The Daquila's in North America...

I am spending a very quiet evening at home and enjoying it. I haven't had one of these in a while and it is welcome. I do my best recharging in solitude.

I do miss my wife immensely and I am glad that she arrived safely in the Philippines this past weekend. She was able to celebrate her Mom's birthday on the 25th of March and we are indeed grateful that Nanay is doing better. Because of the time change, when Tess goes to bed is when I get up, and this has made a bit difficult to catch each other. However it is during these crossover times that we keep in touch with each other through BlackBerry Messenger. I once again am impressed with this cost saving technology.

I am very happy for my older sister Joy this evening because she was recently hired to a important role with the Amer can Nurses Association (AMA). I am sure that she wants to keep other details of her employment private but let us just say she is finally being paid what I believe she has been worth all along. She has struggled a very long time to get to this place and I believe God has blessed her efforts in a tremendous way.

I think this single event gave a shot of motivation to my family that we all needed. I know there has been a cloud of uncertainty and doubt that has hung over us for a while now and we really needed to believe in God and ourselves again. Nothing cripples oneself more than self doubt and we had a bit of that flowing for a bit.

However after hearing Joy's news my sister Lily Msg'ed me, "boy that gives me hope!" I had to concur.

More than ever I believe that our family can be in a better place. Like Joy, I can see Lily being paid what she is truly worth, and doing something she is good at. I believe in her talent and abilty to teach and I believe young minds will be molded for good under her direction. Just hang in there sibling! Things will happen in their proper time!

Like my father I believe that things are drawing to a close here on earth faster than we might be willing to accept. But my father also believes that we need to be stewards of the time and resources that we have while we are here. I want to follow that example more than ever.

Without fully disclosing my plans... Lets just say I derive great motivation from my older sister who earned her Master's Degree inspite of the challenge of being a new mom and dealing with other personal matters. She gritted her teeth and got the job done. The same can be said of the younger one Lily. The same blood that flows through their veins is in mine and it is time to see how strong that flow is. A lot of the lessons that have been learned over the past 10 years need to be applied now.

So I pray for my family tonight. I pray for my wife that she continues to be a blessing to her family in the homeland and that the Lord bless us so that she can continue to do so. I pray for my sisters that they keep the faith and keep fighting. I pray for my Dad that God continue to filll his life with purpose and yet rest at the same time. And finally for my Mom that God give her strength as she holds down the fort in my father's absence.

I love you all!

Of Truth and Printing...

I am up way to early this sabbath morning going over my notes for today's Sabbath School lesson. I will be guiding the discussion today and I want to be sure I cover some key elements. The subject in question is Truth and we will be looking at the role it plays in the Christian life.

The author of the lesson wrote the following, which I find profound:

"We have to be careful, however, with this notion that all religion means is having a relationship with God. Everyone lives in a relationship with God, one way or another. Folks who deny His existence live in a relationship with Him. Even the devil has a relationship with Jesus - he hates Him. The gospel is not a call to have relationship with Jesus but to make a commitment to Him."

While the truth of this statement is not new to me, I love how this is worded. Although I am no theologian, I have grown up in the church and can probably hold my own in a discussion on Christian belief and doctrine. By doing so I guess you could call me religious. And I have shied away from that label.

Instead, for quite a while I have preferred to be called a spiritual person who is interested in spiritual things. I have also stressed that a relationship with God is the most important thing. This is God as a benefactor, mentor, counselor and friend. But the idea of commitment takes things to a whole new level of meaning for me.

Commitment is defined in one way as steadfastness despite arduous circumstances. It means that, though the sky is falling, you will endeavour to be there in whatever capacity you can be. In fact, it means that you consistently explore ways of being there in a greater capacity, than you were in the first place, and indeed aim to be at that next level. Not at all dissimilar to falling in love and progressing from being boyfriend (girlfriend) to husband (wife) to father (mother) etc and embracing each stage with all your might... although God still remains your benefactor, mentor, and friend... this progression is characterized by the ultimate realization that He is your Savior and Lord.

Reversing things a bit. Not realizing the keys to commitment is a reason why all relationships fail. Our humanity defeats us. We don't even make it to the "arduous circumstances" bit. We give up way before that and we fail to realize that the reason we don't feel fulfilled and begin looking elsewhere for "the spark and the heat" is because we are not interested in giving this level of "steadfastness" to anyone often, not even ourselves.

