate oi... " I asked someone here what hubag means, and he said that it's a slang term for "pretty".

Hmm.. my girlfried says it means "big boobs". My friend says its big butt.

So which is which? beautiful? big boobs? big butt?

Hubag is swelling in English so it should mean something is swelling.

To say, "hubag kaayu ka" means... you are so swelling... swelling what? where?

when you say that a girl is hubag... should the girl be flattered or not?

One thing I can say, I can't tell my girlfriend that she is hubag to flatter her. For one, it's soooo unromantic. Secondly, it's sound disrespectful to the ladies.

Yeah, we have our own choice in using words but for this one, count me out.

//posted 4/15/2006

Looking for a horse

You probably heard of the story of a mother and her two sons : one, an optimist and the other one, a pessimist. In the story the mother brought here kids to a farm with two barns to observe her kids. She placed the pessimist in a barn filled with toys. The boy just went in and examine the toys and said, "Hmmm.. toys? Something is not right." The other boy, the optimist, was placed in a barn filled with horse's feces. The boy jumped to the feces and said, "Wow, horse's feces there has to be a horse in here."

Many times, we need to be like that of the optimist boy; We need to look for a horse in every situation. We need to look for good things and choose to look at them instead of looking at the feces. When our friends starts to stink, we need to look for a horse in them. When our situation gets undesirable, we need to look for the horse that makes us ride with the tide of discomfort.
You might ask, what if there is really no horse? We'll let me ask you, have you really looked for it?

Why am I saying this? Probably because, I feel like I am in a barn filled with feces right now... it's stinky and I am starting to complain. I need to look for the horse in my situation today. I need to open my eyes and look for that one good thing. I have read a statement that says something like this, "People can make a thousand excuses why they can't do what they are asked to do but they only need one good reason why they should do it." I can make thousands of good excuses why I should not be happy here and I can make thousands of complain to make myself feel bad being here but I only need to look for one good horse in the barn to choose to be happy.

Frankly speaking, I am not in the barn of horse feces and the horses here are not very hard to find (Lexington of the horse capital in the world.:p )but my attitude made a hell out of this very nice place. I begin to understand a bit that our situation can change depending on our attitude. Our outlook in life will determine how the world will look like. OS if we have a bad outlook, we are most likely feeling that we are in a bad place.

The Lord Jesus Christ wants me to be happy, He placed me here to enjoy His blessings. I don't want to miss the horse that God wants me to find here. Now, it's time to look for the horse!

DRAMA of my life

Somebody told me that she is blessed because some people just dreamed to be where and what she is right now. We'll, I am blessed. I am here in this good country enjoying the benefits and all the good stuffs provided for me. I know a lot of people would die to be here. Some people lie, cheat, risk their lives just to be here. And in that light, I should be grateful that I have this opportunity at this stage of my life.

My point is, I think I should have all these in mind because many times, I don't feel good being here. I can't be myself... and I am away from the people who really care for me. Call it drama or OA... whatever.. you can think whatever you like to think... I don't care.

Being here is like being suspended in the air in the middle of the river, you cannot go back and you cannot move on. It's probably part of the adjustment. I am adjusting emotionally and somehow it's hard for me to get over it. It's like I left 3/4 of me from where I came from. Breathing is not as easy as before..it's like a part of me has been torned and now I am only half the man that I used to be. DRAMA.

Just came from WalMart and Dry Ridge. I bought some clothes and a bottle of coke. I'm a bit concerned about my luggage. I brought a little bag with me so my clothes won't fit in my bag. My sister also give a lot of stuffs for the Philippines. I 'm not sure if I can bring them all. :(

Today, I fellowshipped at SouthLand church. It's a very big church about 6-7 times the size of Praise Cathedral. The place is awesome and lightings are just magnificent. The music team is composed of around 70 choir member, around 6 main singers, a pianist, a drummer, a guitarist, and an orchestra. I'm very pleased being there. I didn't bring my camera with me so i can't share any piture. :( The service is a bit short though.It's only a one-hour and 15 min service. The sermon lasted about 15-25 mins :( and the praise and worhip took about 20 mins. But the service still have a bit of Praise Cathedral feeling on it. If you could just imagine Praise Cathedral service in a big church - it would be awesome. :)

Notes

Edited some wrongly grammared phrases...;)

Looong hours
I've been here in the US for almost 2 weeks but it feels like I've been here more than that. I feel that I've been here for a very long time. I am probably to attached to the people I cared so much in the Cebu that I feel time is just slowing down.I really miss my girlfriend..:(....

Radio program
I always listen to positve and encouraging KLOVE radio station. Sometimes I jam alone in my room. Speaking of alone, I heard a preacher last Sunday said that we were never alone bcause the devil was always been with us.:) That's sounds funny. I think he is right in saying that. Before God found us, we were the son of the devil but God saved us and now the LORD is always with us... but I think the devil never went away even though God is with us. The Bible says that Satan is an accuser of the saints.

Sing the sermon
BTW, I joined a fellowship in a church in Lexington called the first Alliance church and last Sunday, I went to a church in Alabama and it was cool cz it was my first time to be in an African-American service, and the pastor sung 50% of the sermon.:)

Yesterday, I had the privilege of listening to a bunch of married guys talking about their experiences with having a baby. The conversation flowed from childbirth to basic experiences. Some of them said they were really interesting and funny. A father in the group said that the perfect word to describe his situation when he was with his wife during chilbirt is INTENSE. He said everything was just so intense and the pressure in the operating room was just boiling up. I could just imagine, watching a person I love, trying to cross from life to death so that life could be born into this world.:) There were so many things they said that I can consider precious coz I really learned a lot of things about childbirth and rearing kids.:)

No... I'm not getting married yet..:) I still want to prove something to myself.:)
The truth is, when those men talked about family... I began to think about me and Joyce. I mean I begun to miss her more..:) Corny, but if you are in my situation: you have a great girlfriend (not to mention very beautiful and sexy) and you are a bazzillion miles away from each other and time seems to pass sooooo slowly, you would feel the same way.:)
That's all for now...:)

Today, I am still in a jetlog. I woke up 4am and I couldnt sleep back so I just took a warm bath and started my day with prayer and reading of the Word. Almost the same thing happened yesterday only that yesterday, I woke up 12am.:) I hope tonight I can sleep right and tight and also wake up right.:)

I am having my first laundry today, "nalubadan ku". "Having" means while I'm making this post I am actually waiting for my laundry to get finished. I mixed the color and white to save money so nalubadan ku. Anyway, sayang, I spent $4 = P200+ all in all (washing and drying).

My lips are so dry that it starts to hurts cz the tissue are peeling. I always forgot to put petroleum jelly on them; Petroleum jelly can make lips moisty and kissable.;)

Our Lexington counterpart is very supportive to me and Lemuel; Andres, thanks man.:)

Almost 23 hrs of flying, 8 hours of waiting, 4 airplanes, 3 big bags, 2 travellers, 1 shamrock box and a partridge in a pear tree and I'm finally in Lexington!!!!

I know this post is already 5 days late but I guess I have chronicle this event in my life. A lot of things that happened to me, happened to me for the first time. So if I will be asked, "First time mo?", I will gladly say,
YES!.:) I am very please with what happened, Glory to God!


All I can say is, I am not where I am today (as in the literal - today) because I am smart or because I am good looking, or because I performed well in life or because of what I have done but it is all because of what the Lord did for me; it is because of the favor of God hovering around me. Looking back, I could honestly say, that every breakthrough I got is from the Lord and from no one else. Glory to God! So I am sure that my future victories and breakthroughs will still come from the Lord. In this post, I give back the glory to the Lord.