Thank God, He loved us before we even loved ourselves. (John 3:16; John 4:19)

Anyway regarding the article I grabbed from CNN and reposted on my Facebook profile which talks about unplugging to enjoy the sabbath: The Sabbath Manifesto. I agree with the sentiment that anything that distracts you from connecting with your fellow human beings and experiencing the sabbath to the fullest should be removed. If this is my beloved BlackBerry, then so be it. I do set it aside for my wife (who ironically grabs my attention by BBm'ing me on hers to come spend time with her!)

But let us remember that technology is largly responsible for why any of us are Christians today. When Gutenberg invented movable type in 1439, the first book to come off the press was the Bible. With that single stroke of genius a new era of the passing of information was introduced. The Word of God was returned to the common man. Our iPhone's and BlackBerrys are direct descendants of this event.

Oh What a Feeling!

The recent onslaught of Toyota commercials on TV are worth commenting on. We all know they are in response to the recent assault on Toyota's reliability based reputation due to issues with their recent product flaws. We all know what they are and why. But having worked for a car rental company that seems to specialize in domestic brand vehicles for a bit now, (I would estimate 89% of our fleet) I think that I can shed some light on the matter.

A large percentage of our rental contracts are made with vehicle replacement customers. These are customers whose personal vehicles are replaced by one of our vehicles because of recalls, scheduled maintenance, and or warranty repairs done by the manufacturer usually at a local dealer. Our vehicle is offered as a courtesy by said dealer. As a rule, the branding of the rental has to match the manufacturer as well as the class of vehicle that the customer owns.

As a point of courtesy I often ask customers what their vehicle is in for and I am often astounded by the issues they have encountered. From malfunctioning computers to burned out pistons, from self firing auto starters to blank GPS screens, from failing wheel ball bearings to random power steering loss and the list continues. However there are two characteristics that all these contracts share 1. A single visit to the dealer is usually not enough to fix the issue (so much so customers are considered regulars). 2. The vehicles in questions are unnervingly new (some well within the first six months after purchase).

So why aren't domestics being pursued and badgered with the same zeal as Toyota is?

I leave it to you.

Tomorrow is another day...

Composed in BlackBerry Document...

My house is alive with laughter, conversation, and the smell of freshly cooked food. This is what Filipinos do: gather together and eat. While I am extremely tired I can appreciate the gesture of my wife's friends rallying around her to give her support.

My mother in-law collapsed on Sunday evening in the Philippines partially due to the extreme heatwave that has hit part of this island country. Like most senior Filipino's Nanay, (translated "Grams") also has high blood pressure. She was taken to the hospital and is fine for now. However the dear old saint is still feeling dizzy and weak.

Tess and I didn't find out till yesterday and my wife took the news hard. In fact, she couldn't sleep well last night and broke down into tears at work. I am glad that she has friends at work who supported her throughout the day and are here now. I am also glad that she is leaving for the homeland this coming Sunday evening as previously planned. I will miss her dearly but is right that she go home so she can be by her Mom's side.

I have been keeping track of my father's trip across Canada and texting him regularly throughout the past two days. While I think I would have done it on my own, he also asked me to do it so I could call my mom (who stayed in Red Deer) with his responses to keep her posted as well on his progress. (It is a pure logistic and fun exercise to decide which communication medium to use to efficiently communicate with each other.)

This morning I knew that he was already in Ontario around Thunder Bay but he did not respond to my text. Later I BBm'd Lily, and she said she hadn't heard from him. I must confess, I had a bit of a panic attack. Coupled with what was going on with my mother in-law, I guess freakin' out was warranted. We tried to keep busy but I know we were both watching the clock getting more uncomfortable with each passing minute. Thankfully we got responses around 1 pm my time and my Dad informed us that he had simply been in a Roger's dead zone. There is still the last leg of his trip and I pray it comes to an uneventful end.

I long for a time when each member of my family will be secure and taken care of. I realize that this is a selfish wish and many will never see the fruition of similar dreams but I still think it is worth striving for. Why not aim for something and try for it? Is this not better than just taking a passive ride through life?

It is getting late. I guess I can wax on more thoughts later. After all...

"Tomorrow is another day..."

Where the Curve and the Bold meet...

Well we are trying to cope with the time change here in Banff and I have to say I'm not to happy about losing an hour of sleep. However I am glad that it occurs on on a Sunday when I get to go into work a little later than on my regular work week.

By God's grace, my sermon was really well received this past sabbath. I was confident that it had been well constructed and met the requirements of "offering instruction, providing encouragement, and inspiring growth". Yes, it looked good on paper, but I knew that actually delivering it on the pulpit was a whole different story. I guess it is very much like being able to play freely on my saxophone at home but choking a bit when I perform onstage if I haven't done it in a while. Adrenalin, your friend if you train it, can be your greatest enemy. These days I am still drained after I preach because of this (explanation for why I tend to become very quiet afterward).

I believe God still fills in the gaps when you commit your message to Him (and yes I call Him "Him". If the Almighty objected to that, I am sure He would have made it known in a concise way by now personally.) He knows when you have sincerely tried and He takes this effort and amplifies it. I hold on to this when a wave of nervousness engulfs me. Only through the Spirit!

Also, one of things I enjoyed this sabbath was chatting with my younger sister Lily via our BlackBerrys. She on her Bold and I on my Curve. We talked for a while via BlackBerry Messenger (BBm) and since it was the weekend, I finally called her for free.

The beginning of this year and the family crises that ensued were a weighted reminder that each member lives so far apart from each other these days. The events that transpired really shook me, and bore in me a determination to shape, as us much as any person can, circumstances so that I can be closer to my siblings and parents. For now it is a piece of technology that connects us, but I hope God allows for more to happen to facilitate this wish.

My wife is leaving for the Philippines this coming weekend to spend much needed time with her family. I will miss her dearly while she is gone. "I've grown accustomed to her face." and indeed "she makes the day begin." The trip will leave a significant dent in our finances but I understand the need to go home. Family is important and aside from God, family is everything.

I know that people have noticed a change in me. I am not so easily available these days to do things (even though I regularly update Facebook and post blogs on here). If you want to know how I'm doing read my stuff... BBm me a message... My pin is on my Facebook profile... Because when I get home all I want is to spend time with my wife and check up on the fam.

My father gave a piece of advise that really rang through to me as he prepared to drive to Ontario this past week (he is now on his way and regularly updates us with his progress via his iPhone). He said that one should sit down and write out on paper what their priorities are. He said in so doing we should focus on what we really value and need with honesty so we can really see what is really needed versus what is simply a want. While he meant this to be study of finances, I think it also applies to life in general. In a world cluttered with distractions, focus is direly needed.

For now I end this with one final reflection:

It takes a strong person to say sorry but and even stronger heart to forgive.

Many people seemed to be preoccupied by the wrongs done to them of late. Whether there is a true foundation for their pain, anger and or frustration is another discussion. But the feelings are real and so I acknowledge them. (Confused? This has everything to do with aspects of my family crises!)

I think we have turned a good sense of justice and a need for fairness into an evil thing especially when it comes to our own personal sense of self-preservation. There is something to be said about following the example that Christ left us. He was quick to forgive, quick to reconcile, and quick to to re-establish. (Read Matthew 18:22 and the story that occurs previous.)

I am no saint. I am done some horrible wrongs in the past and I do still bear the burden of current sins of my own own choice. But God offers a way out and it is through forgiveness.

So I ask for it, by God's grace I grant it, and I hope we all can too...

It is crazy what what we learn along the way. It is even crazier if what we learn is powerful enough to effect change at our very core.

Of Respect and Love...

Respect breeds loyalty,

This sentence, composed of 3 relatively short words, carries with it some profound truth. My Dad shared it with me as we talked on the phone last night (Canada-wide MY5!) He was trying to explain to me the intricacies of effective communcation between the sexes. He and my Mom have been watching a DVD based series on the subject and he was really excited about what he had learned. I was impressed with his brief analysis of the material. While the intention is not to stereotype men and women, because we live in a world where the exception to the rule grows more pervalent every day, the focus of the series was instead to break down some findamental differences and barriers that seperate the sexes.

The series does proclaim that: respect breeds loyalty. But it goes further, it says: loyalty breeds love.

This was illustrated in the training of men and women in the armed forces. One of the key ingredients that leaders of sucessful armies use to mold soldiers is to give them an almost palaitable level of respect. Should a leader be able to impart this sense to their wards, it has been proven that these soldiers are willing to go as far as to die in combat for the love they feel for said leader. Of course many an evil dicatator or world domination bent individual has used this formula in the service of evil. But this only goes to show that the concept works!

How does this transfer to relationships?

The series proclaims that men are built with a need for a respect. Women, on the other hand, are built with a need for love. The way the twain meet is that if a man is shown respect, they will respond with love. If a woman is shown this love, she will in turn show respect. And the cycle continues in a positive sense. The sobering thing is if the cycle is reversed, it continues negatively.

My father and I didn't get much further in the conversation but it was enough to get me thinking about how I fit into this especially in my marriage. I realized that I really hadn't been doing well in some areas of how my wife and I got along. I still have a lot to learn about the Language of Commitment.

"Language of Commitment? Shouldn't it be the Language of Love?"

The Language of Love is easy. When everything is going wonderful, it is easy to spill all the words that warm, comfort, and lead to intimacy. But it is when things are grating, when the gears are not quite meshing, and the tendancy is to look out for one's well-being, that the Language of Commitment comes into play. And believe me it is heaily action based! There needs to be a level of almost superhuman self-control and patience present for the outcome to be positive.

I could go on but I am no expert on these matters for that I look to those who have been married for may years like my parents who are coming up on their 40th Anniversary. But even they disclose that each new day brings its own unique challenges and they are constantly still learning how to successfully be together. And... they acknowledge that if it were not for the mercy and grace of God they would not be.

None of this is easy. But we press on.

As stated when I first started http://www.fromthedeskofromil.blogspot.com/ and http://www.fromthedeskofromil2010.blogspot.com/ these entries often will not be resolved but they serve as markers on a journey. It's crazy what we learn on the way. It's even crazier if what we learn is powerful enough to effect change at our very core.

The Ties that Bind could involve a BlackBerry...

After a few weeks of dead air, I have finally got my blog up and running again. By some fluke I had erased all the graphics on it and while it could have been a simple fix, I was missing my USB drive which had all my graphic software stored on it. (Photoshop CS whatever anyone?) I had loaned the drive to a friend who in turn had graciously loaded coverage of the 2007 Tour De France on it. Viewing about 5 minutes of it last night, I believe it was worth the wait.

Anyway, here we are in March 2010 and I am blown away by how quickly this year is going by. Tess will be leaving for the motherland in less than two weeks and by the time she makes it back into Canada, we'll be hitting the summer season here in Banff/Canmore Alberta. Everyone says that is the busy season and I can see several establishments slowly gearing up for the rush. Being the new kid in town, I'm open to absorbing all I hear and see. As I take stock of where we stand at work, I hope we will be equal to the task although I know we have a learning curve to travel.

I think the big news of the past week has been my new BlackBerry Curve 8520 Smartphone. I have Lily to thank for getting me to sign up at Rogers for this smartphone. While I took my Dad's iPhone for a serious test drive and loved how it works, I knew that the key ingredient that I was looking for on a new phone was the ability to communicate freely with members of my immediate family as well as co-workers. In short, the BlackBerry Messenger application (BBm) is what sold me. Essentially, anyone with a BlackBerry can invite other owners via their individual pins to use this application to carry on a chat style conversation, free of charge, anywhere in North America. This is great because I get to have a day long conversation with my wife, Lily, my work manager Amanda, and others in the BB community without having to worry about data transfer costs. And of course I can still email or text my Dad and Joy (both iPhone users) since I can access those avenues on this smartphone as well.

With my family being in a tight transition period right now, communcation between all the members is crucial to me. I have observed that in the past we don't do well when we aren't talking to each other. Bad things happen. I'll leave it at that.

Yes we are in transition. Tess has her struggles and I applaud each step she takes to resolve them. Dad is finding his way again after a career dedicated solely to working for the church. My two sisters have many challenges that they are facing. I am in awe of what they have to handle and I pray they remain steady on the course. I also pray for Mom who is holding the fort: our rock. I belong to a family of fighters who rely heavily on their faith to make it through each day.

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."